Lacrosse media day in the Valley
Sierra Canyon's lacrosse program in Chatsworth got a full spring media day. Lacrosse brings its own gear problem. Sticks add width to every frame, and helmets hide faces, so the portraits have to be planned around both.
Outdoor light, controlled
We light every outdoor media day with four Westcott FJ400 strobes on a Canon R5. Two go behind the players as rim lights to separate them from the field, and two go up front as mains. The 70-200 and 24-105 cover the day.
First we read the ambient light with the camera and bring it down about a stop under a normal exposure. Then the strobes come up to light the faces. The goal is soft, even light even in harsh sun. We skip the light meter and trust the camera meter and our eye, and the angle and power of each head change with the sun.
Team, seniors, coaches, then individuals
Team photo first. Then seniors, then the coaching staff. Then we re-rig the lights for individual portraits.
Each player gets a clean headshot without the helmet, which is the frame families want. After that come the stylized portraits and action, a stick cocked back to shoot or a player cradling toward the camera. The goal is to catch the athlete's personality, not just the number.
Media day for your lacrosse program
If you run a lacrosse program anywhere in Los Angeles, see how our high school media day works, or browse team and athlete work on our sports portraits page.
