Volleyball bench players often stand, cheer, and encourage their teammates throughout the entire game, making for terrific emotion and reaction photos.
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| Colby College volleyball players on the bench cheer their on-court teammates during a match vs. interstate rival University of New England. |
The Photo
It seems most college volleyball teams have bench players standing throughout the entire match, supporting their teammates who are out on the court playing. The bench is constantly active, loud, enthusiastic, and emotional, with many of these players rotating frequently on and off the court, almost never taking a break to sit down.
Volleyball players are already very expressive and emotional, as the ones on the court cheer, high-five, and congratulate one another after nearly every point, providing great photo opportunities of game action, happy reactions, and ongoing celebrations. However, the bench players react intently too, frequently in unison with intense expressions and body language to motivate their teammates to victory. Sometimes, the bench will demonstrate the wave, execute a sequence of gestures, coordinate cheers, or react randomly to the play, nearly always with passionate facial expressions.
In this match, Colby College fought fiercely throughout against Maine intrastate rival University of New England (UNE), winning the first game, with the Colby bench loud and animated throughout. I shot many photos of the bench players, but this picture conveyed their intensity and enthusiasm, along with a little humor. Unfortunately for Colby, UNE rallied to win the three successive games and the match 3-1.
3 Tips
1. Volleyball players may be the most emotional athletes of any sport, with terrific facial expressions as they cheer, celebrate, and react to practically every moment during the competition.
2. Volleyball bench players often stand and cheer for their teammates throughout the entire match, with their own unique reactions and expressions, often very different from players on the court.
3. By monitoring and photographing the bench players, you can capture group shots of facial expressions and body language, to supplement the action and reactions of on-court teammates.
