Ooh to Be A Gooner ...

Somebody asked me before what my dream job would be. My reply was quick and simple: in-house photographer for my beloved Arsenal Football Club. I pictured it in my head ... taking photos of new signings, shooting portraits for the Annual, editorial type photos for the magazine and matchday programmes, etc. I was mostly likely smiling during the brief silence when I daydreamed all of that. I was then asked if I orgasmed from thinking about it. Actually, yes ... twice.

I am active member of the L.A. Gooners, which is the Los Angeles Arsenal Supporters club. I was tasked to shoot our initial shirts for the 2010-2011 season. The first shirt is a take on the logo of Arsenal Football Club. The second one features fan favorite, Emmanuel Eboue. There will be more as the season progresses.

You can support the cause and be in style by purchasing a shirt or two at: http://lagooners.bigcartel.com/




The shirts were shot on white seamless with the following lighting set-up:


My key light was a Calumet Travelite 750 with a Calumet Soft-Lite Reflector, on camera axis, and high. My two rim lights were Calumet Travelite 750s with strip softboxes. One was bigger than the other. There was no science to this, it's just that I only have two strip softboxes and they were not of the same size. For the background, I used an Alien Bee AB400 with a 20 degree grid. Camera-wise, it was a Canon EOS 5D Mark II with the Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 lens.

This was a quick, simple set-up which provides me with good separation, even with the white shirt on a white backdrop. The lighting was primarily for a portrait. In hindsight, I probably needed an on-axis fill such as a ringflash or a speedlite with an umbrella. The light fall-off is discernible around the chest area.

Anyhow, if you're an Angeleno or visiting Los Angeles and wish to catch a match, visit LAGooners.com or our Facebook page for our match fixtures and venues. You can also follow @LAGooners on Twitter. Enjoy the early morning pint (or two) and sing with us as we cheer on the mighty rip-roaring reds!

You can follow me on:
Twitter - geraldgonz
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GeraldGonzales.com
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