Before squaring off in this Sunday’s Super Bowl XLVII, Ed Reed and Phillip Buchanon, stood front and center as teammates on University of Miami 2001 National Championship Team. They got together for this Sports Illustrated shoot of the UM defensive backs (left to right) James Lewis, Phillip Buchanon, Mike Rumph, Ed Reed, Markese Fitzgerald and Jared McClure.

As with sports photography, the key to shooting portraits of athletes for magazines like Sports Illustrated comes down to timing. We had 15 minutes to pull off this Sports Illustrated shoot as the Hurricanes prepared for the BCS National Championship Game. Everything was pre-lit when the Canes defensive backs came out, but the key was a big assist from Reed who quickly set the tone as the others followed his lead.

When you need a team to come together – turn to their leader.

This and many other tips can be found in ‘Secrets of Great Portrait Photography‘ available on Amazon…