The Joplin Crusaders
CRU NATION
The Joplin Crusaders are a semi-pro football team based in southwest Missouri. As Missouri's only semi-pro team, the Crusaders are also 8 time Central Football League champions. That's no small feat- and I stepped up to match their drive with energetic, dramatically lit images to help fill the stands for the winning team.
FAMILY ENTERTAINMENT:: The Crusaders wanted to show an emphasis on family, first and foremost. Their games are full-family events, many of the players are dads, and rehabilitation is a big focus for the coaches. Kicking ideas around with their art director, we brought in child models for the players to interact with in some really fun ways.
IN ACTION: You can't properly showcase a sports team without showing them in action. I had the guys strike some poses and toss the pigskin around while we were on the field. I used a lot of OCF (off camera flash) throughout the shoot, to freeze the action and bring out as much color and drama as possible for that sports mag feel.
IN THE STUDIO:: having a football team in the studio is... well, it's a blast. The fellas had no problem posing it up for me as I worked with the art director to create a mini stock-library of white-seamless images that could be easily plugged into graphic ads later. I couldn't help throwing in a shot him showing me the kind of poses he was looking for...
COACHES: The team requested some basic headshots to highlight the men behind the scenes.
FINAL ADVERTISEMENTS:: below are some of the images in-use direct from the team's graphic designer. The promotional composites are currently used for various advertisements, in billboard campaigns, on season game schedules, in digital marketing, and much more. Find out more about them on their CF League page.
