High School Seniors + Sports


Behind the Scenes on an Ice Rink with South Africa Photographer Jessica Keller [RF Video of the Week]

June 12, 2015

By Laura Brauer

In light of the Stanley Cup playoffs between Chicago and Tampa Bay (game 5 is tomorrow!), we thought we’d post about a shoot that sports photographer Jessica Keller did with a group of hockey players on an ice rink. And yes, we NYC dwellers just endured a bit of a heat wave, so an ice rink sounds pretty appealing right about now.

The 28-year-old South Africa-based Swiss expat used Broncolor’s Siros lights, set to Speed Mode to really freeze the action (enhanced by the pinpointing honeycomb grids): the players’ expressions, their sports gear and the shavings of ice scraped off the rink mid-skate. Keller also set up a Para 88 umbrella for a broader spread of light across the scene (she gives the exact setting she used on this light in the video).

Conceptually, Keller mixes it up a fair amount—she captured moments of collision between the players, as well as from behind a player’s shoulder and between the goalie’s legs, her lens pointed at the approaching player. She even conducted some frosty-looking one-on-one portraits with the guys (with the help of a blue filter).

Check out more Videos of the Week, and email Libby Peterson with submissions.