Photo Credit: © Sports Illustrated Kids / Photo by Peter Read Miller Peter Read MIller photographed Cleveland Cavaliers basketball player LeBron James for a Sports Illustrated Kids cover.

Photo Credit: © Kallie Ross Peter Read Miller.

Assignment—Photograph LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers, for Sports Illustrated Kids—cover shot and inside editorial for a feature story. Assigned by picture editor Marguerite Schropp Lucarelli.

Challenge—There were several on this shoot—You have a star athlete for ten minutes to do three shots. You first need to come up with a concept befitting his team moniker: "King James"; you then have to find the giant chess pieces—and get them there—to make the concept you came up with work; you have to make this posed shot look like an action shot, especially given the constraints of the space we had to work in; and finally, you have to light it in such a way so that the chessboard floor can be easily dropped into the shot in post by the SI imaging department's Bob Thompson.

Gear—Camera/lens: Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III, 24-105mm IS lens, and Canon right-angle finder for low-angle shooting. Lighting/grip: Elinchrom EL 500R powerpacks (8) and Octa Lites (2)—rented out of Flashlights (Pasadena, CA); Dynalite ringlight and 1000 w/s powerpack; Chimera collapsible reflectors; Matthews light stands; Gitzo tripod.

Props—Megachess.com.

Exposure—Between f/8 and f/11, at 1/250 second (sync speed).

Photo Credit: © Peter Read Miller Miller says the space the cover shoot took place in was “uncomfortably tight for an athlete to take several steps while dribbling a basketball. But what made it work was LeBron James’s professionalism.”

Solution—I flew out to the Cleveland Cavaliers training facility with two assistants, including Max Morse first assistant, to set up the lights the day before. I also hired a third assistant locally to help, not only on site, but also to gather the rented grip gear we'd need. The space was uncomfortably tight for an athlete to take several steps while dribbling a basketball. But what made it work was LeBron James's professionalism. He came to the shoot ready to work and got right into his role without wasting any time, making all the right moves. The Elinchroms made it possible to freeze the moment. To further convey the sense of action, we slid a wedge under the king chess piece to make it appear that it was being pushed aside, as if to make room on the court for King James as he was moving into position. I used the camera's Predictive AI Servo AF mode to keep him in focus as he took each step toward me. We probably did around 15 shots, making one exposure per step. When we saw this exposure, we knew we had the shot. Then, for the inside editorial, we pulled the other pieces out and shot the picture of him leaning on the main chess piece. And in the last two minutes, I threw in a ringlight and shot a portrait as well. So it was a very productive ten minutes.

To light this shot, we needed an expansive wash of light to cover him and the chess pieces—almost flat, in fact, to facilitate the work that would be done in post. We set up two Elinchrom octas at about a 45-degree angle from the front relative to him, a few feet away, aiming one additional head (from a boom) into each box. And to speed recycling, we powered down the packs about halfway. And we had four more heads, two from each side, throwing an even light across the white seamless backdrop. The distance from the background to lights up front was maybe 12 or 15 feet. Immediately below each octa and aimed into the set was a 4 x 8 sheet of white foamcore, for fill, standing upright. We also had collapsible silver reflectors positioned strategically and, to block stray light, we added black foamcore gobos.

Peter Read Miller www.peterreadmiller.com is a staff photographer with Sports Illustrated based in Southern California. In addition, he lectures and teaches workshops around the country.