Inspiring

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150965748043765&set=a.98210128764.108719.13732078764&type=1&theater

I saw this photograph on the Pittsburgh Penguins facebook pages and thought wow, I'd love to be able to get a photograph like that, it has so much atmosphere, looking at it you know something special is about to happen, there is a tension to it.  Unfortunately the teams I photograph don't make much of an effort to make it a special event and don't make a grand entrance so not likely to get opportunity to get something similar anytime soon.


The studio that I hire for my portrait work has recently purchased a smoke machine so if I am fortunate enough to get the opportunity to do the team photographs next season I would like to take this photograph as a starting point.  My thought would be to take the portraits against a black background, have smoke coming from behind to the left, blowing forward and up.  For lighting would like to try lighting the players with a soft light from above and one side so the light is is coming across the players face more lit one side and more shadows the other.  Also to add another dimension a light low to the front same side as the smoke machine, pointing upwards with a blue gel to highlight and add colour to the smoke.

As quite a lot of the players have been part of the team for several years, I like to try and do something different each year to make the portraits different each time and striving to make them better and better each year.  I have never used a smoke machine or gels before so it will also be a good learning experience for me - will book a lesson with the studio owner first to get the basics down and practice on a friend.

Pushing myself to do new things and try new techniques is what makes me feel that I am still moving forward and allows me to offer more to my clients which can only be a good thing.

Comparing Experiences

A few months ago I came across a page on facebook that I thought would be interesting to follow.  It is called “Cold as Ice” and belongs to photographer Lauren Freeman.  Lauren is studying for a photography degree at Manchester and will graduate this year.  Have to be honest am slightly jealous as would love to be able to study full time am struggling to find time to fit mine in recently.

Apart from the fact we are both studying photography, Lauren also happens to photograph Ice Hockey, last season one of several photographers at Manchester Phoenix and this season for Sheffield Steeldogs.

From her face book page and blog it has been interesting  to see how someone in similar situation has been getting on and it would seem our experiences have been very different.

Lauren has commentated that she finds it harder being a female photographer, that sports photography is very male dominated and feels that people often think she is there for all the wrong reasons.  In one blog she said people think that she should be photographing puppies or babies instead.  Also she has faced being called a traitor for switching teams which is a shame, you are very lucky if you get to work for one team that pays enough.

I started photographing ice hockey 11 years ago now, while I was a college doing my City and Guilds photography course.  Starting out with my local ENL team, MK Thunder who I still photograph but expanding to cover a lot of Rec teams in the south and other teams around ENL level (all without being called a traitor).  I have never once felt I was treated any different in comparison to male photographers, in fact quite the opposite to Lauren I feel as a woman we can get opportunities that maybe a man wouldn’t.  Quite a lot of the teams treat me as if I was one of the team, not just a hired photographer, players discuss the game afterwards with me and appear to value my opinion.  Where I think I have the advantage as a woman is that the players are more prepared to be open and honest, less likely to put on a macho front and the better you know and connect with people you are photographing the easier it is to capture the emotions of the game.  While it will always be important to try and capture the moment of the goal or penalty etc. the photographs that always stand out to me are the ones where there is also an emotional connection/element to the photograph.

I sincerely hope that Lauren's experiences going forward are positive and wish her the best with her career.  If you would like to view her blog you can do so here: http://coldasice44.blogspot.co.uk/