Westridge Flag Football Media Day: Team Photos in Pasadena

A Fall Media Day for Westridge Girls Flag Football

Every September, high school teams across Los Angeles line up for media day, and this one was a favorite. We spent a late afternoon on the field at Westridge School in Pasadena with the girls flag football team, their coaches, and a lot of energy. The brief was simple: one clean team photo the school can use all season, and individual portraits of every player that look like they belong on a broadcast graphic.

Flag football is one of the fastest growing girls sports in California, and the Westridge Tigers came ready. Jerseys were pressed, footballs were in hand, and the players had ideas. That last part matters more than people think.

The Setup: Four Strobes Against the Afternoon Sun

We shoot media days on the team's own field whenever we can. Players are more relaxed at home, the school gets photos that actually look like their campus, and the background does half the work. At Westridge that meant the practice field with the tree line behind it, late in the day when the sun drops low and the grass turns gold.

Outdoor media days are a balancing act between harsh California sun and strobes. We run four Westcott FJ400 lights, two rim lights behind the players and two up front, and shoot on a Canon R5 with the 70-200 and 24-105 doing most of the work. The order matters: we meter for the ambient light first and bring it down about a stop under a perfect exposure, then add the strobes on top. That is what gives these frames even, soft light on the players even at four in the afternoon, without anyone looking like they were cut out and pasted onto the field. No light meter, just the camera's meter and an eye for what looks right.

Every media day runs in the same order. Team photo first, then senior group photos, then the coaches. After that we re-rig the lights for individuals, and every player gets a clean standing portrait for the yearbook, a stylized posed shot with the ball, and at least one action frame with real movement in it.

Portraits That Show Personality, Not Just a Jersey

A media day portrait has to do a lot of jobs. It goes on the school's social feed, it gets dropped into the starting lineup graphic, it shows up on senior night, and it ends up framed at home. So we never settle for one stiff pose. Each player gets a straight-on portrait, then we hand her the ball and let her play. Some point it right down the lens, some show off the jersey, some want a throwing shot. The pointing frames and the ball-out shots above are what the school actually uses most, because they read clearly even when they are cropped small on a phone.

We keep the direction light. A quick demo, a couple of frames, and then we let the players push each other. The best expressions on media day almost always come from the teammate standing just off camera.

Team Photos, Coaches, and the Shots Nobody Plans

The team photo at the top of this post is the one that goes on the wall. We shoot the formal version first, while everyone is fresh and the jerseys are straight, and then we shoot a second version with the coaches. Coaches usually try to stay out of the frame. We do not let them. A team photo with the coaching staff in it is the one families ask for years later.

Once the formal work is done, the field belongs to the players. Piggybacks, handstands, three friends stacked on each other, a coach getting talked into a jumping shot. We keep the light up and keep shooting, because those frames are what make the gallery feel like this team and not a generic roster.

If you coach or run athletics at a high school in Los Angeles and want a media day like this for your program, take a look at our high school media day page or the athletes and team portrait work on our sports portraits page. We travel across the San Gabriel Valley, the Westside, and the Valley all fall, and we book media days by the week, so reach out early once your season schedule is set.