Naperville Senior Photographer | NVHS Winter Athletes

Ok, we all know I’m behind on my blogging, so don’t be surprised that I’m just now getting to show the winter athletes for Nequa Valley High School‘s Athletes of the Year!  Granted, cheer is year round, so we decided to put them in winter since winter has fewer sports.  I really am honored to be their official photographer for this program.  I love being an athlete photographer, and also being a Naperville senior photographer, it was just kismet.  And working with the best of the best, well, it’s pretty awesome.  Every athlete I worked with was so nice.  It has to be a little crazy to come into the studio and see a big green screen and have no real idea as to how it is going to look in the end. Yes, every image here was shot on green screen and composited later.  It lets me be more creative.  “You just have to trust me” is something I say to all of them.  Thankfully, they did…or at least pretended to. 😉

Let’s start off with our wrestler.  He is going to wrestle Division three at Case Western Reserve University in the fall and plans to major in Biomedical Engineering.  His mom enjoyed watching me work because she really wanted a great picture of him.  Needless to say, they were very happy with the collage I created for him.

Next up is something different I did for bowling. I love the vibrant colors and almost vintage poster look.  This young lady comes from a family of bowlers.  When I took this picture, she was still deciding on colleges and hopes to bowl for a Division one school and major in Mechanical Engineering.

 

Next up is girls basketball.  I LOVE this picture and knew what we were going to do right away.  I love her expression here.  While this athlete is putting away her ball for college to pursue social work and hopefully one day travel the world and work with children in need, I know she will continue to demonstrate all the amazing qualities that got her nominated.

 

And then we have boys swimming.  I told him I wanted to do something like an advertisement.  I wanted to make it start, edgy, and a little sexy.  Thankfully, both he and his mother were totally on board.  And during the reveal, so were all of the girls. LOL  This athlete also plays water polo – just can’t get him out of the water!  This fall, he will continue his swimming career at UIC and hopefully major in English.

Next up, we have girls gymnastics.  Now, the image I revealed in school is not this one.  I really liked this one, but I went with another.  But I thought I would show this fun one, instead.  She will not be continuing her gymnastics career but looks forward to studying engineering at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

 

Next up, we have boy’s basketball.  The original image I had in my head didn’t work out, but this guy was a sport and came out for a second session with me to create this dynamic slam dunk.  He plans on staying local and attending North Central College and earn a Master in Business Management Degree with a focus in sports management.

Last, but certainly not least, we have cheer!  So, cheerleading isn’t what it used to be.  Or at least what I remember it being back in my day.  I have total respect for the athleticism that these girls have.   I wanted to really showcase that, and this cheerleader was definitely down for it.  I wanted to try this pose and brought it up to her.  She is actually going on to University of Oregon on an acrobatics and tumbling scholarship and plans on double majoring in history and cinema studies. Eventually, she might like to attend law school.

Being a Naperville senior photographer, I really love to capture and display their individual personalities and interests – really show who they are.  While there is so much more to these athletes than their sports, I am thrilled to have created these memorable images that they can always enjoy.