Your Best Shot
Getting down to basics
Spring training isn’t just for athletes. Photographers need to be ready when it is time to shoot baseball games and track meets. Some of the best opportunities for great images may present themselves in the first week of the season, so be prepared. Here are a few basic tips that will help you get better sports photos of your youth league or high school athlete.
Be Prepared: Hey, it’s not just a slogan for Boy Scouts. If you are photographing youth league or high school sports, make sure you have permission from event organizers and know your restrictions in terms of photo positions. That way you will avoid any game time confrontations. You want to document the event, not be part of the event.
The Importance of Positioning: Be smart and considerate in choosing where you shoot. When walking into a sporting event, the first thing I do is check the lighting conditions. Generally, I want to work with the sun, not against it. I prefer nice side or frontal light, and I make sure I have clean, dark backgrounds. Try to avoid signs, trees, parking lots, garbage cans, etc. Darker backgrounds make the athletes’ images pop. It is important that you try to find shooting positions where you will not get blocked by officials and umpires. At the same time, be polite and make sure you do not block the view of spectators.
The dark background with shallow depth field along with side light makes the dirt pop out of the image and his glove. ©David Liam Kyle.com
Always try to shoot “wide open.” That means setting and shooting with your aperture set at f/2.8, f/4 or f/5.6 depending on your lens. The longer the lens the better. Preferably with a 300mm or 400mm telephoto. I usually shoot in Manual or Aperture Priority Mode at the widest setting possible. You may also try the Auto ISO setting if your camera has that capability. In Auto ISO you set the aperture and shutter speed and the ISO automatically changes depending on the lighting situation. In any case the bigger the aperture opening, the less depth of field you will have, isolating your subject from the background. The wide open aperture will also let more light into your camera, creating a faster shutter speed. You usually need to have your shutter speed at least at 1/1000 of a second to stop the action. It is recommended to shoot at 1/2000 or faster to stop super fast action, such as a pitcher’s throwing motion or a swinging bat. Adjust your ISO in your camera to accomplish the correct shutter speed. For the best quality of images, you want to keep your ISO as low as possible. Take a couple of test exposures to double-check this, because the dark background or bright white uniforms can trick your meter and over or under expose your main subject. Know how your camera works and set it accordingly. I also use the Continuous Focus setting and one center focus point in my camera. That way your camera focusing system is not jumping around, and you have more control of what you want in focus.
Play at second base shot with 400mm lens at f5.6 at 1/1600th, 200 ISO. ©David Liam Kyle.com
Be knowledgeable about all the sports you plan on photographing. Pay attention to the game and anticipate what play may happen next. Is the runner on first going to steal second? Is there a chance for a double play? Will there be a play at the plate? Could this be the game winning hit? I have seen photographers miss photos because they were chatting with the person next to them. Anticipate! Once a play happens, you better be ready because it will not happen again. You can't go tell the players to do it over.
The best part about track is that the events are all scheduled, and you know exactly where the athletes are going to be running or jumping. This allows you to plan ahead for some creative angles. The worst part about track is that a lot of events are happening at the same time, and you obviously can’t be in two places at once. So get yourself a schedule and plan what events you will be photographing. Look at different shooting positions. Can you get some interesting angles from the stands? Can you get inside the track? I took this low angle silhouette photo by focusing on the first hurdle and then setting my camera on the ground and composing the image. I employed manual exposure to expose for the sky and used a 17mm lens at f/14 at 1/1000 to stop the action.
Expose for the sky to create interesting silhouette photos. ©David Liam Kyle.com
Try to capture the intensity and emotion of sports as well as peak action.
I captured the jubilation as the pole vaulter realized she just set a new state record. ©David Liam Kyle.com
Don't worry if you can't get on the field. I also like to shoot from different positions from the stands with a 400mm lens. I find that from this position I can get cleaner backgrounds and more artistic sports images.
Shoot from the stands for some interesting shadows and angles. ©David Liam Kyle.com
Look for jubilation at home plate after a home run. ©David Liam Kyle.com
Another artistic way to capture amazing sports action is by panning. When photographing a moving athlete, the panning technique is achieved by keeping your main subject in the frame for the entire time of the exposure. The slower your shutter speed, the more unusual and interesting the effect. Pre-focus on the runner’s lane and start following your subject before you press the shutter release button. I generally tuck my elbows into my chest and turn at my waist, following my main subject as I press the shutter release button. Follow the runner all the way through and do not jerk or stop your camera as you are shooting. Don't be afraid to use your motor drive if you have one. Generally, the faster your subject, the faster your shutter speed. This technique will take some practice and some experimenting with different shutter speeds to get your desired image.
I followed the leader of this event by panning and using a slow shutter speed to create this artistic image. This picture was taken a few frames before the below image. Photo taken at f/29 at 1/40th of a second at 200 ISO. ©David Liam Kyle.com
You can tell she is a smooth runner and that I some how panned perfectly because her face is tack sharp and the rest has motion blur. I usually follow the rule of thirds when positioning the main subject but wanted her to run into the image and also show that she was leading the race. Photo taken at f/29 at 1/40th of a second at 200 ISO. ©David Liam Kyle.com
Practice like an athlete. Be dedicated and determined in your efforts to get great photographs.