A couple of weeks ago, I shared a photo entitled “D.C. Women of Color” and that was a product of previous group photo of all the D.C. Cheerleaders that were in attendance at the P-R-O Convention…apparently they are pretty tight between both squads. So today, I want to share with you that photo featuring all the lovely ladies from our nation’s capital.
We are rapidly approaching the end of our coverage of the 2018 P-R-O Convention in Atlanta. And our next honoree is a dancer that I have featured here in the past and when you see her photos, I think you’ll be able to see why. A former NFL cheerleader and current member of the Charlotte Honey Bees, introducing Laken, our next 2018 P-R-O Convention All Star.
We are close to the end, but not quite done yet, so check back tomorrow to see who is our next 2018 P-R-O Convention All Star.
Our next 2018 P-R-O Convention All Star is a rookie Houston Texans Cheerleader, one of many newcomers to the convention. As a matter of fact, I would liked to be able to photograph more of these newcomers because I like to feature as many new faces as possible in addition to some of those veteran attendees.
Well without further ado, let me introduce Houston Texans Cheerleader Shaunte, our next 2018 P-R-O Convention All Star.
We are coming close to the end of our coverage of the 2018 P-R-O Convention in Atlanta. But we have two more cheerleaders to share with you, so check back tomorrow to see who is our next All Star.
We are getting close to the end of our coverage of the 2018 P-R-O Convention in Atlanta, but before we move on, we would like to feature a special cheerleader from a special squad…the Washington Redskins Cheerleaders. Hot girls and hot uniforms are a dangerous combination…okay, not “dangerous” per se…but definitely attention grabbing. And I have said this before…one of my main reasons for covering this event 9 years ago was to photograph the Washington Redskins Cheerleaders up close and personal. Being that I am from the west coast, photographing the WRC is not something I get to do every day, so when I get the chance to do so, I try to take advantage of the opportunity. And I did.
So without further ado, our next 2018 P-R-O Convention All Star is a fifth year veteran of the Washington Redskins Cheerleaders, introducing Jordyn.
Only one more All Star remains. So check back tomorrow to see who is our final 2018 P-R-O Convention All Star.
Our final 2018 P-R-O Convention All Star is a member of the Charlotte Honey Bees and I must say that she was one of those dancers who really stood out at the convention. A talented dancer who is very photogenic, introducing Charlotte Honey Bee Jill, a 2018 P-R-O Convention All Star.
This concludes our coverage of the 2018 P-R-O Convention in Atlanta. Over 250 cheerleaders, 8000+ images, 50+ hours of editing and post processing, 2 massive convention articles and 24 All Star featurettes. Whew! Just another typical P-R-O Convention, the most amazing gathering of professional cheerleaders and dancers in the land.
I can’t wait until next year!
Since we have recently completed our coverage of the 2018 P-R-O Convention in Atlanta, I thought it would be a good idea to feature one of the hottest cheerleaders that I have ever photographed for today’s Flashback Friday retrospective. Laura is absolutely gorgeous and perhaps the most photogenic girl I have ever photographed…I sincerely believe that there are big things in store of her.
So let’s flip the calendar back to 2017 and take a look at Charlotte Honey Bee Laura at the 2017 P-R-O Convention in Atlanta.
In this edition of Flashback Friday we take a look back to 2011, where I attended the Sacramento Kings Dancers auditions. There I met a familiar face, Wendy B. whom I had recognized as an Atlanta Falcons Cheerleader. I asked her what she was doing here in Sacramento and she said she was going to graduate school in the area and decided to try out for the SKD. Well she made the team and a few years later, she became an Oakland Raiderette.
Back in 2011, I made a road trip to our nation’s capital to photograph the Washington Redskins Cheerleaders…one of my favorite NFL cheerleading squad. They had some of the most beautiful cheerleaders and arguably the sexiest uniform in professional cheerleading and I wanted to shoot them. So, I made plans to meet up with my editor at UltimateCheerleading.com and this is one of the photos I got from the visit.
10 years go, I was still a Charger season ticket holder and the Chargers were still playing in San Diego. 2008 was a great year for the Charger Girls and they had another amazing squad. Back then, the Charger Girls regularly attracted over 300 girls to their auditions, drawing from San Diego and Orange Counties, two regions known for producing amazing dance talent. So only the most beautiful and talented dancers made the squad…it was that competitive.
In this edition of Flashback Friday, we take a look at one of those amazing Charger Girls…a beautiful Latina named Lindsay. I think she was on the squad for only one year, but it was special.
In 2013, the Charger Girls featured a cheerleader that was a former Seattle Sea Gal named Nicole and though she looked great in the Sea Gal uniform, she looked absolutely gorgeous in a Charger Girl uniform.
Like the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders uniform, the Charger Girl uniform is classic. From the long white sleeves and low cut top to the signature curved shaped skirt, the Charger Girl uniform is iconic and hot girls look even hotter because that uniform flatters the feminine form like few others.
And here’s a bonus pic of Nicole.
In this week’s Flashback Friday article, we take a look at one of my favorite candidates from the 2013 Arizona Cardinals Cheerleaders auditions. Tessa was one of those special girls who stood out at auditions. Tall, strikingly beautiful and a great dancer, Tessa was a shoe in for the squad and I think she would become one of the most memorable Arizona Cardinals Cheerleaders of her day.
In this week’s edition of Flashback Friday, we take a look at one of the most memorable Arizona Cardinals Cheerleaders of the past few years, Erica. I first saw at the Cardinals Cheerleaders auditions and she stood out immediately for her curly blonde looks. It was a look that no one else had and she was quite striking. She was one of a group of three former Utah Jazz Dancers who made the trek down to Phoenix to try out for the AZCC.
At the auditions, it was apparent to me that she was a very good dancer as well, which are two aspects of my ultimate cheerleader triumvirate of special qualities: 1) good looks, 2) exceptional dance ability, and 3) photogenic appeal.
And at the 2014 P-R-O Convention in Atlanta, Erica displayed the third quality, as you can see from this photo below.
Oh and where is she now…Erica is currently a member of the Denver Broncos Cheerleaders.
2014 was an amazing year for the Charger Girls…lots of beautiful ones on that squad. I don’t think they’ll mind me saying so in this day and age. They know, as all professional cheerleaders do, that looks are a part of the game. Yes, they’re important, but that’s only one part of what makes a good NFL cheerleader.
So let’s take a look back at one of those special Charger Girls, Tinaiya. Statuesque and beautiful, she was a member of that amazing 2014 squad…when NFL cheerleaders weren’t afraid to be NFL cheerleaders, if you know what I mean.
Check out former San Diego Charger Girl Kara Kay on the reality series, Survivor: David vs. Goliath, Wednesdays on CBS.
Kara Kay
Age: 30
Hometown: San Diego, California
Current Residence: San Diego, California
Realtor
“Kara is a favorite to win. I think a lot of people will say, ‘Really?’ But the more I watch her, the more I see her blend. ‘I’m not standing out at all. I’m just one of the Goliaths! They’re all very good!’ And what do you do? ‘Well, I came from a very good family. I was a cheerleader in the NFL. I’m in real estate.’ If you ask her about her looks, she’ll say they absolutely open doors. She doesn’t ever defend and say, ‘But I have to work hard!’ What you see is what you get. ‘I’m successful, I’m pleasant, I have a great attitude.’ She’s still dealing with the loss of her mom, which I can’t imagine. I really think Kara could be a surprise player, where all the sudden you say, ‘Oh my god… she’s going to win.'”
One of my all time favorite Charger Girls to photograph is Shelbi B. and she is the focus of this week’s Flashback Friday. I absolutely loved photographing her because she was photogenic, she was a great dancer and she always had a great expression on her face. She was a natural in front of the camera and kind of flirty on the sidelines, so that’s all good in my book.
I know she had a lot of fans when she was a Charger Girl because they would come on down to my section and sneak a peek…can’t blame them. Shelbi was hot and I think she enjoyed entertaining the fans.
And for all you Shelbi fans who may be reading this…here are a few more of my favorite images of her.
In this week’s edition of Flashback Friday, we take a look back at the Michelle C. of the Anaheim Bolts Dance Team. Back in 2012 I spotted her at auditions and I knew that she would make the squad and that there would be big things in store for her. With some girls, you can just tell. They have the looks, they have the dance talent and they just stand out and Michelle was one of those next level girls.
Well as it would turn out, Michelle would go on to be a member of the Ladies of Ontario Fury, the Lakers Girls and she is now a current member of the Los Angeles Rams Cheerleaders.
That 2013 Anaheim Bolts Dance Team was very talented and many of them would go on to other major league dance teams. Three would become Charger Girls. One became a Clippers Spirit Dancer and is a current member of the Los Angeles Rams. One became a member of the Golden State Warriors Dance Team. Many of them became members of the Ladies of Ontario Fury, the dance team of the successor of the Anaheim Bolts MASL team.
And of course there is Michelle.
I purchased my first digital DSLR in 2002, if I recall correctly. It was the venerable Canon EOS 1D and it took decent photos. Prior to that I shot film and I would typically shoot 6 or 7 rolls of film at each game. That’s roughly two rolls per quarter or 64 shots per Charger Girl line. Processing that film was expensive, roughly $7.00 per roll, so that was the limiting factor in terms of the number of images I took.
When I switched to digital, those costs were no longer an issue and I shot many more images per game…perhaps four times as many. The only limiting factor was memory cards and storage. So for me, the digital revolution was a watershed moment in my photography. I no longer dropped off film to be processed at Costco and I no longer viewed images via prints or via a loupe if I shot slide film. Everything was done on my computer and I learned a new term…workflow. Digital photography eliminated the film processing color lab, but that process was replaced by computer based post processing and I had to become the digital imaging equivalent of the old photo lab technician. In the digital era, you had to be proficient in two disparate skill sets in order to produce a great image…photographic skills and computer imaging skills.
So this image is from my early days with digital photography and it is an image of a very special Charger Girl named Lauren. She was very popular with Charger fans and I could see why. Beautiful, great dancer and very photogenic.
Well I hope you enjoyed this look back to 2006.
In this edition of Flashback Friday, we take a look at the 2013 St. Louis Rams Final Auditions. The Rams Cheerleaders used to do a brief performance to open the final auditions and since I was there early to cover the event, I was able to snap a few photos of the girls as they rehearsed. And I took this photo of Holly, whom I considered one of the most beautiful cheerleaders on that squad, and I am glad I did because she was special.
One of the attributes that makes for a great cheerleader photograph is a girl with a great smile. Why? Because cheerleaders are supposed to be friendly and engaging. They’re supposed to be beautiful and they are that. They’re supposed to be great dancers and they are that. But they’re also supposed to make you feel like a part of the family and they do that by smiling and engaging with the home town crowd. So for me, a great cheerleader photograph is one of a girl smiling and enjoying the game day experience.
In this edition of Flashback Friday, we take a look back at Charger Girl Marissa who exemplifies all those aforementioned qualities in the photo below.
In 2015, I attended the Pro Bowl with my friend Max and we had a great time at many of the game related activities, but for me the highlight was the game itself. Over the years, the Pro Bowl has become a bit of a disappointment in terms of the players’ effort and activity level, but the NFL Pro Bowl Cheerleaders always give 100% effort. They are wonderful ambassadors for the NFL and they are always a treat to photograph.
