Features Four Seasons Things to Consider The Rf Cookbook: Bambi Cantrell The Rf Cookbook: Larry Peters Columns Insight/On the Cover First Exposure: ApplePowerbook G4 Tech Review New Technology Departments Industry News Problems and Solutions Education Spotlight   Archives

Rangefinder Magazine
November 2002

The Rf Cookbook: Team Tactics of Larry Peters by Jen Bidner
Peters’ Sales Tip: Give It Free to Gain Access

“We’re not the studio that has the school’s photography contract but we offer to do the team shots (like the basketball photograph above) for free. The school then uses the images in calendars and posters, and even sells advertising space on these products. In exchange, we are allowed to market our services to these students,” explains Larry Peters.

Giving away a $500 session might sound like a bold move, but Larry Peters Studios attract a great deal of the London, Ohio senior photography business in this manner. In fact, the studio photographs virtually every varsity sport in the area.

“When the students are willing to have fun with the idea, we get the best results,” says Peters. One of his favorites was the girls’ soccer team, in which they were all on the field dressed in black cocktail dresses—with the tagline, “Real Women Play Soccer.” Likewise, the Shamrock’s Swim Team was digitally made to “walk on water” with the slogan “These Rocks Don’t Sink!”

Students that are impressed with the digital team shot are likely to come into the studios for a personal version, such as the montage of Heather at right, taken by Larry Peter’s son-in-law, Brian Killian.

“Dublin Basketball Team” photographed by Larry Peters.

Peters’ Dublin basketball team shot, which won a merit in competition, was shot on Kodak VHC film with a Hasselblad camera and an 80mm lens. Peters set up his camera at half court and lined up the students parallel to the film plane. He then prefocused the camera and locked it in place.

The scene was lit with two Westcott umbrellas and Photogenic flash units. The lights were bounced into the umbrellas for reflective illumination, from a distance of almost 60 feet away. He carefully metered across the whole line of students, and tweaked the lighting until it was even all the way across. The court lights were left on, but their illumination was insignificant to the overall exposure.

The students were then shot separately and later combined in the computer by Brian Killian. Today, Larry and Brian do this type of shot with a digital camera back because they can automatically use “pixel registration” techniques to quickly piece together the collage. To make this task easier, they lock the camera on a tripod, and neither the exposure or focus was changed. Larry now uses a Phase One H10 back for his Hasselblad, which yields a quality 18MB file.

	“Heather” photographed by Brian Killian.

The Heather composite used similar computer wizardry, but the integration of positive and negative pictures adds flair to the image. This was then anchored with a more traditional black-and-white “glamour” shot of Heather’s eyes. The end result was a balanced, fanciful image that reflected the young lady’s zest for life.

Larry Peters will be a featured speaker at WPPI 2003 to be held at BALLY’S Las Vegas. The title of his program will be “The ‘Elite’ Senior Session.”