Information on Sports Photography
Sports photography is a skill that not all photographers instinctively have, but with a few basic tips and some useful information, most people can learn how to take amateur or professional sports photos. Be sure you have your camera handy to try some of the techniques in advance so you know what to do when the time comes to take the shot.
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Position Yourself Appropriately
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Different games will require you to position yourself in different places, and your seat might not be the best place to capture a great photo. For soccer or football games, you should try to position yourself at the end of the field, near the goal or endzone, so you can capture a goal or a touchdown when it happens. For baseball games, try positioning yourself down the first base line. Also, don't hesitate to move around to a better spot to capture the action in any game, especially after you have already gotten some great shots in your original location.
Use Manual Mode Settings
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For sports photography, especially indoor sports, automatic mode is not the way to go, because your camera sees things differently than your eye does. For indoor sports photography, turn your camera to manual mode, and set your ISO to 1600, or as close to 1600 as your camera allows. Turn off your flash. Set your aperture to 2.8 or 3.5. To freeze the action, set your shutter speed to 500. Try a few test shots with these settings, and make any slight adjustments as necessary until you get it perfect.
For outdoor sports photography, use the same settings as indoor photography, but be careful about where the sun is. Most of the time, you will want the sun at the back of your subjects, but if it is early in the morning or late in the evening, you will want the sun in their face. Use the 500 shutter speed to freeze action, or slow it down to 250 or so to get a little movement in the shot.
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Isolate the Subject
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Most great sports photos, especially action shots during a game, are close-up shots of a specific player, coach or other subject. So, the first rule in sports photography is: Isolate your subject. This can be done using the zoom feature on your camera. Zoom in as much as possible. This will also make the background to appear a bit out of focus, which is another common trait in most sports action shots.
Be Ready for The Shot
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Most sports games move quickly, and you usually only have a second to get the perfect shot. So, be ready with your camera in advance. Digital cameras let you take several hundred photos in the same session. Use that to your advantage by taking lots of photos during a game. You only need one or two good ones out of several hundred attempts. So, to anticipate the moment, take the picture in the instant before you think something worthy of a sports photograph is about to happen. Often, you will miss the shot, but if you continue this method, you will eventually end up with a fantastic sports photo.
Continue Shooting After You Catch "The Moment"
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"The Moment" in a sports game is the instant that a game-changing event happens, like a game-winning shot or an incredible defensive play. Anticipate "the moment" by shooting before you think something significant is about to happen. If you capture "the moment," keep shooting, as there will likely be celebrating in the seconds immediately following it. Those celebratory shots are often some of the best photos you see in sports magazines, as they capture the raw emotion of the team and its accomplishments.
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References
- Photo Credit basketball image by Victor B from Fotolia.com
