Basketball Team Photo and Pet Treats - how to

[Fishman Dan]

Hi everyone .... I've got 2 lucrative opportunities coming up and I want to go next level. Basically I want to find good setup videos for;

- Basketball team photo on a court, backlit, possible use smoke and gels.

- Pet treat catching photos

I've searched both on YouTube, and while I've found an 'ok' pet treat photo demo, the media day videos I'm finding mainly feature the presenter and tbh the videos I've watched aren't great.

Does anyone have a favoured or preferred source for these sorts of things?

For the Pets I figured a light on each side of the dog and one in front, and a truckload of patience. One thing I've picked up is that some dogs aren't going to do what you want them to do.

The the basketball shots ... I am currently shooting a 5-weekend carnival/season. It is the first time they've engaged a proper photographer and I've knocked it out of the park - the photos are coming out well and it's the talk of the town.

They want team photos too, but hasty plans means it's going to be really challenging - there are 63 teams across 7 or 8 associations. I've been offered a side-room, but I am hoping to utilise a free court next match weekend. Alternatively I'll travel to their location and do it properly.

But the key is selling the idea, so if anyone has some good links or personal outcomes to share I'd greatly appreciate it.

It just so happens that the 'spare' court is really poorly lit - perfect for this purpose! I'm hoping to set up my gear there and lock down the room when not in use.

 

[Ellis Vener]

Congratulations!

A MIOPS+ in laser or sound trigger mode might make for less hit or miss /spray and pray work for the pet treat shoot. I can’t think of any channels that advice about shooting pets and treats but think you should really study the advertising done by established high end brands. When studying those ads, pay a lot of attention to the lighting and pet grooming.


As for the basketball team shoots I don’t have any advice to share, especially as I don’t know what gear you are working with. If you are asked to submit a proposal I’d budget for an assistant to help wrangle both gear and be a second set of eyes for the shoot.

Fisherman Dan, I wish you good luck

 

[Fishman Dan]

Congratulations!

A MIOPS+ in laser or sound trigger mode might make for less hit or miss /spray and pray work for the pet treat shoot. I can’t think of any channels that advice about shooting pets and treats but think you should really study the advertising done by established high end brands. When studying those ads, pay a lot of attention to the lighting and pet grooming.

Thanks for the tips. From what I've seen there is a lot of hit and miss, and some pets just won't work despite best intents.

As for the basketball team shoots I don’t have any advice to share, especially as I don’t know what gear you are working with. If you are asked to submit a proposal I’d budget for an assistant to help wrangle both gear and be a second set of eyes for the shoot.

Fisherman Dan, I wish you good luck

The association (it's a junior rep carnival - 10 match days over 5 weekends) is really keen to do something. The game photos have everyone talking so they are keen to go to the next step. I'm actually trying to cool them off a bit.

As for an assistant, I am hoping we can utilise the extra court, so I can arrange a time, teams arrive, form up, have a shot then back to their games. Should take 3-5 mins per team if done right. Each team has a Coach and a Manager (sometimes more), so they become my assistants in getting the kids wrangled generally.

The key here is being able to set up my gear, benches etc ready, then lock the door and leave my gear in place. Then rinse and repeat for the next opportunity.

The longer story here is there are 12 match 'slots' every day, so now that we've had 4 days of competition, I should have shot every team at least once so can create time in the schedule.

The whole 'media day' concept isn't common here in Australia, but in my rural area no one else is doing anything like either of the above, especially with a lighting setup so it's a great opportunity to have some fun and win some new clientele with creativity.

Currently I have 2 x Godox AD600 Pro, and 1 x AD 300 Pro. I have a mix of modifiers, but more importantly the AD300 Pro has a 400 Pro adapter, and then I can adapt to any other brand/ecosystem of modifier. I was planning to use the AD300 Pro behind the players as the backlight.

It just so happens that the 'spare' court where the carnival is on is really dark with the lights on, it would be PERFECT for this sort of shot.

 

[Ellis Vener]

As for an assistant, I am hoping we can utilise the extra court, so I can arrange a time, teams arrive, form up, have a shot then back to their games. Should take 3-5 mins per team if done right. Each team has a Coach and a Manager (sometimes more), so they become my assistants in getting the kids wrangled generally.

the coaches won’t be working for you. They will be distracted by thinking about the games, the players, and all the other things that coaches have to think about. They won’t know your gear or your needs as a photographer. They might help getting the kids to pay attention when you are ready to snap the shutter but that’s all you can’t count on. IAs for an assistant, I am hoping we can utilise the extra court, so I can arrange a time, teams arrive, form up, have a shot then back to their games. Should take 3-5 mins per team if done right. Each team has a Coach and a Manager (sometimes more), so they become my assistants in getting the kids wrangled generally.

You need an assistant to keep an eye out for what you need as a photographer, to keep an eye on your gear, to help you set up and strike efficiently and be a second set of eyes. I write this based on my experience photographing the water polo teams my daughter played on and on photographing teams of executives.

 

[Fishman Dan]

the coaches won’t be working for you. They will be distracted by thinking about the games, the players, and all the other things that coaches have to think about. They won’t know your gear or your needs as a photographer.

Sort of overthinking it (I know that sounds harsh but I'm coming from a good place). Their games are 2-3 hours apart sometimes. As long as they know where to be and when, they can wrangle the kids.

This is a rep tournament, but it's main purpose is development, so it's not like they are "playing for sheep stations" (not sure if this is a local phrase, but basically means there's not a huge amount at stake).

They might help getting the kids to pay attention when you are ready to snap the shutter but that’s all you can’t count on.

100% this. They also have their Manager, these two form the trusted voice, while parents mingle in the background throughout the day and can keep them on the straight-and-narrow when things get tough (it's a long day of sport for the kids - they can 'unravel' by the end of the day.

You need an assistant to keep an eye out for what you need as a photographer, to keep an eye on your gear, to help you set up and strike efficiently and be a second set of eyes. I write this based on my experience photographing the water polo teams my daughter played on and on photographing teams of executives.

In a broad sense this is correct. The first match weekend I wheeled my gear from court to court (except for batteries/chargers), last weekend I set up my station next to the officials desk - and more importantly, a fair way from the main Entry/Exit point.

It's a good sporting community, and while I'm never fully trusting, I had my laptop and other gear out all day with minimal concern.

As for the additional court, I would hope to maintain access to that by way of locking/unlocking the room.

School holidays here next week, I'm hoping to use my local gym to shoot a team, or even just have a test session and use my son as the sample case.