All about Creative Sports Photography's new video service

College coaches can't be every where. Stats can't show personality, character, and leadership. And highlight clips don't show maturity.

Video in the college recruiting process might be how coaches see the athlete in your family, but they don't reveal who your son or daughter is and what makes them the person/competitor they are.

How can coaches and recruiters at the next level understand if your family's athlete is a good fit? Highlight videos might help, but our family's athletes are more than just some shaky highlight video.

Video is a challenging endeavor for anyone. Most highlight videos I've seen are often shaky, poorly lit, offered with little or no context, and they represent a moment.

Your athlete is more than a moment.

That's why I created the Be Elite video option as part of the Signature Portrait Experience.

Let's dive in to how the feature videos work and why they matter.

This is your story. How you tell it matters.

The Be Elite video can help with recruiting now, and be a family treasure later.

What your son or daughter is doing right now is building an athletic legacy, even as time moves faster than we parents like. Soon enough, these playing days come to an end.

The aim here is to create a 3-to-5 minute feature video that tells your athlete's story - where they are, where they've been, and where they want to go.

Coaches don't want to just see plays. They want to see character, mindset, perseverance, and whether you're a good fit for their program.

You'll have an advantage with these videos.

The video functions as both an introduction to your athlete and an in-depth look at their character, personality, and so on.

Send it to coaches. Upload it to social media. Feature it on recruiting profiles.

Give yourself an edge.

You can also use these videos for fundraisers. Imagine sharing this as you try to raise money for an overseas competitive trip or to nab funds that are required by many clubs and semi-pro teams just to try out.

The video also will live on as a legacy item for you, their parent, their No. 1 fan. Imagine if your parents had a video like this from your playing days. What would that mean to them and to you?

It's here for you and your family's athlete through Be Elite and Creative Sports Photography.

The three options - showcase, elite, legacy

Be Elite portrait clients have a choice of three different video options.

The top option is called LEGACY, and it's the champ, the full-picture. Imagine having compelling b-roll footage from your athlete's portrait session, strung together with video highlights from a game, and packaged with interview clips. It's the complete narrative.

This video is an example of a Legacy film:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubruVO7lDBA

The next option is called ELITE. You'll have a video that combines interview clips with your athlete and b-roll footage from our portrait session to give you the Wow Factor.

Check out this example of an Elite video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3J6isRR52Ko

Both Legacy and Elite options are filmed in 4K.

The last option is called SHOWCASE. This basic option includes slides of the portraits we make during the Be Elite portrait session as well as voice clips from our interview.

Making your athlete feel comfortable in front of camera

Parents are often concerned about their teen athletes and how comfortable they feel when they're the center of attention.

A lot of teens are shy or introverted. Some are outgoing. Others hate attention, while the rest have no issue with the spotlight.

Either way, my goal is to help them feel comfortable and enjoy the interview part of the Be Elite experience.

I'm a veteran journalist, having spent more than a decade as a newspaper and magazine writer. Helping someone tell their story and do so in a compelling way is a specialty, a skillset I've been fortunate to have.

I know what to ask and how to ask. I know how to make a teenage athlete feel seen and heard by someone who's a fan, not interrogated by an adult.

If you're ready to Be Elite and take your image to the next level, head on over to the Be Elite page to check out all the details.

Dave Pidgeon is the owner and chief image maker at Creative Sports Photography, a premier visual production service for athletes. CSP is home to Be Elite - Signature Portrait Experiences for Young Athletes. Dave is based in Lancaster, Pa., and available anywhere.