Coe-Brown Girls Varsity Volleyball Media Day

There's something different about a great Media Day.

It isn't just about lining athletes up in front of a backdrop and taking a few pictures. It's about creating an experience, building excitement for the season, and giving athletes images they're genuinely excited to share.

When I had the opportunity to photograph the Coe-Brown Northwood Academy Girls Varsity Volleyball team, I knew I wanted to create something that felt different from a traditional school picture day.

But before I ever stepped into the gym, there was quite a bit of work happening in my garage.

It Started in the Garage

In the weeks leading up to Media Day, I set up all of my equipment in my garage and started experimenting.

I tried different lighting configurations, moved lights closer and farther away, adjusted their height, and worked on finding the right angles. One of the biggest things I wanted to figure out was how to light the athlete without having unwanted light spill all over the backdrop.

Sometimes moving a light just a few inches or changing its angle made a surprisingly big difference.

I also knew from the beginning that I wanted a pop of red light in the photos.

Red is part of Coe-Brown's colors, and I thought it would look great behind the athletes while adding another level of drama to the portraits. Figuring out how to control that red light and get the effect I had pictured in my head turned into a fun challenge of its own.

There was definitely some trial and error involved, but by the time Media Day arrived, I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted everything to look like.

Then it was time to see if all that practice would translate to the real thing.

Starting With the Individual Athletes

We started the Media Day with individual portraits of each athlete.

And I learned something almost immediately that I'll definitely use at the next one:

Put the athletes in height order.

It sounds simple now.

As each player came through, I was finding myself moving my key light up and down more often than I would have liked. The light might be perfect for one athlete, and then the next girl would be several inches taller or shorter and I would need to make another adjustment.

It slowed things down a little.

But I also wasn't willing to rush through it just to save a few seconds.

I wanted every athlete's portrait to look right. These were their pictures, and I wanted every girl to walk away with something she was excited about.

Next time, I'll put everyone roughly in height order. That should make the workflow smoother while still giving me the ability to fine-tune the lighting when needed.

That was one of the first lessons of the night.

Watching the Photos Appear

One of my favorite decisions for the shoot was tethering my camera to an iPad.

As I took the photographs, the images would appear on the iPad screen so the girls could immediately see what we were creating.

I absolutely loved their reactions to those first few pictures.

They had seen the lighting setup. They had seen all the equipment. But I don't think they really knew what the finished photographs were going to look like.

Then that first dramatic portrait appeared on the screen.

The reaction was awesome.

You could feel the excitement starting to build as the girls realized that they were going to get some really cool photos out of this.

And from that point on, the energy changed.

The girls started becoming more involved. They were checking out each other's photos, encouraging one another, coming up with poses and getting excited for their own turn in front of the camera.

That became one of my favorite parts of the entire shoot.

It wasn't just about taking their pictures anymore.

They were part of the experience.

My Westcott Lights Were Put to the Test

For this shoot I used my Westcott battery-powered lighting setup, and once everything was dialed in, the lights worked perfectly.

When I first started buying off-camera lighting equipment, I made the decision to go with battery-powered lights.

After this Media Day, I was really happy I had.

There were no extension cords running across the gym floor. I didn't have to search for outlets or plan my lighting positions based on where electricity was available.

More importantly, I didn't have electrical cords creating unnecessary trip hazards for athletes, coaches or staff walking around the gym.

I could put a light where I wanted the light.

That was it.

And battery life wasn't an issue either. The shoot lasted about two hours, and the batteries easily lasted through the entire Media Day with power to spare.

Sometimes you buy equipment thinking something will be useful someday.

This was one of those times where I could actually see that decision paying off.

Time for the Team Photos

After the individual portraits were finished, we moved on to the team shots.

And I had an image in my head that I just couldn't let go of.

But first, we needed to get the photographs the coach wanted.

We started with the classic volleyball team photo — two lines of girls positioned in front of the net.

We got everyone arranged, adjusted the lighting and took the shot.

It came out amazing.

Honestly, anyone could have looked at that photograph and said:

Great team shot. Done.

Except I still had that other image in my head.

I had to try it.

I asked the coach if we could do one more setup.

The idea was to position the girls in the shape of a V, with the tallest player at the point and then arrange the rest of the team by height as each side of the V flowed back toward the camera.

Explaining exactly where everyone needed to stand was proving a little difficult.

Then one of the girls shouted:

"Put your sternum right at the girl's shoulder in front of you!"

Perfect.

I remember thinking that was probably a better explanation than anything I was trying to come up with.

Everyone understood it immediately.

The girls got into formation and suddenly the picture I had been imagining started coming together right in front of me.

And Then...WOW

With fourteen athletes now spread across a much larger area, my lighting setup that had been perfect for individual portraits needed a little more power.

So I cranked the lights up a bit to make sure everyone in the formation was properly covered.

I made a few final adjustments.

Everyone was in position.

And then I took the shot.

WOW.

That was one of those moments when you look at the image and immediately know it worked.

It looked exactly like the picture I had imagined.

The traditional team photo was great — and absolutely a photograph we needed to take.

But this was different.

The V formation felt bigger. It felt more dramatic. And it was much closer to the type of sports imagery I had pictured when I first started planning the shoot in my garage.

I'm really glad I didn't stop after getting the safe shot.

Sometimes you get the photograph you need first.

Then you go after the one you really want.

More Than Just Picture Day

By the end of the session, we had created more than 70 images featuring 14 athletes.

Some were serious.

Some were dramatic.

Some were traditional.

And some were just fun.

That's exactly what I hoped this Media Day would become.

High school athletes today see incredible sports photography from college and professional programs all the time. They see dramatic lighting, creative poses, graphics and portraits designed specifically for social media.

I want the athletes I photograph to have some of that same experience.

Of course I want to create great photographs.

But after this shoot, I realized even more that Media Day itself should be fun.

Seeing the girls react to their photographs on the iPad, watching teammates encourage each other, hearing them come up with ideas and seeing the energy build throughout the session was probably just as rewarding for me as creating the final images.

And I Learned a Lot

This was also a shoot that taught me quite a bit.

Put the athletes in height order.

Give yourself time to adjust the lighting instead of rushing.

Get the photograph the coach needs before experimenting with something different.

Tethering to an iPad completely changes the experience for the athletes.

Battery-powered lights are fantastic when you're working inside a school gym.

And sometimes the picture that's stuck in your head is worth chasing.

I know there will be things I'll change and improve at the next Media Day.

That's part of what I enjoy about photography.

Every shoot teaches me something.

Thank You, Coe-Brown Volleyball

A huge thank-you to the Coe-Brown Girls Varsity Volleyball team and coaching staff for trusting me with their Media Day.

The girls were fantastic to work with, brought a ton of personality to the shoot, and were willing to go along with some of my ideas — including one slightly unusual V-shaped team photo that I'm very glad we tried.

This ended up being one of my favorite shoots I've done so far.

And I already have ideas for the next one.

If your school, team or athletic program is looking for something beyond the traditional team picture, you can learn more about 603 In Focus Media Day photography and see more examples from this session on my Media Day page.

603 In Focus Photography Where every shot counts.