THE EXPERIENCE
Your athletes
deserve to be
seen.
More than a Media Day. More than a photo session. This is where elite photography meets identity and confidence building. A day designed for young athletes to be celebrated, encouraged, seen, and remembered.
Skip to Investment →Built in San Diego.
Trusted across the country.
Heather Cleaves founded The Heather Experience in 2020, creating a Media Day experience designed specifically for the young athlete. What began as a way to elevate how local athletes were photographed has grown into a brand serving programs throughout San Diego and beyond.
Beyond the camera, Heather brings a presence that helps athletes step into who they are. The work isn't only about how they look in the images. It's about the conversation, the energy, and the moment of being truly seen.
You train great athletes. I help them believe in themselves. The combination is a confident athlete who shows up in excellence, both in the game and in the way they're represented to the world.
My promise
isn't just
delivering
pictures.
It's making sure the human behind the uniform knows they matter. That every early morning, every sacrifice, every day they show up and put in the work says something about who they are. They are worthy of a day like this. I want their photos to reflect that. Not just how they look, but who they are.
This is what I built The Heather Experience to be. Not just a picture day. A day where the athletes you trained so hard get a moment where the action calms down, the music gets turned up, and they get to bond with their teammates. Where the work they've put in gets honored. Where they walk away with their tank on full. Loved. Adored. Validated. Seen. Where they finally got their flowers.
The photographs are what they take home. The way they felt that day is what stays with them.
For the program ready to elevate, and the program ready to go all in.
The
Standard.
Portraits only, one photographer.
A premium portrait session for your full program. One cinematic set, fully retouched gallery delivered in two weeks.
- Cinematic portrait station
- Up to 5 individual shots per athlete, fully retouched
- 2 team photos included
- Up to 4 hours on site
- Full edited gallery within 2 weeks
- High-res images, print and social ready
- Curated gallery for purchasing prints, downloads, and bespoke keepsake items
The
Experience.
Two photographers, action and portraits, content crew.
A full production day. Multiple setups, multiple photographers, behind the scenes content your program can post the same week.
- Everything in The Standard
- White backdrop station built for social media, recruiting profiles, flyers, banners, and graphics
- Action shot station
- Dedicated content creator for behind the scenes coverage
- Multiple photographers running stations simultaneously
- Social-ready reel delivered with the full gallery
One fee. One invoice. One payment.
You collect from families however works best for you, whether boosters, participation fees, parent donations, or program budget. We handle the rest.
| Athletes | The Standard | The Experience |
|---|---|---|
| 12 or less | $1,400 | $2,150 |
| 15 | $1,725 | $2,475 |
| 20 | $2,050 | $2,800 |
| 25 | $2,375 | $3,125 |
Programs larger than 30 athletes, reach out for a custom quote.
A big day is
coming.
Media Day with The Heather Experience isn't just another stop on the season calendar. It's the day your athletes step in front of the camera and feel the weight of what they've already built. The early mornings. The late nights. The work nobody saw. All of it gets honored here.
Once photos are complete, families receive access to the gallery to purchase prints, canvases, and digital downloads of the images they love most. Program cost and family purchases stay separate, so your budget covers the production and families simply choose what they want to take home.
A message you can share with your families
Drop this into your team app, GroupMe, or program newsletter. Copy, paste, and adjust as you see fit to set the tone before the big day.
"Media Day with The Heather Experience is coming up and this is one you'll want your athlete to be ready for. The participation fee covers your athlete being professionally photographed, fully edited and retouched images delivered to the program, and access to the online gallery where you can purchase prints, canvases, and additional digital downloads.
This is not your average picture day. Your athlete will be treated like a professional from the moment they step on set. It's also a day for them to be poured into, built up, and celebrated for the work they put in day in and day out.
Confidence increases performance in the game and in life, and that's what this day is really about."
Everything you
might be wondering.
A few things parents and program directors usually ask before the big day.
These athletes work in silence most of the year. They show up before sunrise. They sacrifice. They grind. This day is for them. The human inside the uniform.
Confidence isn't taught. It's built one moment at a time. When a young athlete is truly seen, something shifts. They walk taller. They believe deeper. Showing up for the game and for life becomes something they look forward to.
This is the day your athletes come together to laugh, bond, and connect. To be celebrated for everything they've already become and everything they're still becoming. Starting off your season with this experience guarantees your team is on the same page, standing together in unity and confidence, ready to take on anything that comes their way.
Ready to book or want to talk through which option fits your program?
Let's connect.
The Heather Experience · North County San Diego