Don’t Shoot Till You See the Whites of Their Eyes: Tips to Taking Better Sports Pictures
June 27, 2008 | Filed Under Photo Tips, Sports | Leave a Comment
Go to any high school or recreational league where sports are being played, and you’ll find parents, grandparents, and friends with cameras.
From my observations, I see many folks whip out their pocket camera or digital SLR and just snap away when “Little Johnny” hits the field, most likely capturing many pictures of his back, or becoming unrecognizable because he is so far away and just shows up as a blip on the picture.
With some planning and keeping in mind some of my tips below, you can transform yourself from a sideline snapshooter into a quality sportsshooter, and create photographs worth looking at over and over again. Creating better images will not only make you proud of yourself, you will have cherished images to complement your memories.
Of course, if I were to write down everything I know about shooting sports from equipment to technique, I would end up with a book. However, if you can keep in mind these 10 general tips, you can be well on your way to capturing better sports images. This list should work well for anyone shooting sports outdoors. Indoors brings about a whole new batch of problems — which I will discuss in the future.
1. The Eyes Have It
Having the face and eyes of your subject in the shot are key ingredients to taking a good sports image. Seeing the back of a player is not going to win many awards, and typically ends up in the delete pile. Being able to see the eyes of your subject is what really will connect with the viewer of the picture. How do we read emotion from others? By looking at their face.
Not only should you be watching the action, and waiting for a potential moment for a picture, but be equally aware of when your subject is facing in your general direction. You’ll be surprised how much better with using this tip alone will produce more pleasing images.
2. Location, Location, Location
Just as in real estate, a good sports photograph starts with the location from which you are shooting. Granted, getting onto or near the field of a professional sports event is nearly impossible without proper credentials, many high school and almost all youth sports allow you to get much closer to the action. You may enjoy sitting in the bleachers, or in one location with your personal lawn chair, with your family and friends to visit during lulls in the action, but trying to take pictures from there, rarely produces good results.
If at all possible, get as close to the sidelines, or playing field area as permitted, and in a position that you feel much of the action of the player(s) you want to photograph will be happening. You can visit with your friends after the game.
3. Be a Snake in the Grass
Don’t be afraid to get on your belly to take pictures. Your subjects look larger than life when you shoot from a lower point of view. Standing up, and shooting down on little ones is not as flattering. Most adults view things in life from between 4 and 6 feet. To create more interesting images, you need to shoot from outside that zone, to give the viewer a different perspective than they normally would see.
If possible, try to shoot from below your subjects eye level. You’ll be surprised the difference this makes in your photographs.
4. Predict the Future (without your crystal ball)
I don’t mean like being able to predict the lottery numbers for next week, but rather knowing enough about the sport or event to have a good bit of confidence when something is going to happen. For example, if you are wanting to capture a soccer goalie in action, you know darn well when the ball is on the other end of the field, you don’t have to be poised and ready to shoot that player.
Anticipating when action will take place is a huge benefit to sports photography. If you are at a baseball game and there is a runner on first base, there is a good chance there will action at first base in the form of a pickoff attempt, or a play at second base by either a steal attempt, or a double play attempt. So, if you can be located on the first base side, near the first base bag and somewhat in line of second base, you are in great position to capture some peak action.
Each sport has it’s subtleties that if you know the sport well, can give you an advantage in knowing what to look for before it happens.
To those with point & shoot cameras with a long delay between the time you press the shutter and the camera actually taking the picture (shutter lag), many situations allow you to pre-focus on an area by pressing your shutter down halfway. By doing this you can eliminate much of the delay, so that when the action is happening, all you have to do it now depress the shutter fully and the camera will fire much faster.
5. What’s That in the Background?
An important issue that most amateur photographers miss is being aware of the background in the area they have positioned themselves. Photographers many times are so fixated on the action, they totally ignore what’s behind the action.
When scouting for locations, be aware of porta-potties, parking lots, trashcans, and the like. Sometimes, just moving a couple feet one way or the other makes a world of difference. It’s only after you’ve gotten home and downloaded your images to your computer do you realize the faux pas you made.
Be aware, that with many of today’s youth fields, finding a background that is clean is nearly impossible, so don’t always expect to succeed in this area.
6. Shoot Tight
Don’t be afraid of chopping off body parts in the frame. Having the full body of your subject is not always needed. The viewer has the ability to fill in that information without it being shown, which allows you, the photographer to zoom in tight and focus in on the face. Looking at the photo to the right, the photo tells the whole story with just the upper half of the running back in the photo. Through your experience, you know that the player is running past defenders with ball in hand. Being tight on the subject shows the intensity in his eyes that would have been lost if this photograph was shot from a wider angle.
7. Action not Required
Sometimes the best shots are taken away from the main action. Some potential shots can be found on the sidelines with players not in the game, as they are talking with each other, getting a drink or being chewed out by the coach. On the field during timeouts, or other lulls in the action also can tell a story.
Don’t always follow the ball. When a placekicker attempts a field goal, all eyes are on the ball as it flies through the air. A picture of the ball in mid-air is not that exciting, so stay focused on the kicker himself — he will either give you a jube shot as it passes through the uprights, or the “agony of defeat” as it misses the target.
Always be on the lookout for other photo opportunities.
8. Expect the Unexpected
Always keep your camera ready, and your eye on the event. Just because the player you are wanting to photograph is not involved in the action, or is on the sidelines, don’t be caught with your head in the clouds. Something may happen that you don’t want to say, “Oh man, I should of gotten a picture of that?” Granted, it’s easy to lose concentration when you feel nothing is going on that needs your attention, but when something does happen and you capture it — it’s an exhilarating feeling.
9. Take Control of Your Life Camera
This is a subject that a couple chapters in a book would cover, but you will have greater success if you can take control of your camera rather than letting the camera make all the decisions. Setting your camera to the “running man” (sports mode) is not taking control. I highly recommend you sit down with your owner’s manual and learn how to use aperture priority (Av on Canon), shutter priority (Tv on Canon) and yes, even manual mode of your camera.
For sports, I suggest aperture priority, and set your camera to open up to the widest aperture available to you (that means the smallest f-stop number on your camera). This will allow your camera to let in the most light and give you the highest shutter speed to stop the action. What this also does is give you a smaller depth-of-field (DOF), to blur the background and isolate your subject much better.
Sometimes, you may want to get a bit artsy to give show movement. This can be done by panning. Set your camera to shutter priority somewhere around 1/40 of a second (experiment with what works best for what you are photographing). Now, as your subject is moving past you, keep focused on your subject and press the shutter. Keep as steady as possible and keep your subject tracked in your frame throughout the entire opening of the shutter. You should end up with your main subject pretty well in focus, and everything else with that movement sort of blur. To the left is a photo I took of a bowling ball coming down the alley.
If you want complete control of the exposure — use manual mode. This takes all the thinking away from the camera as far as exposure is concerned. With cameras, they can be easily fooled by it’s surroundings. Dark jerseys, white jerseys, bright sky in the background, etc. Unless the clouds are moving in front of the sun often, the light is consistent, so you can set this manually in your camera, which now allows your camera to have less shutter lag, for determining exposure is one less step it has to perform before firing the shot.
10. Post-Game: Learn From Your Mistakes
Take a bunch of pictures, look at them on your computer at home and see your results. You will learn a great deal through critiquing your own work. You will see what works and what doesn’t and each time you go out and shoot, you will improve from the last.
That Summertime Feeling
June 21, 2008 | Filed Under People, Personal, family, kids | 1 Comment
Ah, summer. You remember those days as a kid don’t you? Being out of school and running out of the house in the morning, feeling the warmth of the sun on your face, wondering what that day of fun would bring.
Unfortunately, I’m not a kid anymore and those days of three months of vacation are only a memory. However, I can relive those moments watching my kids experience it as I once did.
No matter what type of camera you own, keep it handy, and take photographs of your family. You, your family, and future family members will appreciate it in the future.
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Wash Me
June 13, 2008 | Filed Under Personal | 1 Comment
I admit it, I am not an auto detail freak. I have neighbors and friends that wash their cars all the time, keeping them looking their best. I probably wash my car on average 8 times a year — and rarely between December and March.
Today was my Honda Element’s lucky day (Friday the 13th no less), for the old gal was getting a spring cleaning. I usually let Mother Nature do my dirty work, but with the windshield covered with bug guts and dust forming on my dashboard, I thought it was time to spruce her up a bit.
I’ve had this Element for just under 2 1/2 years, and I hit 50,000 miles on her last month. I really like this car and probably will buy another when this one is ready for retirement (around 150,000 miles). Many think it is ugly looking, but for hauling around photo equipment, it’s awesome. The fact that it does not have carpet is perfect for a non-auto detail person like myself. Just vacuum and wipe down with a wet towel. Good as new.
Photo Information: ISO 200; 1/125; f/4
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Kindergarten Graduate
June 7, 2008 | Filed Under Personal, family | Leave a Comment
Last night my youngest daughter Keely, graduated from Kindergarten. When I was growing up in Illinois, there was never such a ceremony. Boy, let me tell you, what an emotional experience — for the parents. I’ve been to high school and college graduations in the past, but I have never seen so many mom’s reaching for the tissues as I saw last night. Even I got a little choked up, myself.
The ceremony started with a slideshow showing pictures throughout the year, of course to music that really moved you, as the kids walked in and up on to the stage. That was just the teaser to get the tear machine warmed up, for a bit later, up came another slideshow with music titled, “Let Them Be Little”, and showed pictures of each individual graduate, then a baby picture, followed with pictures of child and mom, plus child and dad. During this time, each child, one-by-one, met mom at the center of the the room, presenting her with a yellow rose. Boy, this was when the waterworks really was flowing.
Keely did a bit of a Michael Jordan impersonation, by sticking out her tongue when receiving her diploma. Making sure to shake with the right hand and accept the diploma with your left takes a lot of concentration, especially for a 6-year old.
Following the ceremony, refreshments were given and good-byes were spoken.
Keely made many good friends this past school year. With her best friend Kayla going onto her new school for first grade and Keely starting homeschool next year, they unfortunately will see much less of each other in the future.
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Actor Headshot
June 2, 2008 | Filed Under headshots | Leave a Comment
Sunday I had the pleasure of shooting headshots for Valeria, a Bel Air teenager who will be attending acting camp this summer. She needed to have some 8×10 headshot prints so she gave me a call to set up an appointment.
The headshots were all taken at her home (where her mother makes some delicious lemonade) in the family room / living room area. The home had a beautiful wood floor, and it made a great background as I shot from high above.
I think Valeria had a great time — once she got over a bit of nervousness in the beginning — and I hope I was able to help her land a great role in the future.
Lighting Information:
Clamshell lighting with two 43″ umbrella’s and 580EXs.
Top umbrella – 1/8 power
Bottom umbrella – 1/32 powerHairlight from snooted 285HV at 1/16 power