As fans of the club will know, Tranmere launched a new kit in the summer ahead of the new league season. With a new manufacturer and main sponsor, there was a lot of excitement and curiosity ahead of the release of the photos.
In mid-June I was asked if I’d be willing able to do the photoshoot for the home and away kits, which was never something I’d turn down. I had never done any sort of studio or fashion shooting, so it was a new thing for me to try, plus I got to see the new kits quicker. A win-win scenario.
My setup
I was fairly confident that I had everything needed for the kit launch photoshoot with the exception of lighting, which I will come back to shortly. The primary camera would be the Canon 1D MK IV, with an old Canon 400D as a back-up in the bottom of my bag in case things went wrong.
When it came to lenses, I took everything out of habit, just in case, however I would be aiming to shoot with either the Canon 50mm EF 1.4, or the Canon 17-40mm F4.5. The latter of those I had purchased the very same week having been contemplating which Canon wide angle lens to buy for some time.
I also took my Yongnuo Speedlite YN560-III for lighting purposes, however I was concerned this would not provide enough light. To counter this, I ordered a continuous lighting studio kit from Amazon, made by Neewer. This would also come in useful for other projects, such as product photography and any portrait work – another photography discipline I’d love to try.
However, one pretty significant issue arose shortly before leaving for the shoot. Having waited patiently for the required lighting to come back in to stock, and then order it, it did not arrive when due. So, I would be solely reliant on the Speedlite for my lighting. Not ideal, to say the least.
Photographing the kit launch
Tranmere were providing a back-drop for the shoot, which was black. Unfortunately, their lighting used on past shoots was broken, so that was out of order as well. The location was one of the suites at Prenton Park and the kit would be ‘modelled’ by first team players James Norwood and Adam Mekki.
As the club already had an idea in their mind of how they wanted the shoot to look, Christine from Tranmere positioned the players for the photos. The two kits looked smart, and the shot got underway. However, it was soon obvious that the light was indeed going to be an issue.
The decision was made to turn the shoot around, opening window blinds and using the natural light from the summer afternoon to provide most of the lighting. When added to the illumination of the flash gun, we just about had enough to get the job done.
The shoot was enjoyable, and it’s always amusing to see and hear the banter between footballers. James and Adam only paused from giving each other stick to give it to Christine instead, or new signing Andy Cook who was watching from the back of the room. The few members of staff allowed in for the shoot were banned from taking photos of it on their phones due to the confidentiality of the kits at this point. So you can imagine how many threats were made, jokingly, but the players to post pictures on to social media.
The final shots
The shoot probably took around one hour in total, and there was a decent selection of photographs at the end of it. The 17-40mm lens was used for the vast majority, wide enough to fit both players in from the close range at which I was shooting from (due to needing to be in close proximity to the windows).
Given the woefully poor lighting, I was satisfied overall with the amount of photos that were usable from the shoot. As with anything in photography, you learn lessons every time you do a job, and so take this with you to the next shoot you do.
Check out some of the images below (including one of the ‘outtakes’), and if you’d like to purchase the kits, head on over to www.trfcshop.co.uk.
