What are the different creative portrait experiences CSP offers athletes?

You are unique, so is your athlete journey, and your portrait experience oughta be unique, too.

It oughta be customized to reflect accurately who you are, how you see yourself, and what your needs are.

Your athlete portrait experience should be customized to reflect exactly who you are.

That's why I developed four creative options for athlete portraits because, like all athletes, portrait experiences are not all the same.

And no matter what option you choose, you can expect to have an elite experience and come away with the kinds of images only pros with personal brands and huge endorsements have enjoyed.

Let's go over those four options, describe what the experiences are like, and what you receive in the final images.

This way you can be sure you're getting the right athlete portraits for your needs:

On-location athlete portraits

This is the one portrait experience most are familiar with.

It involves coming to your home field, court, gym, or pool, and finding all kinds of different spots to create your portraits.

The idea is to represent you in the place where you have made so many memories and have bonded with your teammates.

Let's face it - that field, court, gym or pool is very much like home.

And I'm an expert in this kind of portraiture, creatively using all the features and character of a location, along with dramatic lighting, to create stop-scrolling-now-and-look-at-this kind of image.

Choose this option if you want to convey the joy of playing sport in equal measure with who you are as a competitor. This option is for those who want to carry with them the memories of their playing days in a specific place because they have meant so much.

In-studio athlete lifestyle portraits

Next up is in-studio athlete lifestyle portraits.

The first part of this is pretty straightforward.

I set up my indoor studio - a dark gray backdrop with dramatic studio lighting - to create this dynamic, bold, elite look to the portraits.

We can even play with color gels to up the creativity.

The second part, though, is where the magic comes from.

Youth and teen athletes these days are undoubtedly living an athlete lifestyle. The off-season skills camps, the tournaments, school and club teams - it's a serious commitment.

In-studio athlete lifestyle portraits are meant to reflect the heart and soul of a young athlete in a compelling way that flirts with elegance.

The session will feature you in both your playing uniform but also how you look during off-days.

Choose this option if you want to convey maturity, soul, introspection, style, and sophistication.

Off-season training portraits

This one is probably the most unique of the options because it is so specifically timed and the subject matter is a portrait alternative.

The idea behind off-season training portraits is to showcase your commitment to getting better, to achieving more, to excellence.

Young athletes would choose this option because they can use these images as part of their social media strategy.

Want to impress a potential coach or recruiter? Imagine them seeing you in a creative portrait flexing with weights or ropes, or running sprints, or doing pushups or squats.

There's sweat, muscle definition, intensity. And the way I use light and location, oh my, we can create some seriously amazing training portraits.

Choose this option because you have an athlete social media strategy (and yeah, even teenagers have the opportunity to build an athlete brand), you're ambitious about making the next level of competition (i.e., scholarships), and you're also mindful of future NIL opportunities.

Casual on-location athlete portraits

This is Creative Sports Photography's unique spin on what many would recognize as *high school senior portraits.

*And no, you don't have to be a high school senior to take advantage of this option

This athlete portrait option is about representing who you are as both an athlete and as a teenager with off-field interests.

I know how much you have to commit to sports to achieve excellence. But you are more than just someone who throws a ball or catches a ball or blocks a shot or swims three different kinds of strokes.

Maybe you love hanging out in the city or grabbing a latte at a favorite coffeeshop or have affection for a particular wildflower field.

You can dress casually, dress formally, or even wear jeans and your jersey in those locations.

The creative possibilities are endless. And you can count on me to bring the same creative lighting and portrait techniques to casual on-location athlete portraits as I do all the other options.

Choose this option because you are a multi-faceted human being with a lot to share in the world, from who you are as a competitor to your favorite hobbies to who you are as a person who deserves to be respected for everything you are.

There they are, the four creative portrait options from Creative Sports Photography for young athletes and competitors.

I'll work with you and understand your needs right from the start so you can pick the right option.

Or the right two or three options. I mean, why stick with one? Just saying in case you're interested ;-)

For more on athlete portrait experiences, including pricing and products, check out the page here.

Dave Pidgeon is the owner of and chief image maker at Creative Sports Photography, Central and Southeast Pennsylvania's premier athlete portrait service. You can contact him by email at dave@creativesportsphotography.com.