08/23/11

The instructions from my boss were all too easy: “come up with a cool photo for the basketball poster.” I was thrown off for a second because I was given free rein to come up with and shoot whatever I wanted. This presented an interesting predicament in that it was good because I’d have a creative voice in the entire process; Not good because  “what if they don’t like the final product (gulp).”

I decided a couple days before the shoot that I wanted to be in the Don Haskins Center with all the lights off, but the spot lights used for concerts up and the team standing on center court. On the day of the assignment I also decided I wanted a prop. I had never seen the basketball team incorporate an actual Miner Pick, so with the help from the football equipment department, I borrowed the same one they use at games for the shoot.

Now for how it went down….there is only one Senior on the team, Gabriel McCulleym so he was an obvious choice to be in the middle and holding the Pick. Gabe is easy to work with because he has such an easygoing personality, so giving him instructions was simple I shot the team in various ways including from the floor, from a ladder and finally from the catwalk. I also shot Gabe by himself holding the Pick for a photo I thought would be interesting (SEE THE FRONT PAGE OF MY SITE). Ultimately, I was quite happy with the shoot because I think we made something completely different from past posters. In fact, the UTEP media relations later told me this was the first time a Pick was used with the basketball team and although I hadn’t seen the finished poster, my bosses were also happy with the photographs. Perhaps the photo could have been more interesting if each of the players were holding a Pick, but then again, maybe not. Or perhaps I’ll try it out next year……but shhhh on that.

Below is the link to the story on the UTEP football poster that used my photos that one first place in a national competition.

Preseason College Football Rankings 2011: Top 50 Teams by Schedule Posters