When I first started out photographing people on a regular, professional basis, I focused on families, children and individuals. All were portraits either for business use, portfolios, the family living room wall and Christmas presents. I eventually added weddings to my repertoire with the occasional student athlete during senior sessions.
Recently photographing athletes has become a bigger part of my business as I have entered into a fantastic relationship with XL Sports magazine as the primary photographer. I find myself going to games I never thought I would attend, sporting events I ever just heard about and capturing athletes in both the performing state of things and in the resting phase.
Many sessions this summer and early fall have been of the portrait kind, capturing a bit of the essence of the athlete, the strength that is needed to perform well and the physical aspects that created that strength.
In many ways an athlete, starting in High School, becomes aware of his or her body fully, and starts to realize that training and hard work alone will not get them to perform at the highest level. It takes an inner strength, and inner desire to want to succeed that pushes an athlete to win.
Photographing seniors who play a sport and have taken it into college and then revisiting these athletes one or two years later, reveals that characteristic. The inner desire shows in their eyes. They have gained a confidence that was beginning to form in High school, but had not fully blossomed.
It is that confidence that they will carry into adulthood and continue to use in daily life and when they participate in local, regional, and national events such as bike tours, running events, and triathlons to name a few.
I have included a few shots of sports captured in motion and athletes at rest in this blog. Some of them are scattered in the fitness/seniors section of our website, some of these shots are new additions.
If you are interested to find out more about some of the people in these shots, please check out the fall issue of XL Sports Magazine coming out before the end of the month. We will have issues of the magazine at our display at the Prime outlets in Hagerstown as soon as they come out. In the meantime the current issue will be present in a few days, please feel free to take one home.
Are you an athlete or a parent of one? If so, and you would like us to capture what makes you tick, please call today to schedule a session. 301-693-3021
