Lighting NHL Jerseys for a Commercial Photo Shoot

Lighting  •  Photography Tips

Photographing NHL jerseys may sound like a dream gig to some. But when photographer Eric Levin was contacted to do a shoot for Reebok, he learned that this kind of shoot is both highly technical and nerve wrecking. In the following behind the scenes video, you are invited to join Levin as he walks through the approach he took to tackle the job:

One of the trickiest parts of photographing the different hockey jerseys was ensuring that the lighting remained consistent throughout the shoot. Since each of the jerseys was a different color and design, the task proved to be rather difficult. Here is a lighting diagram of the setup Levin worked out and used for the series:

After setting up the softbox and adding a Photoflex grid for a fill light, Levin quickly added two hair lights behind the model and a strong directional light across the front of the jersey. Using a Nikon D800 outfitted with a 24-70mm f2.8 lens, Levin went to work.

Even zoomed in and cropped out, you can see the lighting setup created a dramatic look in the photos, which works well with this style of commercial sports photography. The images turned out great, the client was happy, and, despite its occasional tediousness, everyone had a good time on set.