For those of you who don't know me, I have worked as an editor, designer and photographer for the communications department since August of 2014 at Kilgore College. Recently my hard work went to press in the form of The Flare Magazine no. 6 (http://issuu.com/kcstudentpublications/docs/magazine_2015_web). It was such an amazing feeling seeing my work in print, but my momentary pause of accomplishment was definitely short lived as I have another publication very soon due to release. The Kilgore College Ranger yearbook!
This past week was spent rushing to pull together the last of the photos and information needed to finish up the 170 page monstrosity. One of the ideas I had pitched was a photo on the football field of the defensive line, in uniform, shot with an over the top wide angle. What sounds like a simple enough picture took over a month to actually put together. Between the rainy weather, students' busy schedules and the field being used for multiple organizational practices, we just haven't been able to make it happen. Thankfully, this past Thursday the stars aligned and at 3:00 p.m. in the afternoon, I was happily laying out waiting for the defensive line players to change and meet me on the field.
I'm a photographer who believes in being early and checking settings, testing lighting, different angles, etc. It usually takes about 10 to 15 minutes depending on location and artistic demands. This particular photo was one I knew I wanted to keep simple. 1 Speedlight combined with the natural sunlight. I brought along one of my co-coffee loving, sarcastic friends, LEAH, to hold my light. After quickly checking my equipment, we got to enjoy about an hour of tanning on the field and goofing off (much needed) before the players met us on the 20-yrd line (who knew boys took so long to primp!).
When you know what you want in an image and you've pre-prepared, the shoot can generally go quickly (not always!). We got lucky with a beautiful day and 4 guys who understood what I asked for when directing. As a result, my final image took less than 10 minutes to accomplish. I am always excited when I get to do something different than a standard studio portrait. This photo I think is fun, aggressive, unusual and definitely what I was looking for.
Let me know what you think!
Fisheye Magic on the football field.