SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY

 What is Sports Photography?

This type of photography is all about documenting an athletic event. It could be a major game, or it could just be early season practice. Local community teams range from high schools to professional-level organizations.

When it comes to what counts as a sport, you need to keep an open mind. While football, baseball, or basketball are obvious, these major sports are just the tip of the iceberg. Golf, tennis, swim meets, track and field events, cycling tours, skiing, and water sports count too. The list goes on and on, but if it involves people pursuing athletic achievement with a mix of competitive spirit, chances are there's an opportunity for an enterprising sports photographer.

Camera Equipment Considerations for Sports:

Athletic events often occur outdoors in the evening or night, with artificial lighting of varying quality. Figuring out the best camera for sports photography and the best lens for sports photography requires thinking about your goals and the exact conditions you’ll likely to face. It won’t be the same for every sport, but here are some rough guides to help you choose.

Camera Body:

You can use pretty much any DSLR camera to shoot sports, but some are better than others. The primary considerations when picking the best camera for sports photography are all about speed. Autofocusing systems are one of the main things that set professional bodies apart from consumer and prosumer level setups. They can all shoot sports, but the more advanced autofocus should be able to keep more images in sharper focus. With fast-moving action, lesser cameras will put out some blurry photos while they struggle to keep up with the action.

Another useful tool for the sports photographer is the burst mode. Advanced cameras can capture more photos in burst mode before they must pause to write the images to memory. The burst mode is essential because as the action happens, you won't have time to pick and choose the shot you like best. If you wait for a better angle or a better facial expression, something unexpected is bound to happen, and the entire shot is lost forever. It's far better to hit the burst mode from the beginning and plan to delete a bunch of photos. And what you really don’t want to happen is to find the limit of the burst mode and be out of commission for a few seconds.

LENSES:

Like many other forms of photography, the lens you pick for sports is going to have a considerable effect on your photos. The lenses you choose need to do two things. They need to get you as close to the action as possible, and they need to work fast in the lowest light.

These requirements mean that the best lens for sports photography is going to be a telephoto lens with the widest aperture you can afford. Check out the sidelines of any major sporting event, and you are bound to be impressed with the glass you see. The pros are packing some serious heat to these games.

Does that mean you need to drop ten or fifteen grand on a 1500 mm monster? Probably not. A telephoto zoom lens is likely a great choice since it will enable you to zoom out a bit as the action gets closer. A 100-400mm f/4 or lower lens makes a great sports starter lens.

OTHER EQUIPMENT:

Shooting sports usually means forgoing flashes and strobes. A beefy tripod is a must-have, especially if you are using a massive lens. Many of these lenses are just too heavy to hold anyway, but regardless of their size and weight, you will get sharper photos while using a tripod.

If you shoot with a smaller, portable lens and you move around a lot during the game, a monopod might be a better alternative. It will give you the mobility to set up where ever on the sidelines you desire and keep moving as the action changes. But it still allows you to rest the camera on a solid object and to eliminate shake that will make blurry photos.

Best Tips for Sports Photographers:

KNOW THE RULES OF THE GAME:

You don't need to have ever played the game you're photographing, but you do need to have some idea of how it works. If you're a complete newbie, go online to familiarize yourself with how it's played. Pretend that you're going to play it yourself. What's the objective, and where do players need to be to score the point? Go to a game or two as a spectator. Once you've figured out the basics, it will be a lot easier to figure out the critical things, like where do you need to be to capture great images.

Research What the "Expected" Photos Look Like

While you're doing all of this research, don't forget to check out the work of other photographers. Peruse images from past games of the team you're shooting, as well as professional shots that have made it into the papers and online stories. Look for things you like that you can emulate. Also, look for things you dislike, or for technical errors in the photos. Learn from others' mistakes.

The Ball is Always Headed Right For You:

The sporting adage "keep your eyes on the ball" is also apt for photographers. Call it Murphy's Law or just bad luck, but the ball always seems aimed right at the photographer with the most expensive equipment. So keep an eye out for incoming projectiles, and keep moving around. You've been warned.

Know Your Camera Interface Like the Back of Your Hand:

The action on the field is going to demand your full attention. You just don't have time to play with new settings or to realize halfway through that your camera has a continuous focus mode that you've never played with. You need to know your camera, and you need to know how to set it up for different shots on the fly. The best camera for sports photography will have its essential settings on dedicated buttons. If you learn the equipment well enough, you should be able to make any changes you need to without taking your eye out of the viewfinder.

Don't Waste Your Time Chimping:

Chimping means to check out your photos as you go on the back of your camera. There might be times when you can take a quick look, but chances are you're missing something. It's far better to just shoot and worry about what you got later.

The exception to this rule would be when you need to make sure your settings are in order. Is the focus sharp enough for an upcoming sequence? Is your exposure perfect? Answer these questions early in the game. And consider taking some trash photos just to check the settings before the action happens.

Go Flashless:

Flashes distract athletes and are generally bad form at sporting events. That means you're going to have to work with the light already there, and that means bringing fast lenses. It also means liberally apply high ISO settings, and maybe even a smaller depth of field than you're comfortable with from time to time. If your focusing is spot-on, you should be able to get away with it.  If you want a quick recap of lighting for photography, read this article.

Use Shutter Priority Mode:

What you don't want to compromise in your sports images is your shutter speed. Slow shutter speeds are not only going to lead to camera shake but also to motion blur. Sure, in some limited circumstances and with some planning motion blur can give the composition a fantastic artistic look. But that doesn't come around by accident; it's tricky to pull off. Most of the time, you want to avoid motion blur like the plague.

Tell The Story Of The Game:

In that vein, remember that your job is more than just to capture the highs and lows of the game. It's also to tell a story. The best sports photographers are storytellers, and they use their images to walk fans through the game day from start to finish. To tell the whole story, you're going to need more than just a handful of goal shots and running players.

Conclusion:

There's plenty of demand for quality photography of sporting events, and it is a specialized skill that not everyone can do. All of this equals the potential for the enterprising photographer. Plus, it's a fun challenge that is very different from other forms of photography. Even if you aren't that into the game, you may find that you love shooting sports events.