Advice for beginners in Sports Photography By Zamani feelings

               Advice for beginners in Sports                               Photography By Zamani feelings

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I am fairly new to sports photography. I made some brief attempts at covering sports photography in 2013 and again in 2014 but didn’t start taking it seriously until 2015 and I began to make the investment in equipment at that time. Despite being a full-time portrait and wedding photographer, sports photography has been hands down the most exciting experience I have had as a photographer and it has completely reinvigorated my love for the craft. I am always confronted with beginners and it is always great to see that passion alive for shooting sports that fortunately still exists within me as well.

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Panasonic LUMIX G7 16.00 MP 4K Mirrorless

Development as a sports photographer (and all photography) is initially about practice and preparation. You have to put in the actual time on the fields to gain mastery over sports photography and that will only take place with long term practical application and repetition. In other words, shooting ALOT over long periods of time as often as possible. The other equally important part of that development is having an intellectual foundation in which to understand the craft, have an informed perspective, and systematic approach about what you are doing and over time begin to develop your own style. You have to continually pair the hands-on practice with the preparation of learning and conceptualizing.

As I stated earlier, I came into sports photography a few years ago after having spent 4 years as a full-time portrait and event/wedding photographer. It was an advantage for me because although there was a learning curve that was sports photography specific, I understood the basics of how to process photos properly, I knew how to achieve proper exposure and white balance and I understood angles, aperture, ISO, shutter speeds, etc. If you aren’t coming from a background of experience with photography and don’t have a good grasp on the basics then it’s going to be important that you start familiarizing yourself with those things... Going out to shoot a game without having an understanding of ISO, shutter, speed, focusing and F-stops or the mechanics of operating your equipment will often result in poor results or images that might be good but that you can’t replicate because you don’t know how and why you were able to capture them. Using some arbitrary settings that you saw another photographer utilize won’t always apply to your individual situation on the field or gym and you risk becoming frustrated or not understanding why you aren’t getting the photos you need. Reading your camera manual, taking a beginners photography course, understanding the basics of digital post-processing, watching some videos about the basics of photography and/or the use of your individual camera and lenses and how they operate will give you the confidence when you get on the field that you will be able to capture consistent images.

The other part of the learning equation must be done in actual practice, trial and error, and in real-world shooting. If you are new to photography in general, try to get in as much time of actual shooting as possible. During the times that there are no games available to cover, spend time doing portraits and shooting whatever moves you while simultaneously getting an understanding of how your camera operates and how lighting affects your subjects. Especially important would be to try to find subjects that will allow you to capture them in some sort of movement be it dance or jumping, running, etc. This will allow you to become comfortable with tracking moving subjects with your focus settings and understanding how to position yourself on the field.

Yes, the reality is there are cameras and lenses that are made to capture action and deal with a variety of lighting conditions more efficiently than others. They are traditionally a lot more costly. If you aren’t in the position to purchase these items it doesn’t mean that you can’t go out and capture great photos and it certainly doesn’t mean you should wait until you do. Shoot with what you have. I have covered the subject of camera gear in another post as well as some budget offerings that might suit you well so please refer to those other articles, however in the meantime, shoot with what you have and make yourself earn the better gear later.

The best outlets for learning sports photography of the actual fields are sports photography books, Youtube videos, workshops, and sports photography groups online and observing the work of sports photographers in professional publications. I will include a list of resources at the end of this article but in general, the more information you can process about the idiom the better. Combining all of the aforementioned resources as your source of study will give you a great foundation of information and knowledge to prepare you for your days on the field and in the gyms.

Networking with other photographers, in general, is a good thing. Create alliances online as well as in your area if possible. Connecting with others in your field of choice can be vitally important. Find a sports photography mentor who has an established portfolio of work that you admire and/or someone who has a balanced grasp on the fundamentals of photography as well as the use of his equipment and who can also guide/coach you with the specifics of sports photography, technically as well as aesthetically. In addition to finding a mentor, it is also positive to find some peers or peers who might be at a similar stage in their development that you can connect with and function as encouragement for that person and vice versa. This kind of camaraderie can help you remain motivated and you can learn from one another’s progress as well as mistakes. 

While I don’t encourage a beginning sports photographer to step into sports photography trying to immediately market themselves as a pro, having a website and especially a gallery site like Smugmug, can have its advantages. As you are beginning to cover games you will have to encourage yourself as you will not develop overnight, however on the occasions that you are able to capture outstanding photos, it's a good idea to display them in a way that is as attractive as possible to encourage yourself. This will also make the impression on the schools you will be trying to access that you take the craft seriously and will be displaying the images you capture for them in a professional manner. The other reason it is important is that you will want the schools and especially the players and parents to have easy access to the images that you decide to offer them (that they will be paying for eventually) and therefore you need to have those images in one central easily accessible location.

I am asked frequently about how to get access to photograph sporting events. The unfortunate answer I have to give is that there is no real formula but a few different ways to go about getting into venues to cover sports. Here are some of my recommendations and observations based on what has worked for me personally.

I know many people may disagree with this but at some point, you may have to be open to volunteering and/or exchanging your services for access. This is especially true when you haven’t built a portfolio that the schools or teams will find valuable enough to compensate you for yet. A lot of local youth sports teams and a great many high schools will give you access to photograph their games but requesting payment could have them denying you access. Every situation will differ of course but in my personal experience, all of the opportunities that I received came from me initially offering my services for free and the school, teams, or organization being pleased enough with my work to eventually hire me. If there is potential for you to gain access and make money then by all means do so but actual experience shooting is what is crucial at this point and should be (IMHO) your primary concern and priority.

Passion for capturing a particular sport is often a sign of an aptitude for it. Whatever sport (s) you are naturally drawn towards, curious about, excited by capturing is what you should seek out to shoot. While it is always valuable to learn how to capture a variety of sports there is nothing wrong with having a passionate preference and/or specifying. I have learned how to photograph just about every sport there is but my true passion is for football photography. As a beginner, it is important for you to engage in covering sports that personally move you enough that the passion will override the periods of frustration you may experience with your actual images as you are paying your dues. Moving towards the types of sports you appreciate the most will often keep you inspired and motivated. The idea of being well rounded is somewhat valid but in the early stages just learning the process of capturing action is the most important and it's better to do that on a sport or sports that you actually enjoy covering. Once you have developed a skillset in those sports you can later learn to apply them to other sports. Shoot and Shoot as much as possible of what you enjoy the most.