Sports Photography

Positions

The biggest obstacle during sports photography is that, unless you have managed to obtain a position as an official photographer at a sports event, you never know where your seat is going to be. If you do know your position in advance, then make sure to plan your shots before you enter the stadium.

It will also give you an idea about the distance between you and the subject which will help you decide which equipment to bring. If you don’t have any idea about your assigned position, then keep multiple lenses ready for long as well as short-distance shots.

Angles from a fixed position

Being stationed at one place restricts your shots and to an extent your creativity as well. During such times, you should experiment with different angles and try to take shots while catching the best parts of the sports action. Adding movement to your photographs will bring out the liveliness of the sport and will create a sense of movement and excitement for the viewer.

Angles from roaming locations

If you have managed to gain the job of official photographer, assess the ground before the match if possible. Some sports grounds can be very large which will make it difficult to photograph across the field unless you have a zoom lens of 300mm or greater. So, see if you can get permission to be a roaming photographer. Roaming as in around the outer edges of the sports field, not roaming on-field during play!

Post processing

Post processing sports photography images are not usually very difficult. You should plan your shots in such a way that at least ninety percent of whatever outcome you have desired is on your camera screen the moment you take the picture. If all is good with your photography, you should only require a little help from editing software.

Equipment required

Starting with the basics, you would require a good quality DSLR Camera and a tripod as you can expect to be standing for quite a long time waiting for the right shot. Unless you are opting for indoor sports photography, you do not require any lighting setups for sports photography. Apart from that, you would also need a wide range of lenses from 14 mm to +300mm considering the kind of sports you wish to photograph. On sports fields you will find +300mm very useful and it may end up being your go-to lens.

Camera settings and lenses

Camera settings differ for both indoor and outdoor sports photography. For indoor sports, the distance between sports photographers and the subjects is less when compared to that of outdoor photography. Hence, you would require lower mm lenses such as a 24-70mm and 70-300mm lens. A lot of photographers prefer 50mm lenses for indoor photography which are usually budget-friendly and provide optimum settings for indoor environments.

For outdoor photography, you need lenses with a bigger range. However, using telephoto lenses such as the Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 400mm f/2.8G ED VR AF lens or the Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens can at times cause issues while framing as these are fixed lenses. If your shots are not planned correctly, you could waste too much time switching from one lens to the other.

Sports photographers usually go for apertures for f/2.8 and even f/3.8 or f/4 for afternoon matches or other brighter light setups.

Techniques for sports photography

Sports Photography can be practiced in almost any sport. So, to make your sports photography journey a little easier, here are a few handy techniques that you can use for almost all sports!

Capturing action

Whenever you wish to capture action, which is usually the desired outcome of sports photographers, you must use a minimum shutter speed. For example, a cricketer hitting a ball, or a basketball almost hitting the basket. Such action needs to be precise and crystal clear without any grains and blurred areas in them. For such pictures, you need to use fast shutter speeds of +1/400 and above, with adjustment to ISO as required. Always shoot in manual mode.

Capturing speed

As opposed to just capturing action, when you wish to showcase the speed of a particular subject, for example, a runner on the athletics track, or a skating race in motion, you can purposely decrease the shutter speed a little. Set a slower shutter speed and focus on the moving subject. Pan the camera to follow the athlete, then take the photograph.

The result will give a certain element of blur in the picture which denotes the speed of the subject, but the actual subject will be in focus. You need to remember that the focus of your camera must be set on the subject to get the right effect. Panning your camera too much will also ruin the image.

Split images

Split Images are a way of capturing motion in multiple images. Similar to burst shots, in this technique, a sports photographer focuses on one particular athlete or subject and photographs their motion using the technique of capturing action. Similar photos are taken just a second apart which are later post processed and published together as a pair.

The challenge of sports photography

Sports Photography is an exciting genre which challenges you to bring out the best of your photography skills. All the position restrictions and distance obstacles just make this genre even more thrilling and a must-try for anyone wanting a challenge. If you are looking for an exciting genre of photography, this may just be the perfect match for you!

The business of sports photography

Want to become a paid professional sports photographer for companies such as ESPN? Then practice, practice, practice! Create a website portfolio of your sports work, and upload your greatest photographs and build a unique and eye-catching online portfolio on your social accounts such as TikTok, Facebook and Instagram.