Volleyball photos + an issue

Sorry, forgot to add my main input. Good job on the shots.

just imagine if this was the uniform LOL

http://www.crazywebsit​e.com …ndra-Pires-Butt-Pat-1.jpg

Good thing her kid isnt a competition cheerleader!!!! The uniforms there are getting smaller and smaller!!!

Geez she is crazy.

You did the right thing, congrats on keeping a cool head.

I like volleyball uniforms and don't find them suggestive at all.

williambeeler wrote in post #8356056
Sorry, forgot to add my main input. Good job on the shots.

I read this quickly and I thought it said "good job on the shorts" lol.

she should bring this problem up with the volleyball federation or whatever. maybe they will change the rule to: NO SPANDEX. ONLY SWEATPANTS.

I googled "volleyball +spandex" and this is the first thing that shows up:

http://www.youtube.com​/watch?v=JFcRC1D51G8

The idea of the "dress code" in volleyball has very little to do with any school system. Volleyball is primarily a "club" sport, like soccer, where the players who participate at high levels get the majority of their playing time for their club teams, not their school teams. My daughter has played for 5 years. Her school season is three months long -- her club season is 7 months long. Once these girls get to the high school level, they may be playing year round -- in Louisville, the state championship girls team got ONE DAY off from their transition to club ball, and two weeks off when they transitioned back to high school ball. There are very few sports that demand that level of commitment to constant COMPETITION. I can only think of soccer, and for most kids, the rules of the game change -- winter is indoor, spring summer, fall is outdoors. Hockey may be similar as well, but its not a school sport in the south.

Consequently, when the asics rep comes to call on the school board, the buying decisions with regards to product offering have been made NOT by the athletic departments, but by the club directors. Like club directors in soccer, they wield tremendous influence and huge budgets -- our club purchased over 700 uniforms for the 2009 season, which put it on par with the local high school system. And we buy new every year -- no recycling.

Bottom line is mom is stuck. I would guess, from the photos, that these girls are 12-14 years old. They feel like club shots, not school team shots. If I'm right, Mom is dropping anywhere from $1000 - $8000 a year to have her daughter participate in a sport that has a dress code that she is not comfortable with. Nothing she can do about it, except pull her daughter. And if shes got a ton of time invested in this, thats a tough call to make. This sport might be the difference between a college diploma for her daughter. Put yourself in Mom's shoes for a moment.

The key to this is in the OP. "Many" parents hired you to shoot their daughters. Shoot them. Don't shoot anyone else. If they object to photos, remove them. Most volleyball action is shot player by player -- group shots usually feature net work, and these girls aren't probably playing above the net yet anyway. So it should not be hard to limit your shots to the action at hand. If Stacy's mom objects to pictures of Tina, put Tina in a separate gallery. Its not that hard -- its just keywording. In the end, its your job to deliver memories -- and if you customer doesn't like the memories, then you haven't delivered.

Listen to your customer on this one.

One other thing -- most of the girls who have been playing for a while DON'T have issues with the shorts. It's the parents who do.

mattograph wrote in post #8363463
...

One other thing -- most of the girls who have been playing for a while DON'T have issues with the shorts. It's the parents who do.

I don't agree with this entire post, but this is absolutely spot on!!

TDF

HotShots wrote in post #8364032
I don't agree with this entire post, but this is absolutely spot on!!

TDF

Thanks. What don't you agree with? I'm hardly ever wrong......

Thanks for the responses, everyone. Some very thoughtful people here on this (kinda stupid) topic.

All in all I can somewhat see the concern, I guess. I have to admit that when these girls wear that spandex, sometimes there's no denying that you can clearly see the shape of their vagina coming through. But the focus of the pictures is the sport and the game. But I'd have to imagine that one of those girls would be horrified if boys in her class had access to these pictures.

So I feel that I'm at least sympathetic, but obviously the issue should not be with me (who's been hired to do a job).

OH, and since this is a photography board, after all, back on topic with a few more pictures:

Its obviously not your fault that they girls wear the shorts that they do. But you are the one paid to deliver the memories, and if the customer thinks of nothing but malibu barbie every time she sees the shots, well that is a problem for you.

And with respectful candor, I give you serious props for nice color, light, and noise control. Shooting gyms is the pits, although this one seems to be better than most. On the flip side, these shots aren't terribly compelling sports photos, either. There isn't alot of drama or action to them. And frankly, the third one looks like a shot of girls butts. The coach is so hidden and seems to lack the animation that makes for a compelling bench shot.

I'm laughing so hard I'm crying.

mattograph wrote in post #8363463
The key to this is in the OP. "Many" parents hired you to shoot their daughters. Shoot them. Don't shoot anyone else. If they object to photos, remove them. Most volleyball action is shot player by player -- group shots usually feature net work, and these girls aren't probably playing above the net yet anyway. So it should not be hard to limit your shots to the action at hand. If Stacy's mom objects to pictures of Tina, put Tina in a separate gallery. Its not that hard -- its just keywording. In the end, its your job to deliver memories -- and if you customer doesn't like the memories, then you haven't delivered.

mattograph wrote in post #8364093
Thanks. What don't you agree with? I'm hardly ever wrong......

This paragraph is the one I have the most problem with. Please keep in mind -- I'm not saying your wrong, I'm just not sure I agree.

When I have shot only select players at an event or game, 100% of the time I have a parent question why there are no pictures of their child. They may not have paid me up front to shoot them, but they COULDN'T pay on the back end because I had nothing.

If Stacy's mom objects to pictures of Tina, then Stacy's mom can go jump in a lake. If Tina's mom objects, then we've got a basis for discussion. If Stacy's mom is complaining about another players pictures, I tend to believe she's not nearly as concerned about the pictures as she is that the other player got 30 seconds more playing time, or had too many fouls, or some other stupid thing. Complaining about the pictures might be the only way she can even the field.

It is our job to deliver memories, but only within the realm of reality. If they don't want to remember the spankies, I can't photoshop sweats on them (well, maybe I could, but I'm not going to). If they don't want to remember the bad call by the ref or the missed free throw at the end, or a dropped pass in the end zone, that's not my problem. I shoot what I'm given. They can like it or not. They can buy it or not. But, I have done my job of delivering the memories as they happened.

haveing said all that, my daughter is a gymnast. I am hyper sensitive to TRULY inappropriate pictures. but, I have found after learning the timing of the sport, I am getting fewer and fewer pictures that have to be deleted because of this type of issue.

I hope that all made sense. It's been a long day and I'm having brain cramps.

TDF

** By the way, to the OP -- I love the pictures. Job well done!!