Photography 101

Most NFL players don't pay attention to the cameras always following them around, but some guys, like Cardinals cornerback Kei'Trel Clark, share the same passion for capturing the world that we photographers do. When Kei'Trel expressed his interest in photography to me, I thought it would be fun to show him the ropes around Downtown Phoenix.

Both of us equipped with a Nikon D6, I started Kei'Trel off with a fixed 85mm lens. He wasn't used to not having a zoom function, but once I told him the basics of changing shutter speed and ISO, he dove right in!

I think we would both admit he struggled a tiny bit in the beginning because of the shadowy areas we were in, but it was so interesting to see what his eye was drawn to photograph.

This photo walk was all about experimenting with and challenging the different elements of photography, so when Kei'Trel went to photograph a bird, I made sure he could try his hand at action photography by making it fly away!

I carried a 24-70mm lens on my Nikon D6 so that I could capture Kei'trel photographing everything, but it was also fun to compare shots when we would point at the same subject. Can you tell which photo belongs to which photographer? (Ignoring the photo credit!)

We started our journey near the Phoenix Convention Center and made our way towards the Arts District, stopping along the way. With so many cameras around (including our videographer, Kevin), it was hard to avoid getting in front of the lens too!

I brought a couple different lenses for Kei'Trel to play with, so while I was digging those out he did his best National Geographic impression.

After he leveled up to the 70-200mm lens, we tried aiming at the same subjects to see how each of us would frame the shots. I first stopped us at this scene with a tree while a woman walked under it:

After Kei'Trel took his photos, it was interesting to see what he was drawn to in the frame versus what I had captured.

Having different zoom lengths also changed our perspectives even when pointing up at the same trees:

As golden hour continued, Kei'Trel so graciously offered to model the light.

He also captured some curious drivers on our walk towards the Arts District.

Sometimes, the background is just too good to resist. Once we passed these murals, Kei'Trel asked if he could have his own photo in front of them.

We continued our trek with Kei'Trel capturing more murals and details along the way:

I posed for one rare photo of me in action, then wanted to showcase how hard it is to capture when players rush over to the camera while holding a 70-200mm lens! I think that's a tip he'll remember on game day.

Once we made it to our destination, we broke for pizza and Kei'Trel was asked to take a photo with some fans. I guess his photography persona doesn't hide his NFL position!

On our way back, I gave Kei'Trel the 300mm lens I had been carrying all day. It was much heavier than the lenses he had been using, but he definitely felt comfortable with it and even struck some classic photographer poses.

It got dark really fast on our walk back, but Kei'Trel got a lot of cool nighttime detail shots:

We made it back to the parking lot and headed back home after one last photoshoot:

And even on the drive home, Kei'Trel couldn't put the camera down! He was playing around with it from the passenger seat the whole way back.

All in all, we had a great time exploring Downtown Phoenix and chatting about photography. I think it is so cool that Kei'Trel now has a better appreciation for photographers and the job we do. He got some great shots, so check out the rest of his photos in the gallery below: