Title Nine Sports Shares Their Strategies

If we used professional models, sure they’d show up on time and with perfectly cut hair. But you’d get a consistent look to your book, which is not what we want. Our models move really well.

CS: What problems do you encounter by not using professional models?
Park: It’s difficult to find photographers. Fashion, or studio, photographers like to plan their shoots, which is just not possible in this case. So we end up usually hiring sports photographers. They’re patient and know to wait for the right moment—and to just keep shooting. We also send to the shoots “authenticity monitors.” For example, while the model may be a golfer, we’ll also send a staffer who golfs and who works with the photographer and the model to get the right level of authenticity for the shot.