Lighting Setup for Track and Field Photography

Lighting  •  Photography Tips

In this short video we follow photographer Zak Hendrik as he shots a group of athletes for an Indiana University poster.

Some of the key points of Zak’s photo shoot are:

• Using four lights, two frontal lights including a ring light and lights to either side of the subjects to add some rim lighting.
• Using a predominately low angle, and underexposing the ambient light to create a dark but well defined sky, with the athletes being more artificially lit, a technique often found in sportswear advertising.
• He shoots the team both as a group, and individually, giving him the possibility to create a group composite in the post production.

Track and Field Photography

The final images combine the power and athleticism of the subjects, with a great sense of fun.