Basketball at Westridge
Westridge School in Pasadena held basketball media day in the 2025-26 season. Basketball is shot indoors, and a dark gym lets us build the light from nothing.
Building light in a dark gym
We shot on a Canon R5 with four Westcott FJ400 strobes and the 70-200 and 24-105. Indoors, we kill nearly all of the ambient light, until the gym's overhead lights are barely visible. Then we build from the back: two rim lights to separate each player from the dark, then two mains in front. A haze machine and gels matched to the school colors often finish the look. The result is contrasty and cinematic, closer to a broadcast intro than a yearbook page. No light meter, just the camera.
Team, seniors, coaches, individuals
Team photo first, then seniors, then coaches, then we re-rig for individuals. Every player gets the yearbook headshot, then stylized portraits and action, a crossover at full speed or a ball pushed out toward the lens. We photograph the athlete, not just the jersey.
A basketball roster is small, so every player gets real time under the lights. That is what lets the stylized frames look different from player to player instead of like one photo repeated down the roster.
For more from Westridge, see the Westridge flag football media day.
The team photo is shot under the same lights, so the whole gallery holds together as one look.
Book your media day
See how our high school media day works, or browse athlete work on the sports portraits page.
