Sometimes a photo captures a moment in time that cannot be described even with thousands of words. This is especially true when it comes to sports. The natural drama and passion of individual and team sports make for captivating stories, and the camera is quite often the best way to tell them.
We are all drawn to images and if you also enjoy sports as a fan, becoming a sports photographer could give you the best of both worlds. As with any photographic genre, capturing sports is not as simple as just pointing and shooting. Practice makes perfect and it is an activity that should be continually and consistently carried out to become proficient – at the very least.
You may think you know which team is going to win the Super Bowl or the World Series – and may even know which Vegas sportsbook is the ideal to use – but here are some tips if you are thinking of getting into sports photography and capturing the very essence of sports.
Know the Game
It doesn’t necessarily follow that you have to be a massive sports fan to become a successful sports photographer. But having even some basic knowledge of your subject should be a prerequisite for whatever kind of photography you end up being involved in. With sports, that means getting to know the game.
It obviously pays to already be a fan of the sports you are capturing. But even if you are more of a casual observer, you should learn the rules of the game to know how to tell your own story. If you are unsure of what is happening, your images will be equally as chaotic. Do your research to be able to plan for your assignment.
Look Away from the Action
It may depend on what your brief is as to how you go about recording the action at a sports event. But if you have a little leeway over what kind of images are expected, you might want to take a look away from the field on occasion. By all means, take photos of the players – but think about what else is going on in the stadium as well.
It is quite often said that sports is nothing without the fans and by looking away from the field you will be able to capture the passion of sports as successfully as any camera only trained on the action. There is always something interesting going on at a sports event, no matter what size and level of play, so keep your eyes open to be there at the right moment.
Use a Fast Shutter Speed
Not all of our tips for better sports photography are particularly technical, as we believe those are the kinds of things you should pick up in general anyway. But using a fast shutter speed is absolutely crucial if you want your action shots to work. You are looking to show the action in a single frame and that means a fast shutter speed.
The moving bodies in front of you will demand a fast shutter speed, so you should be thinking anywhere between 1/500s and 1/2000s. Obviously, some sports are played at a faster speed than others, so you can play around with the shutter speed, depending on the discipline.
Get the Right Angle
It is a general rule of thumb with sports photography that you position yourself in a place where the athletes will be facing you, as that will give you the shots you need. But if you want to capture shots that are a little different from the vast majority of photographers, you should think outside of the box when it comes to angles and shooting positions.
At most soccer games, for example, the photographers will be lined up in rows at the two ends of the field. But a lower position can give you more interesting shots, while a high, overhead position would also provide a more dramatic view of the action. If possible, a combination of different angles and positions will give you a good range of images.
Take A LOT of Photos
We are way beyond the age of camera and film that required hours of dedication in developing in dark rooms. Although this may be an aspect of photography that you do enjoy, we also now have the convenience of digital and the quick turnaround and instant access to our images that it provides.
All of that is a long way round of saying that you should be taking a lot of photos throughout a sports event. And we mean A LOT. Switch your camera setting to continuous and take multiple shots of everything that happens. You will soon be able to check if you have got what you wanted – and maybe even see something you didn’t expect.
Embrace the Culture
This aspect of sports photography is closely linked to the tip we mentioned earlier about knowing about the sport in question. Researching your subject is a definite prerequisite for successful sports photography but you should also think about completely immersing yourself in your subject too.
The fans, the stadiums, the ticket sellers, the merch stands – all of these are integral parts of any sports event and embracing everything that goes along with an event will help you produce the best shots. You don’t have to become a fan of the team you are photographing – but do become a fan of the occasion.
Tell a Story
Whatever your assignment at a sports event, you should always be thinking about how you can effectively tell a story. It may be through one single image or a whole set of images that take place throughout the event. But your job as a sports photographer is to tell the viewer a story about something that happened at that event.
Notice that we didn’t say “tell the story”. A writer will be able to catch up with the reader on who won the game, who scored the points, and what that means in the greater scheme of things. Your role as a sports photographer is more to tell a story of what happened. It gives you even greater freedom and you should embrace that freedom to produce incredible images.