Senior portraits part 1. The love of sport

Photographing senior athletes 

I’ve always loved sports of any kind, and as a photographer especially.  Capturing that split-second moment in time during the heat of competition is a challenge I enjoy. Although Senior portrait photography rarely involves game action photography, Working with student athletes is one of my favorite parts of this job. We always encourage our seniors to bring props on their shoots. It’s always a plus when the students interests are used as a theme their session. For example, if you’re a musician, bring your instrument.

Athletes are usually confident and relaxed in front of the camera when shooting in their particular sport genre.  This comfort level comes from familiarity and can be seen in the final images. We like to work in both the studio and out on location with the kids. I first mentioned how I love game action so here is Andrew shagging balls at his shoot. Not a real game but fun to shoot.

And the typical student athlete portrait shot on location at the Orchard Park Little League complex adjacent to Yates Park.

Senior studio portraits

Here’s a look at some of my favorite images of high school senior student athletes. I’ll start with these that are created in the FCI Photography studio. I like to use dramatic lighting in black and white to help project a little drama.

 This photo with Emma and her snowboard is shot on a green screen in the studio during the summer. The background image is created in Photoshop. Compare to an actual on location session at Kissing Bridge Snow Sports with Luka. Very similar looking results! 

Most of our senior shoots take place in the months of summer and fall. Here’s a look at a variety of sports featuring male and female athletes on location in the Western New York area. If you have a senior athlete in your family we would love the chance to create some awesome images for them too!