Wizard Girls Photo Shoot
Javai, Leeann, and Sami
Washington Wizards: On Tuesday, September 27th the Wizard Girls showed off for their first photo shoot of the year. They also showed off their stamina as the shoot ended up being a marathon one running from around five in the afternoon until three in the morning! While there may have been some tired people it certainly didn’t show as the photos came out incredibly well and NBA photographer Ned Dishman was very excited about what he had in the can even after he had been shooting for around ten hours. The squad was set approximately a month and a half prior to the shoot and while for some of the girls this was second nature, others were enjoying their first ever professional photo shoot. Julia, the winner of the online vote to be the final Wizard Girl told us, “This is my first official Wizards Girl’s photo shoot…but this one is something we’ve been preparing for for a while so I’m very excited to actually have the day be here and you know, getting all dolled up, it’s a lot of fun.” For Tara, this was her first ever photo shoot and she refused to let the nerves get to her. “I was a little nervous but we have great cameramen and they are fun to work with.”
The girls posed in a myriad of outfits, props and poses as Dishman strived to get the best out of them. Holly told us a little bit about the process as it isn’t simply stepping out in front of a camera. “We’re having a great time at the photo shoot, it’s been a really long day of green screen work and you know all the behind scenes stuff with hair and makeup.” For the veterans of the team, you might think that going through this process would be toilsome but three year veteran GeNienne told us it was anything but. “It’s my third photo shoot and it gets better every single year…we feel like superstars!”
The day meant a lot more than simply getting some photos taken though. The long hours and the down time allow the team to begin to come together as a cohesive unit. Samantha told us “The photo shoot, it’s kind of where we start to bond as a team. The vets help the rookies get more comfortable in front of the camera…it’s very sisterly.” Holly also put the whole day into a little bit of perspective and summed things up on why it’s all worth it. “Looking forward to the season, love to dance and be on the court! (We) love the fans, those are our biggest supporters!”
