Hands On Sportraits

LACROSSE

Central Michigan University sophomore Emma Ford lays on the ground with her teammates stick and a lacrosse ball in Moore Hall, Mount Pleasant, Michigan, Monday, November 17, 2025. Smith serves as the club women's lacrosse social chair.

Camera settings: 55mm lens, 1/125, f/5.6, ISO 500

Flash settings: A 1/16 B1/8 C1/32

SET UP

BOXING

Central Michigan University junior Elliot Talsma puts his gloves up while his hair and face drips with water in Moore Hall, Mount Pleasant, Michigan, Monday, November 17, 2025. Talsma Serves as club boxing president.

Camera settings: 48mm lens, 1/125, f/5.6, ISO 500

Flash settings: A 1/16 B1/8 C1/32

SET UP

GROUP

Central Michigan University junior Elliot Talsma play fights junior Mars Smith in Moore Hall, Mount Pleasant, Michigan, Monday, November 17, 2025. Talsma and Smith had been anticipating fighting each other the entire class period. Camera Settings: 39mm lens, 1/250, f/5.0, ISO 400. Flash Settings: A 1/16 B1/8 C1/32

Diagram)

REFLECTION

INDIVIDUALS:

For my individual lacrosse shot I wanted to do something cutesy but still incorporate the stick and ball. I did not really go into this shoot with a plan I just wanted to play around and see what we could come up with. If I were to do this differently I possibly would have used a warm gel to try and give it a different vibe. I really like how her feet are positioned behind her head because it adds to the goofy element of the picture by in a way looking like bunny ears. I tried to position my lights where it was pointed almost directly at her in the way it would also make her eye color pop because she has a really nice eye color which I wanted to enhance. I got a few poses with Emma but I definitely liked this one the most and it just felt more casual and natural.

For my individual boxing shot I had this vision of water dripping from my models face and hair with just a little bit on his gloves but not like soaked. As soon as I saw Elliot walk in I knew that he would be perfect to execute it. It was a little bit difficult to get the water on his face just because he already had his hands wrapped and it took a minute to find something we could use to wet his face. I knew getting closer would intensify the feeling a little bit, so I of course tried wider shots but in the end preferred tight. After searching for about 10 minutes I found my inspiration shot on pinterest and wanted to try and use gels to give it more contrast and a deeper feeling. Overall I am really happy with the result I got. The only thing I would try to do is light his face more to possibly get rid of the shadow of his glove but since I wanted him to deal with water I went last which did not give me a whole lot of time before he switched rooms.

Group:

My group shot was definitely my favorite image to shoot because I knew they both wanted to fight eachother and I wanted to get more of an action shot. I only wish you could see their faces more but with boxing they cover their faces for safety reasons. I wanted for this one to be more dark and moody so I did not jack up the settings of the flash because it is also difficult when photographing a white and black person in the same image. I did not struggle with is as much just because I know how to work around it a ltitle bit more since I also struggle being a model for it.