Caged Competitor

The season may be over, but this is one baseball player who remains serious about his game.

This is one of my favorites from a recent “senior portrait” shoot. Baseball was an important part of this young man’s high school career so they wanted some photos of him in his uniform.

The basic idea for this shot (ball player looking through the fence) was brought to me by the subject’s parent who saw a similar shot on Pinterest and wanted us to try it. During the shoot, we made a quick trip to a nearby, small town ball field to grab a few shots. I believe the version she showed me was in color but, while I was working on it, I thought a gritty, monochrome style would best suit the players mood.

There are a lot of things that make this a favorite for me.  First, the general mood of the shot. You can easily imagine a story behind this image. (In fact, several stories.)

I also like the detail of the ball, glove and uniform. Don’t miss other interesting touches…like the bruises on the player’s elbow (An element that adds to the story), the tufts of grass on the unkempt infield, the way the light poles and the wisps of clouds frame the photo.  (I wish I would have thought to throw a bat on the field in the background.)

The one aspect I question…  Is the fence too distracting?  Of course, it’s important to this scene, but  I think it is almost too symmetrical around the facial features. I didn’t try to get it that way, it’s just the stance he took.  I think it might seem more natural if the fence didn’t intersect right on the bridge of the nose and chin.  If it was just offset a little to one side or another it might seem more natural, less posed.  Of course, now I might be just nit-picking.  What do you think?  (If it didn’t occur to you before I mentioned it, than it is just me being the nit-picky perfectionist.)

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