p.3 #3 · 15 of 335,000 images... NCA Cheer Nationals
P Alesse wrote:
Uhmm.. I dunno Brian, I'm thining more along the lines of this for us after working with your for so many years. (just listen the audio)
Marketing!!! It's the key to selling ANYthing!!!
I'm still working on that aspect of my business.
(P.S. that audio was just about as good as Room 242 at the Fairfield in Destin!)
p.3 #6 · 15 of 335,000 images... NCA Cheer Nationals
Just awesome images and stories about setup and what not.
On a personal note the make-up is out of control. It completely detracts from the sport in my eyes.
I think they look so damn ugly, instead of seeing the beauty of their moves I am looking at the images saying to myself, what parent would allow their baby wear shit like that?
p.3 #7 · 15 of 335,000 images... NCA Cheer Nationals
P Alesse wrote:
Uhmm.. I dunno Brian, I'm thining more along the lines of this for us after working with your for so many years. (just listen the audio)
p.3 #8 · 15 of 335,000 images... NCA Cheer Nationals
Hammy wrote:
If you mean strobes, no - we've (my company) never strobed an event.
The lighting there was either 300+ 1000W par-cans in one arena, HMI lighting mixed with moving heads and LEDs.
Usually we can shoot 640ISO, 1/640 shutter at 1.8. But depending on the lighting crew, dead/hot spots on the stage (especially in the air and corners) and the whether the lighting guy actually turned the lights all the way up during the routine - we can get varying results.
(unfortunately, to a lighting crew - light is light and if it hits the stage, its all good. We usually get the opportunity to focus the lights for a very even wash, but not always.)...Show more →
Flash?
What's that I do not even bring a flash with me to a Hammy shoot.
p.3 #9 · 15 of 335,000 images... NCA Cheer Nationals
P Alesse wrote:
Thanks for the positive feedback all. As in many sports I shoot, I have grown to really appreciate this sport and enjoy shooting it. I think its important to have a passion for the sports you shoot. That passion will inevitably shine through in the images you produce.
I totally agree!
With that said, like everyone else these are just awesome. I love 2, 7 & 11. As I was scrolling down the first thing coming to my mind was some Vegas magician show with levitating girls...until you see the hands once you scroll that far. They're just suspended in air and you nailed em!
Not sure if I'd have the passion for this kind of event after doing two State cheer comps in Hawai'i years ago. I'm more of the court and field sports kind of guy.
p.3 #10 · 15 of 335,000 images... NCA Cheer Nationals
P Alesse wrote:
They need to take a page from the gymnastics judge's handbook. In gymnastics, the girls do their hair, so it doesn't fall in their face, but that's it. No makeup is allowed. No eye shadow, no lipstick, not even nail polish. Not allowed. All emphasis is focused on the atheticism of the girls as it should be. It should be the same for cheerleading.
I always get a chuckle out seeing cheerleaders at a gymnastics meet... It's like bringing a knife to a gunfight. Nice pics nevertheless
p.3 #16 · 15 of 335,000 images... NCA Cheer Nationals
Another "cheer dad" here that agrees about the excessive makeup. Many girls wipe it off as soon as their competition is over so I am not sure who is driving this trend. High School Cheerleaders rarely go to the extreme that these "pay to belong" teams do.
Someone asked about the camera and lens but as with any good picture the lighting and shooting location is very important. I have been shooting my daughter's competitions for several years now and I am not getting anywhere near the same results... but then I don't have four studio strobes firing every time I push the shutter! If you are getting 640ISO, 1/640 shutter at 1.8 then the lighting crew is really giving you some help.
Also the best locations are reserved for the people selling the pictures. But I can see that everyone is having fits with white balance as you never know what color of lights they are going to throw into the mix.
These girls may perform in sync but they don't have years of practice together as a team. Each year a new routine is developed and tweaked depending upon the skill level of the girls on the team that is formed for just that season. They may practice 2-3 hours at a session for one or two times a week for just a few weeks before their first competition.
Sorry it is hetic on you but I can remember a few years ago when we had to sit around hours because we didn't know when our team was going to compete. Today a team is usually performing within a minute or two of what the schedule says.
Thanks for sharing always wondered what it was like to be on your side of the camera!
p.3 #17 · 15 of 335,000 images... NCA Cheer Nationals
jwp721 wrote:
Another "cheer dad" here that agrees about the excessive makeup. Many girls wipe it off as soon as their competition is over so I am not sure who is driving this trend. High School Cheerleaders rarely go to the extreme that these "pay to belong" teams do.
Someone asked about the camera and lens but as with any good picture the lighting and shooting location is very important. I have been shooting my daughter's competitions for several years now and I am not getting anywhere near the same results... but then I don't have four studio strobes firing every time I push the shutter! If you are getting 640ISO, 1/640 shutter at 1.8 then the lighting crew is really giving you some help.
Also the best locations are reserved for the people selling the pictures. But I can see that everyone is having fits with white balance as you never know what color of lights they are going to throw into the mix.
These girls may perform in sync but they don't have years of practice together as a team. Each year a new routine is developed and tweaked depending upon the skill level of the girls on the team that is formed for just that season. They may practice 2-3 hours at a session for one or two times a week for just a few weeks before their first competition.
Sorry it is hetic on you but I can remember a few years ago when we had to sit around hours because we didn't know when our team was going to compete. Today a team is usually performing within a minute or two of what the schedule says.
Thanks for sharing always wondered what it was like to be on your side of the camera!
John... very insightful. I have often wondered about some of the things you mention from a parent's perspective. With the makeup thing, there are quite a few that feel as we do. Why can't the judges simply say... excessive makeup at this competition will result in points LOST? Seems to me that it needs to start at that level to really make a difference. Facials are still excessive too. We were told that the athletes are moving more towards genuine smiles, but I didn't see too much of that.
Also, I didn't shoot at 1.8 for these. Most are at f/2.8 with ISO getting up to 2500 on some shots. The quality of light is nice though. No cycling and the shadows are pretty good.
p.3 #18 · 15 of 335,000 images... NCA Cheer Nationals
sorry i haven't read through all the posts so don't know if anyone had the same opinion..... & nothing against the photography which is by all accounts excellent for the action provided.. but posting shots of those young girls with all that makeup on contourted in those cheerleading positions ..is well... just wrong... teenage/HS/college, pro cheerleaders for sure.... but posting images of these young, young girls...well - is just wrong... sorry if no one agrees....
p.3 #19 · 15 of 335,000 images... NCA Cheer Nationals
The shots are great; clear, crisp, well exposed and framed and considering the light these events have, are pretty amazing.
I will add my two bits about the subject though/
The sport itself I have all the time in the world for. They are a team competing as team and the success of the team depends as much on individual skills working with in a team concept exactly as they would in any traditional sport.
The makeup however creeps me out and it boggles my mind that a parent would want a picture of thier daughter when they look like this. I guess one has to be around it to "get it".
One observation though is, it seems that the older the competitors, the less they paint them; any reason for that?
p.3 #20 · 15 of 335,000 images... NCA Cheer Nationals
jordanwd wrote:
but posting images of these young, young girls...well - is just wrong... sorry if no one agrees....
-jd
While I respect your opion I for one disagree with you. There is absolutly nothing wrong with posting these images. And everyone of those kids would be proud and lucky to have any of those shots and done by the outstanding photographer that took them.
My daughter has been involved with comp cheer and high school cheer for the past 7 going on 8 years now and to insinuate that these photographs are anything other than what they are, which is Great images captured at the peak moment of a highly competitive sport with great atheletes is....well - is just wrong.
As suggested above if you are not close to or have'nt a clue about this sport some of the make up may be, and is a bit over the top, but it is what they do and have been doing for sometime now.
High schoolers are a bit more toned down than the Allstar level and it would'nt hurt my feelings if they (allstars) mellowed out a bit on make up.
But any suggestion to the fact that there is something wrong with posting these images is rediculus.
Lets try to stay On topic and off the soap box here.
Jeff
