The whole idea and experience of team picture day became worn out a long time ago.
Does anybody really like team picture day? Honestly.
Coaches often don't because team picture day takes away from a commodity coaches value highly - practice time.
Players often can't stand it. They'd rather be playing. Or goofing off. Anything but standing or kneeling in front of a stranger with a camera telling them to "stand like this" or "hold the ball like that."
What, truly, do players get out of team picture day? I'd argue for many, if the photography is mediocre, then it's nothing.
Then there are us parents.
Tell me if this scene is familiar? You child is running around with his or her teammates, getting dirt and grass stains all over their uniform.
I can sense your frustration and stress-levels rising from here.
This is just one of the reasons why I wanted to toss the old experience of team portraits into a trash can and reinvent it.
Today, I want to share with you some of the ways team portrait experiences with Creative Sports Photography go above and beyond the old way of doing things.
That way, team picture day actually means something. To the coaches. To the players. To you the parents.
Let's dive in.
Multiple images of your family's athlete
The way it was - each player would get just one portrait. Just one. Just like the one from the year before.
Not with CSP.
This is a creative endeavor, my friends. So let's get ... creative.
To the best of our ability, every player gets multiple portrait looks. It could be how they stand. It could be wide angle shots and tightly cropped portrait. It could be horizontal and vertical.
Smiles. Game faces.
Either way, you as the parent should have a choice. And the players should feel seen, appreciated, respected, as if ... hear me out ... the experience of having their portrait taken is about them.
You see the images before you buy
Seriously. What is with the worn out idea of filling out paper forms and handing over money before you ever see a single image of your child or teen?
Um, last I checked, we left 1990 behind a long time ago.
Forget paper forms that can get lost. Forget paying for prints before you ever see an image.
When you pay for prints before the photographer has even taken their camera out, why would the photographer put in maximum effort? They already have what they want.
CSP believes in incentives. Like the incentive to work hard and create images you actually want to buy.
Imagine that, haha. A photographer who's motivated to create stunning images you want to have.
And ordering prints and digital products is super easy. It's done right online from the collection webpage and delivered to your door.
Select. Click. Done.
A photography style that matches your team's character
You may have noticed that Creative Sports Photography has a certain portrait style compared to the more traditional team picture days you might be used to.
When I look at the style of photography I received during my playing days in the 1990s and compare it to today, I find that nothing has actually changed.
It's boring.
So I went to work. I wanted to perfect a lighting process and style that was bold, dynamic, elite, just like the athletes and the teams/clubs I work with.
I aim for players and parents to react a certain way. When I can get you to say something like "Oh Wow!" after I show you the images, then I'm doing my job.
You and the athlete in your family deserve a team photographer who puts in the kind of effort that respects everything it takes to compete in youth and high school sports today.
You deserve a photographer who understands what it means for you to be your son or daughter's No. 1 fan.
Team picture day should reflect that. It's CSP's mission.
Creative Sports Photography is the premier athlete portrait service in Central Pennsylvania. Based in Lancaster and available anywhere, CSP's owner and chief image maker Dave Pidgeon delivers bold, dynamic, elite portrait experiences for athletes of all ages and levels, from T-Ball to pro. You can contact Dave by clicking here.