Your daughter deserves the chance to shine.
I have clear memories of being on the kickball field at recess in elementary school knowing that I was going to hold my own because even if I couldn't run as fast as the boys, I could kick the ball further because of my time spent on the soccer field and contribute to our team's victory. As a kid who struggled with self-esteem, that was a pretty good set up.
As a former athlete and mom of three, I feel very strongly that youth sports are one of the best ways to teach teamwork, dedication, and work ethic to all kids, but for young women, there is an added component of teaching a sense of self-confidence and strength. When a young woman learns the physical and mental strength that can come with being part of a team and playing sports, she will use these skills on the field or court now and take them off for years to come.
She dedicates her time to something she loves
In the brutal days of Grapevine summers, she spends hours working on tumbling passes on the side of the football field. In the early days of winter mornings, she's out there putting miles on her shoes along the Trinity River Trails so she can outrun the throw to first. In all the various seasons and temperamental weather of North Texas, she is putting in the time in less-than-ideal circumstances so she can excel on the field and court.
I started playing lacrosse in college after years of playing soccer. To say that hand-eye coordination is not my strongest skill is putting it mildly. I spent the entire summer between my sophomore and junior years of college throwing a lacrosse ball against the side of the student rec center to work on my stick skills to earn a starting spot on my team. That type of dedication has translated to the tenacity and perseverance that it takes to run a small business.
Almost more important than the time she spends playing her sport, are the thoughts that she puts into it.
I’ve recently become connected to the amazing coaches at The Elite Competitor. They have fantastic resources for parents, coaches, athletes to increase female athletes’ confidence, and therefore performance, on and off the field. As I was listening to their podcast on a run the other day, they were talking about how athletes can get caught in thought cycles. “I’m too short to play that position,” “I’m to slow to start,” “My coach hates me because I got benched.” If you’ve played a sport, or heck, done almost anything as a woman, you know how we can just get so negative in our head sometimes. All by changing one simple thought in the process, an athlete can change her feelings, her actions and the outcomes. By changing her thought that her coach hates her because she got benched, she can instead think, I have an opportunity to get better, and that will change her feelings, actions, and outcomes.
Let’s add to that.
What if she has a visual reminder that she is strong? What if she has a visual reminder that her team matters? What if she has a visual reminder that she can do hard things? By taking some time to photograph your daughter in a dynamic way doing what she loves, she can have that visual reminder that she loves her game, that she is willing to put in hard work, and that can be a game changer in breaking her negative thought cycle and moving it to a positive one that can have an impact on her performance on and off the court.
This is where sports portraits matter.
Yes, they celebrate all the achievements that she has had and the hard work that she has put into her sport, but more importantly they serve as a reminder that she is amazing just as she is. She is strong and she can do this. I think the visual reminders of her affirmations of herself can be a link between thinking she is confident and believing that she is.
What does a sports portrait session look like with Angela?
We will meet at your field, court, pool, gym and spend time creating powerfully beautiful images that celebrate your daughter.. We’ll have some classic sports poses and then we will move into dynamic action images. These will require her to use her skills and have some fun while doing it. You will receive edited, digital images within two weeks of your session to enjoy for years to come.
Most importantly, I want your daughter to feel safe to be her authentic self during our session. As she moves and shows off our her skill, she'll have the watchful eye of not only a professional photographer and former athlete, but a mom on her. I want to create the type of sessions that I would have my daughter feel her most confident in.
Who should book sports portrait sessions?
I have photographed little league baseball players to Olympic athletes. One thing that they all have in common is these athletes, they love what they do. You might want to do these to celebrate an amazing season. You might want an updated approach to your leagues photo day. Perhaps your athlete is looking to play at the college level and needs their social media to shine with professional images. Or perhaps, and what I hope, is that you just want to celebrate your athlete, your child, doing what they love and give them a memory of just how strong they are on and off the field.
Are you ready to book your session?
You can visit my booking page to schedule an individual session. For teams or leagues, please reach out at awengrenphoto@gmail.com.