• Light Meter – A light meter is perfect for any photographic event. A Light meter measures the amount of light hitting a subject and determines the settings for your camera to get the best exposure of your subject thus creating consistent exposures throughout the shoot. To learn more, check out Sekonic’s video about the importance of a light meter.
• Off Camera Flash – Using an off camera flash will allow you to have control of your exposure and keeps your lightning consistent. Off camera flash will provide enough fill light to get the exposure you want. Amherst Media has tons of literature on photography. For Sports, we recommend the Master Guide for Team Sports Photography by James Williams.
• Tripod – Using a tripod will keep the frame of your images consistent; having a consistent frame position will make cropping a breeze when using our Batch Crop Tool in the Full Color Ordering System.
• Small Ladder – A small ladder will help in case you need to get a little more height for photographing large groups.
• Props – Props make photo shoots fun for anyone. Bring props such as, basketballs, bats, gloves or pom-poms.

Tips –

• If you’re shooting outdoors, schedule the shoot during “the golden hour”, which is 1 hour before sunset. When shooting during this time slot, lighting appears softer, shadows are lighter and highlights are not as strong.
• Visit the field or shooting area days before the shoot at the same time of day you plan on photographing your teams. Look for light patterns and problem areas in the background.
• Learn how to pose easily by taking a look at pro-football or college league photos for an example in posing.
• Get there early the day of the shoot and set up a product table. Show products using your own images. Show them what you offer so your clients can see an example of what they would like to order.
• Print Moneybag envelopes (Flyers). This provides an easy way for your customers to order and submit their payments.