Some deep thoughts from a big picture thinker. 

Hindsight truly is 20/20. SO, 15 years ago, I coined the phrase sportraits, and if I would have been a smart man, I would have copyrighted righted that phrase to my personal brand of photography. Yet a failure on me. IN the past few months, I have seen photographers replicating some of what I used to do, and still do from time to time and they are coining it as sportraits. Good for them. My talking point behind this is from a positive perspective and I do love to see other photographers get cred. What bothers me is being the guy that took athletes and created dramatic imagery based on what they love must have been ahead of its time when I was making a push in that niche. Sadly, it's just now catching on and it makes me wonder. DO I get back on the train and highlight what I can do? It's a question and a decision. 

The Begining

During my infancy in this, I kept it simple, but progressed in development, as I wanted the look to be edgy and represent what the athlete goes through to become a player of distinction.

BE LEGENDARY Je'ne-5224

I think the biggest part of any portrait image that displays the truth about growth in sports is always in the eyes. There is sacrifice and a deep motivation that drives people who are focused on a goal. If you ever note that once an athlete achieves the crowning jewel of their sport you notice that future portraits tells the stories in the eyes of those who reached the top. I would go as far as to say sometimes you even see a smirk or a smile in the subject. 

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What sets off any Sportrait is the emotion. How do we capture emotion? Most will tell you it comes easy, but that's not truthful. The reality is no one really likes to be photographed. When I say that, I mean people are uncomfortable in front of a lens. The key variables here are in front of the lens and behind the lens. In short, the person behind the lens has to do the work. Make the connection, make the subject comfortable. How do you ask? I would say it's a trade secret, but the fact is you just must be a human being. You are photographing a human being. Try putting your ego aside and making a connection with the subject. 

THE HERO@2x

No matter the subject matter, the point of this post is to simply make a statement about taking the subject and putting the subject in their element. 

The concept, the layout, the connection, the story communicated is what this is about. 

Some things to note. The images here, although acceptable, do not really display what is possible when doing this style of composition. I will be looking to do some images very soon that display what is really possible. 

I like Horses. I think it's time to take a shot of someone on horseback.... 

Reach out if interested.