Quick Portrait setup- Coaches

We have a new slate of coaches coming to Terrell this year, something that a lot of people in town are interested to know about.

As we work on features about the coaches, of course we need some head shots to use throughout the year.

In trying to come up with a concept to take a decent shot of each coach, I thought about our 'Tiger Paw' flag that we fly at the Tribune on home-game Fridays.... instant backdrop.

The time for the first interview snuck up on me so I did not have everything ready to go when new offensive coordinator Henry Hill came in today, so I made the setup quick.

The flag went on the wall, lit in the center by one Elinchrom bxri500 monolight with a 10 degree grid to center the light on the paw print.


After that, it was just a matter of setting up a small softbox and reflector for the subjects about 10' in front of the flag. The 70-200mm lens did the trick to draw it all together.


Unfortunately, the tiger paw really doesn't work as a tight head shot... it just sort of grows out of his head.

WIth more background included, it is a little better.


I will try some adjustments to the setup and share those later this week.

Quick pics - eyes on the ball

Baseball batting practice is a great chance to get some photo practice as well, and a unique perspective that you can't get during the game without a monster lens and a center field seat.






Almost ball-on-bat.

Stay warm everybody,

Don J.

Quick Pic - Blocked out

Some days the best shot seems like it will never happen.

We had a rare Monday night basketball game in a week that will be full of makeup games from last week's snow-and-ice festival.

The shot after this one, for instance, would have been nice.

Some of the others made me happier.. not bad for shooting only one quarter.

When not strobing, my new favorite basketball lens is the EF 85mm f1.8 by the way. Gets close enough to shoot from the corners, but under the basket is still workable.

Getting the timing back

Shooting sports is a lot of fun for me, but each sport has its own timing and rhythm with a camera. Beyond that, even each level of play has a unique rhythm and speed.

Volleyball can be mind numbing to get a shot you really like, but it is fun anyway.

The timing is starting to come back, but of course, this is the junior varsity. Moving up to higher levels requires faster reaction time and more concentration. Football is very similar.

Good times... sure with that guy wasn't walking in the background at that exact moment.

And then there was autofocus. And it was good. At least when the operator had control. Then it was just as ornery as manual focus.




When the autofocus and your brain are in sync, then the fun begins.


Have a good week, everyone

Don J.

Catching Up- Volleyball

Working at the Terrell Tribune has given me a whole new set of challenges and daily photo opportunities, but I was back in familiar territory to shoot the Tigers volleyball team when they played Forney for a playoff berth in the Kaufman gym.

Luckily, the "upper room" was open. This second floor window on the gym gives a great vantage point for unique shots...

In my two earlier volleyball outings this year, I did not come up with any shots that I really liked, but this game was different. Timing felt better, the competition was great, and it was good to see the Lady Tigers playing so well together. They really put a great effort and great teamwork on the floor.










To purchase prints... head over here.

Have a great week, and Happy Shooting!

don j.