It started as a simple conversation with Tara, during a shoot we were doing for her fitness modeling portfolio. She informed me that that the contract for the Hotshots photography had yet to be filled. I told her that I was interested and a few days later I was sitting down with Nick St. John, Marketing and Promotions Director for the Boise Burn, to discuss everything involved with this project. For the scope of the project we wanted to achieve four different styles of images, from three separate shoots, for each of the dancers.
The first shoot was the costume session in which each dancer was showcased in their game attire; the objective being to get a great headshot, three-quarter and full-length that would be used to produce the team photo for the in-game program.
The goal for the second shoot was to achieve two disincentive looks at once. The first half of the shoot was a casual session in different street attire at different locations throughout the city. I wanted every dancer's session to be a little different. To achieve this, I spent roughly 14 hours prior to the shoot scouting locations throughout the city and surrounding area, at different times of day. Each session was started in simple grass and greenery style backgrounds, and progressed into downtown Boise to photograph on the brick and stone walls throughout the city. All of the casual shots were done in natural light so that I was able to shoot quickly and not have to carry excessive amounts of equipment.
After the first part of the session was completed and the dancers had relaxed, we setup for the second half. The second half of the session involved a studio-lit outdoor session that had a simple, but industrial background. The look I wanted to achieve would be fairly simple to do. However, the right location for the shoot was much more complex to find. I needed a building that I could photograph at any time as each of the dancer's sessions were at different times on different days. Another couple of hours of scouting and I found the perfect location. Buck's Bags building in downtown Boise had all of the perfect elements for the shoot: a nice grey toned wall with an asphalt ground surface that was facing in just the perfect direction so I could duplicate the lighting in the morning, afternoon and evening. After talking it over with the management and gaining permission to shoot around the building, everything was in place to do the shoot. We wanted to achieve a very sexy look for each of the dancers, so they were dressed in nothing but booty shorts and a football players jersey. We had the use of a helmet and an AF2 regulation football for props as well.
The third and final shoot was the swim wear session. Nick and I scouted a home up in the Boise foothills that had a pool with an incredible view overlooking Boise. The pool was heated, had an infinity plane, and several distinctive water features. One of the best features was on the backside of the infinity plane. The water from the pool flowed down over a rock wall to create a waterfall that the dancers could be placed in. From a photographers standpoint, the location was exactly what I needed for this shoot. The location was large enough to accommodate eleven different dancers for all of their individual sessions and a group team photo at the end of the day. The lighting would be fairly consistent throughout the day. I would have direct sunlight for the majority of the shoot, which is a little more difficult to shoot in, but with the proper planning was controlled to produce great results.
Darby and Carmen arrived and we started shooting at 7:00 in the morning. The sky was calm and clear. The pool laid in the shadow cast from the hilltops above Boise. It was a little brisk but the pool was hot enough that the girls could be comfortable.
Jessika, Becca and Catelina arrived at the shoot around 9:00am. The sun had just come up over the horizon and warmed up the patio. It was still low enough in the sky to use direct light and there were a few clouds in the sky to provide diffusion.
After taking a break for lunch, Shellie, Tara and Michelle R arrived for the third session of the day. The entire patio was in direct, overhead sunlight at this point of the shoot. It is a little tricky to work in this type of lighting, but I worked with Shellie on set a few months before the Hotshots' swimwear session to get the lighting setups ready for the day. Any time you have a large scale shoot coming up, it is a good idea to anticipate the conditions you will be working in and prepare accordingly. You will be much more happy with the results.
By the time that Michelle K, Savannah and Keesha arrived for the final individual session, the weather changed began to change dramatically. A storm began to push in from the south and the wind blew in with it. I'm actually a big fan of shooting in these type of dramatic conditions. The stormy sky added nice dramatic effects to the backgrounds and the blowing breeze added nice motion into the hair.
All of the girls came back at 7:30 that evening to do the group photo. During the initial planning for the shoot, Tara had a great idea of having all of dancers coordinated in white bikinis. I liked the concept and knew it would look incredible at this location.
A special thanks goes out to Nick St. John - Marketing and Promotions Director for the Boise Burn, Jamie Moore - Boise Burn Hotshots Director and Choreographer and all of the dancers on the 2009 Boise Burn Hotshots Dance Team for all of your help and hard work with this project. It has been a great time working with all of you. Go www.boiseburn.com to see more of the images from the shoot and get info about the Boise Burn and Hotshots dance team.
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