A heavyweight lifter of Olympic stature is naturally, quite strong. Like, superhero realm strong. World record strong. When I was sent to photograph Olympian Shane Hamman for the National Geographic, prior to the 2000 Sydney Games, I was a bit nonplussed. How exactly to show, in one photo, how explosively powerful this man is? He holds every American weightlifting record in his class.
It all comes from the legs, and the glutes. Doing my research, I saw a notation that he could leap straight up three feet. Just pop in the air. He could also do a standing back flip. Perhaps, in mid flight, this enormous man would make for something of an unusual photo.
The backgrounds at the lifting center were drab, so I swung an American flag in there. It is backlit with four strobes bounced off the wall behind, trying for even light as best i could. Front light is simple–one big source. Then, the question I always ask prior to asking an athlete to do something extraordinary and physical. “How many of these do you have in you?” His reply was about 6-8. Okay, cool. Top of the jump, flash! Don’t miss that apex of the jump, where he is is virtually motionless, for a small slice of a second.
Next, try to indicate how fast all that power has to move.
Go black for background. Rim him with red light flashes, but leave the modeling lights on, and make sure they don’t bleed up to his face at the end of the move. They need to stay on his body as he lifts. Attach red bicycle lights to the weights. Locate a hard light to camera right for his face. Shutter on bulb as he travels the weight upwards in the explosive move known as the snatch. Top of the lift, fire the flashes.
Two solutions, very different from one another. Geographic went with the flag pic. Which would you have published?
More tk….
Love your work!
Nice article