Many players ask "What's the difference between the team photo and a team poster?" Good question, and depending whom you ask, you may get different views. My response is always, who am I serving and for what purpose? As a sports team photographer for any high school, I am commissioned to photograph team photos that can be used for the yearbook, for newspaper articles, and for team submissions to the State Tournament brochures. Therefore, the team photos are more traditional and formal--that will be suitable for parents as well.
The poster, however, serves a different purpose. Often, players request something unique and different, which reflects the spirit or personality of the team. I believe this comes from the seniors of any team, and therefore, I try to feature the seniors in a poster idea. It tends to be more spontaneous and edgy, and I try to employ more creative and fun elements into the composition, without going overboard. This artistic approach gets tricky at times, as everyone interprets art differently, though when capturing the spirit of the seniors successfully, can be quite powerful. Here are some samples from this fall's teams so far. Enjoy!