By Alfons Prince
Have you ever flipped through a sports magazine, such as Sports Illustrated, ESPN, or the Sporting News, and wondered how the magazine got that perfect picture? How the photo has everything lined up on the perfect angle?
Well, Howard has a photographer who can provide those types of pictures himself. Lawrence Johnson, of All-Pro Photography, is a Howard alum who, in addition to working at many Howard events, is a former worker for Topps Trading Card Company.
Johnson, originally from Baltimore, Md., graduated from Howard University in 1974. In 1973, he started All-Pro Photography using the advice from his mentor, Dr. Coleman Reed-Tuckson.
He gathered this experience while working for the Hilltop and the Afro. Once he left the Afro, he got a boost of good luck to help his career. While taking pictures at a game he was able to make contact with someone who had access to the President of Topps Trading Card Company.
The President of Topps was impressed with his pictures and Johnson wound up working for Topps from 1980-1994. While working for Topps, he was privileged enough to travel around the country and photo various events. It was during this time, that Johnson began to photograph HBCU events.
He sent photos to Edward Hill Jr., the Sports Information Director (S.I.D.) at Howard University. Mr. Hill was also impressed with the photos that he saw and soon Johnson was photographing the sporting events for Howard. This led to other connections throughout the MEAC conference and in other HBCU's in general.
One of the connections, Bill Hamilton, the Sports Information Director at South Carolina State, gives high praise for the work of Johnson. "He set a new standard for photos in South Carolina State sports publications," said Hamilton. "He was a breath of fresh air for the school."
This quality of work allowed Johnson to photograph events such as bowl games (postseason college football), and other tournaments for S.C. State.
The exposure led to more opportunities which allowed his business to grow. Now All-Pro Photography has nine associates who help out in various ways. That aspect is not lost among Johnson's clients.
"All-Pro has a lot of people who can do a lot of different things," said Hill. The extra hands allow Johnson to get more people involved and allow him to be more conscious of his pictures.
Johnson claimed that his favorite places to shoot pictures depend on the sport. He said that his favorite stadiums to shoot at are Bowie State and Hampton because they have good lights, and for a photographer almost nothing is as important as lighting.
Johnson says, in basketball, his favorite arenas to shoot pictures in are Morgan State, Norfolk State and the arena in Raleigh, North Carolina, where the MEAC Basketball Postseason Tournament is being played at this year.
Johnson has advice for the aspiring photographers, saying, "They should shoot as much as they can and make a portfolio. [Students] should shoot all sports and also, learn how to shoot with studio lights."
A final piece of advice that Johnson gives is for students to invest in equipment. "The equipment will keep you in the game." He further states that a lack of technology can hold back many aspring photographers.
Johnson admits that the hardest sport photos to take are football because you have to not only focus on the ball but also the moving players.
On the other hand, Johnson believes that baseball is the easiest sport to photograph because all the action happens at home plate and then the ball becomes easier to follow.
Among the other major sports, Johnson says that boxing pictures are hard to take because the action is so spontaneous. He says hockey and soccer pictures become easy to take once you have spotted where the ball or puck is located.
His impact is seen by the S.I.D.s he comes in contact with. "Young photographers are being helped by the expertise of Mr. Johnson and All-Pro photography, said Hill.
Hamilton concurs saying, "Mr. Johnson has lifted sports photography at HBCUs to another level and we're (S.C. State) appreciative of that."
Johnson is a fixture at many Howard sporting events including volleyball, football, and basketball. If you want to spot him, just look for the guy getting in position for the perfect picture.
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Thursday, October 20th 2005 at 11:15AM
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