Every year, I go to a workshop to learn, improve and take my business or art to the next level. I’ve been doing this for years, and have gone to some incredible workshops and met some great people over the years. Since I have officially transitioned out of photographing weddings for good and am focusing more on sports (in addition, of course, to my families and seniors!), this year I decided to fly all the way to Ohio to participate in a sportraits workshop with Brad Deel and Dani Mack, two of the most talented photographers in this field. I found Brad a couple years ago while scrolling on TikTok, and immediately was impressed (and seriously intimidated) by what he was doing. What was it? Dramatic, bad ass, hero-style sports portraits for athletes of all ages.
I immediately wanted to jump into sports portraits and felt an intense draw to this style of photography, but it took me two years (!!!) to even buy the equipment necessary to create these images. Then, they sat in my garage for another 6 months before I worked up the courage to test them out. Over the last few months, I’ve slowly been using the equipment, testing out posing and lighting – and I have absolutely just fallen in love with it. So when Brad and Dani said they were hosting a workshop, I bought my ticket without giving myself time to let fear keep me from trying. I always tell my kids not to let the fear of failing keep them from doing things that scare them – and it was about time I took my own advice. I wish I was kidding about how long this process has taken me – but, it’s true.
So after spending the last year or so playing around with the equipment and watching YouTube videos and joining all the newsletter lists I could find from other people in this industry that are killing it, I flew out to Ohio for the workshop with about 20 other photographers.
IT WAS AMAZING.
I am so excited to share some of the photos I took, and I cannot wait to take what I learned and apply it to media days for local sports teams this fall. If you’re looking for a sports photographer for your team’s media day, let’s talk!
Why I Go To Photography Workshops
Workshops are so wildly important for photographers of any skill level or experience. Why? Because staying in one place creates a stagnant environment for a business, and therefore the business cannot grow or evolve. You never know what you might be missing out on, and getting the opportunity to meet and learn from people you respect is always a good thing. You never know what little nugget of information, albeit for business, technical skill, marketing or anything else, might end up changing the course of your business. If you ever have the opportunity to attend a workshop, I definitely recommend it!
Brad Deel Sports Portraits Workshop Review
It’s been so, so long since I’ve felt so creative and challenged, and the fear of totally sucking turned into what we call “tackling fuel” in our family (Waterboy reference, anyone?). I learned so much in a couple of days about the technical side of sport portrait photography. We were lucky to have several athletes from multiple sports spend two days with us, both inside and outside. The football guys were in full gear in that intense Ohio summer heat and humidity, and were total troopers.
Brad and Dani were complete open books – we could ask anything and everything. We could get immediate feedback on ways to tweak the images we were creating, and we could test out all of their equipment to see what we could create with different lighting scenarios. They brought all the cool things perfect for sportraits – multiple lighting sources, atmosphere fog, grids, gels for bold colors, and several other little tricks to create magic. When both of my cameras malfunctioned with their equipment, Brad didn’t hesitate to let me use his camera so I could continue to have hands-on training. The next day, our workshop host Angelo McComis, brought one of his own camera bodies for me to use! Brad shoots Sony and Angelo shoots Canon, so I got to really test out and see the difference between all that gear, too. Sorry Nikon, but Sony definitely took the cake! Canon still sucks for me to use though, haha!
All in all, the Brad Deel sportraits workshop was a great experience and one I would do again. Yep, you read that right! There were actually a couple photographers in the group who were coming back for another workshop with Brad and Dani! That just goes to prove how valuable mentoring with the two of them is, I think.
Workshop Sponsors
Big thanks to the following companies who sponsored this workshop – we couldn’t have done it without you!
Football Visors – NXTRND
Eye Black – Swag Stick
Lighting – Pro Light Mods & Westcott
