Nov. 9, 2011
What comes to mind when you think of wardrobe changes, lighting, back drops, a crew of photographers, makeup, direction and props?
The Vanderbilt baseball team? Oh, good, because that’s what I first thought as well.
When you get your tickets and posters and schedule cards for the Vanderbilt men’s baseball team this year, you probably don’t think twice about the photos on them.
The straight dead stare of determination on Tony Kemp’s face as he prepares to steal a base. Kevin Ziomek’s eyes boring down on a batter as he prepares to throw a 100 mph fastball across the plate. Anthony Gomez coiled to unwind on a pitch at the plate. Drew Fann crouched, mitt out and cage on.
They look every bit the serious baseball players they are on the diamond.
John Russell and the rest of the Vanderbilt photography staff did a fantastic job of capturing just what makes this team so special.
There’s a lot that goes into the making of those images, and if you watch the video, you know just how much fun these kinds of productions can be. And how hard it is to keep a straight face.
The full-day adventure took place in the baseball classroom, which for the purpose of the day was converted into a studio. The team cycled through the production line of white button-down shirts, jackets, uniform tops, and hats for their headshots, with each player taking four photos from a range of looks.
But the real fun began when the “hero” shoot started. The upperclassmen let loose their personalities as they showed off the different uniforms and posed their way through photos. One by one, they each struggled to keep a straight face as their teammates did their best to draw a laugh.
We couldn’t keep a straight face either, to be honest. Thankfully, we didn’t have to.
