Today, we’re looking at the amazing sports photography by Brad Deel. Though the photographer is incredibly successful and has been featured in ISO Magazine and ESPN SportsCenter, he spends most of his time photographing local high school sports teams. This epically-talented photographer is an absolute master of lighting, posing, editing, and most of all props! You’ll see what I mean in the Instagram videos below. He has an incredible talent for making his mostly-amateur subjects seem like they’re at the top of their sport. I’ll bet the parents just love him!
Deel started as a drone photographer in southwest Virginia. He sold calendars every year to help him afford new equipment. Then lightning struck (not literally).
Deel also offers workshops, adorably held at Ridgeview High in Clintonwood, VA.
“I had a lady reach out as her son did track and field and football. And the response was pretty overwhelming. I had a gentleman who ran a Little League baseball league, and he said he was tired of the same images, holding a bat over the shoulder. I decided ‘I’m going to show you pictures you’ve never seen before.’ I like to let them play. Let them do what they do. I want to try to give those kids a Nike or Under Armour style of shoot. The parents love it, the kids enjoy it. And it’s been really successful.”
– Brad Deel interview with DPreview.com
You can see all of the exciting sports portraits by Brad Deel on his website and on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook.
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My OBT 
August 7, 2023 at 9:08 am
You’d be hard pressed to find a person with less knowledge of or interest in sportsball than me. I do, however, appreciate the skill of sports photography generally. I have also seen all the standard sports portraits and they are all very (pardon the pun) uniform. I can see, therefore, the appeal in these much more dynamic shots.
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August 7, 2023 at 9:10 am
I love the idea that he employs the parents to throw props into the photos. That must be so much fun!
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August 7, 2023 at 9:38 am
I enjoyed seeing how simple some of the staging was. The sprayed water against the lighting looks really effective, for example, and much more technically complicated than it actually is.
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August 8, 2023 at 12:30 pm
Very effective use of everyday items!
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August 7, 2023 at 9:47 am
There are tricks to every trade but these really are good.
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August 8, 2023 at 12:31 pm
They make me want to get out a camera and start throwing things at athletes…
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