Bits and Pieces

Tips for Taking Sports Images (Part 2)
by David Peterson

Focus

An out of focus shot is pretty useless. You should aim for every photo to be crisp and clear. Auto focus cameras do a very good job of this, and they usually focus pretty quickly. Many times, however, manual focus will work much better because the camera’s auto focus can take a long time to complete.

There are two ways you can focus your camera – Zone Focus and Follow Focus. Follow Focus is where you keep your camera on the subject, changing the focus as needed to ensure the subject stays in focus as they are moving around the court (or ground). This works well when most of your subjects are moving from side to side in your image – car racing, football and soccer are three examples.

Zone Focus is where you expect the action to take place at a specific position – eg a the basket ball ring or the jump point for a high jumper. Focus on the area you want to be sharp and wait for your athlete to move into the zone.
Composition

Faces. The face is the primary source of emotion, and because emotion is what makes a shot it’s vitally important to include faces in your digital images. It can be difficult to capture faces in some sports (fencing for example involves face cages, baseball caps create shadows on the players faces). Use a flash to fill in the shadows in these instances but remember the flash has a very limited range.

Use Vertical. Because the human form is taller than it is wide, it lends itself to a vertical composition. Rotate your camera 90 degrees so the height of your image is also larger than the width.

Rule Of Thirds. The Rule Of Thirds is also useful here. Divide the frame into thirds vertically and horizontally and place the subject where the lines intersect. Watch for where the player is moving too – if they are moving to the right, place them on the left third line and vice versa.

Take Individual Shots. Most professional photographs are of individuals so try to shoot one person at a time. Exceptions to this are when there is conflict – two players fighting for a ball.
Know Your Sport

Each sport has a different technique for getting the best images and it helps to know the key elements of your sport. Know the basic fundamentals of the game and be prepared for what may happen next. With 15 seconds to go with a basketball team two points down, they may try to shoot a basket from the opposite end of the court. Anticipating this will help immensely with your photographs.

It also helps to know the players. If a particular player does a victory dance after each touchdown, be ready for it when it happens.

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Photo tips by WS