Mastering the Art of Sports Photography With your Digital Camera

Author: Amy

For sports enthusiasts, there’s nothing more exciting than sports people playing their favourite game. The sight of the field, rink or golf course initiates the thrill and anticipation. This, combined with digital photography, can provide some amazing photographic opportunities. However it’s not a matter of point the camera at the person diving for the ball or puck and snapping away. It’s a lot more complicated than that.

In digital photography sports can be quite challenging. The sports people do not present an easy task of being photographed because of the amount of high movement. However, you can indeed achieve great sports digital photography. Most excellent sports digital photography requires good planning and execution.

Here are some exclusive tips for gaining fantastic sports shots in your digital photography.

First things first; know your digital camera. I recommend taking note and practicing first all the settings that sports photography needed. You may find yourself going for the faster shutter speed, increased ISO and burst mode. Let’s take a look at all these things on your digital camera and see how they can be applied to give you sensational sports photos.

High shutter speeds:

As with all moving objects, in order to capture the “frozen in time” look in digital photography a fast shutter speed is required. The faster the movement the fast the shutter speed will need to be. In digital photography the general consensus is that the shutter speed needs to be faster than that of the subject. For example if you have a sliding puck across ice and there is a someone about to take a dive for it then its necessary to quickly mentally assess how fast that person might be traveling at. If they are traveling at approximately 50 kilometers (approx 32 miles) per hour then you may find a very fast shutter speed is needed for this digital photo.

A very fast shutter speed in digital photography may be anything from 500th of a second or higher. For high speed movement you may want to consider an even faster shutter speed of 1000th of a second or something in that range.

Keep in mind that in digital photography a fast shutter speed works to reduce some of the light which is why a higher ISO is often necessary. (I’ll talk about that in a minute.) Usually a if a ball, such as a baseball going at around 145 kilometers an hour (90.09 miles per hour) a shutter speed of around 1/4000 will get you that “suspended ball in mid air” type of photo. For physical movement, such as someone leaping to catch a football, a shutter speed of 1/500 or over is a good place to start.

Now this is all very well if your scene if well lit. But what if you are taking your digital photography shots indoors at night and the light is not quite enough to provide enough light? In most instances, an indoor stadium at night time will be well lit, but that doesn’t always ensure good digital photos. In sports photography we need to understand that we can only control the artistic value and input of our digital photo and the control of the camera. We can’t control the lighting on the scene being such a public event. In digital photography sports photos we must realize that it’s going to be a challenge to begin with. So here are something’s you can in your digital sports photography to increase the amount of light.

If you have a light tool on your digital camera such as a histogram you can get a good idea of what the light levels are like on your sensor. With this handy tool you can adjust the ISO at the time of your pictures taking.

Increase your ISO: A high ISO in digital photography simply means the sensitivity to light that your digital camera has. In a nutshell the more ISO you have increased the image to, the less light the sensor needs. In sports photography an ISO of 400 or higher can work really well. The downside to this is that it does increase noise. To combat this you can use noise reduction software in the post editing process such as Noise Ninja or increase the LAB mode in the post editing process. Don’t be afraid to try a few shots at 400, 800 and even as high as 1600.

Burst mode:

In most sports digital photography this will be one of the settings you will turn to. Burst mode is also known as ‘continuous shooting’. This ‘continuous’ shooting mode allows you to get a sequence of shoots in succession. You can increase your chances of getting that ideal “split second perfect shot” that you might not be able to get by pre-emption or in normal shooting. This also works so beautifully if your digital camera has a painfully long lag time. I’ve used this so many times to get around the high lag my Sony Cyber shot has got. Some cameras have 3 frames per second and some go up to 12 frames per second. You simply select this mode and hold your finger on the shutter button and it will fire off as many shots in 1 second as it can.

Okay so I’ve been talking about your digital camera and the setting’s used for ideal sports digital photography, so what about any external equipment? If you have been thinking about this you’re spot on. You can take as much time with your settings but there’s not much point if you can’t get close to the action. There’s no point having a picture with perfect lighting and perfect action if the players are like dots on a sheet of paper. You need a good telephoto lens if you can’t get close up. A telephoto lens brings you closer because of its long distance capability. It will get you closer to the action but will need a faster shutter speed.

Many fantastic sports digital photos are taken with an emphasis on a very fast shutter speed, an f stop of around the 2.8 mark to blur the background and focus in on the subject. You may find that if your sportsperson is visually separated from the background and you take the digital photograph with a telephoto lens you’ll have a more shallow depth of field which can give you a more powerful feeling in your digital photo. You can get away with a good optical zoom lens, but you’ll get far better digital sports shots with a proper telephoto.

So what about the artistic side of sports photography with your digital camera? Plenty!

Pre-emption and Emotion is the key to good art.

When taking sports photography you probably won’t find a more public display of human emotion. The emotions of a sports person range from intense anticipation to extreme disappointment or extreme exhilaration. Pre-empting when these emotions take place is they key to getting artistic and impressive sports photos. This comes with practicing your digital photography.

SO much pressure is placed on our athletes, expecting them to perform so we can enjoy the show and the investors can enjoy their returns. This is another reason why I say to get a telephoto lens so you can capture the emotions on their faces and their body language. It makes for superb photography. For ideas on ice hockey, have a look at some ice hockey images that are great study tools.

Don’t just look at these digital photos, you must study them. Take on the attitude that studying sports photography will improve your digital sports photos ten fold. You will have a style to emulate and copy to start with then eventually, when you become confident, you’ll start to adopt your own style.

Happy shooting,

Amy Renfrey

To study digital sports photography check these sites out: http://cbs.sportsline.com/

About the Author:

Amy Renfrey is the author of two major successful ebooks “Digital Photography Success” and “Advanced Digital Photography”. She is a photographer and also teaches digital photography. She’s photographed many things from famous musicians to portraits of babies. Amy also teaches photography online to her students which can be found at www.DigitalPhotographySuccess.com

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Mastering the Art of Sports Photography With your Digital Camera

We’ve all been tempted from time to time to enter one of the many photography contests listed online. While contests can be a chance for you to gain exposure, win free stuff, or just simply kill time – they can also ruin you as an artist. Let me tell you how and why and then we’ll look at some of the contests that you’ve probably come across over the years.

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

-The Good-

Photography contests are a great way for you to gain exposure, win free gear, and get constructive criticism from other photographers. If you’re lucky or just that good, you could also end up being published and making a few bucks. There are however, a lot of things to consider before you go running off to sign up for every contest on the net. Let’s look at the fine print…

-The Bad-

Nothing comes for free. By signing up on a site to enter a contest you will always be asked to submit to various conditions. These conditions can range from a simple email address to a cash “entry fee”. Collecting information is by far the most profitable way for a contest to operate, so at a minimum expect to be asked for personal details that extend beyond a screen name and password. Before rushing to join any site, it is wise advice to read the terms and conditions to make sure your information (including email) will not be sold to or used by a third party. You should also be in the habit by now of checking/unchecking the tick marks that allow companies to contact you about future offers, updates, etc.

-The Downright Ugly-

READ THE FINE PRINT!!! I can’t stress this enough. You’ll end up signing away the rights to your best work in hopes of winning that “Grand Prize” if you don’t. Also, be wary of any “free” contest that sends you an email in a few days proclaiming “Congratulations! Your picture has been accepted to be published in our Annual Blah Blah Book”. Keep reading and you’ll see that they actually want to SELL you the book for WAY more than it’s worth. How do they do it? Sleep at night I mean…misleading people into believing that more than a few people will ever see their picture for that $59.99 they spent. One shady company comes to mind…”akhem…Photo..ah..ah..Laureates”. Don’t buy the book and they’ll still want you to be an “honorary member”. They’ll even try to convince you that by wearing their $40 gold-corored pin you’ll suddenly become more credible. Yeah, right…until a REAL photographer sees you wearing it and laughs all the way home. Think about this guys – if you want a nice studio press book displaying your work, you should know by now (if you have ever had a single client or thought of starting a business from your photography) that made-to-order studio press books can be had much cheaper through many many companies. I recommend you check out Blurb Books, as their quality:price always seems the best.

-The Contests-

Over the next year or so I’ll be entering contests, or at least reading the fine print for you and posting my opinions of each in the form of a review. If you have experience with these, or any other contests online please share your experience in the form of a comment and this will become a great resource for us all. Below is a list of all of the contests I’ve come across to date.

Contests

Engagement sessions offer the chance for you, the photographer,  to personally bond with your new clients, increase sales dramatically, and potentially raise the quality of workmanship you can provide on the “big day”. If you’re looking for advice as a couple, keep reading as this could be very helpful for you as well.

Ok, so you’ve sold a couple (or possibly many) on your skills and have their wedding date penciled in the calendar.  Now it’s time to really get started. As a photographer I’ve come across many people that claim to not be very photogenic, are shy in front of a lens, or whatever. Waiting until the wedding day to gain the trust of your clients will ensure that you have much more time on your hands since the whole job will be completed in only one day, right? WRONG. It’ll ensure you have a lot of time on your hands in the future because even the best photographer can’t pull off a great wedding shoot if the subject is constantly shying away from the camera. This could very well help your career migrate back to that server job you left as your “last time working with food”. Engagement sessions are your opportunity to break the bad habits of your client, build their trust, and give them the confidence in you that they need to let the wedding day flow naturally with you doing your thing, and them doing theirs.

Schedule it ASAP – As Soon As Possible

The sooner the better with engagement photos. This will allow the couple time to decide if they’d like to purchase additional products well in advance of the wedding and also allow you to capture them with the excitement still in their eyes!

Make it Personal

Make suggestions on clothing, hair, make-up, location, etc. but take the couple’s history into account. Some couples spend their days off outdoors and would rather capture the essence of their lifestyle than get all done up, some are just the opposite and want to capture the many late night lounge dates they share. Focus on details like the ring, important moments or stories they share, etc. Be flexible and take things into consideration like where and how they got engaged, what their lifestyle is like. If the couple wants natural, don’t insist on using your stylist or make-up artist. Sentiment Sells! Look at a recent shoot with a beautiful couple that spends most of their time digging clams and fishing on an island that is part of the Outer Banks, we actually had to ride the ferry to get their favorite place - April Jasinski and Barrett Bodiford.

Charging the Client

A lot of photographers do engagement sessions for “free”. I personally don’t think anything free is worth doing. Charging for the engagement session gives you the leverage to negotiate with your new clients on pricing AND services. Imagine this scenario – the client requests a discount on a $2500 package. You COULD discount the package, appearing a bit desperate and then try to “add on” the engagement session to bring up the final sale, or you could simply say “I’ll tell you what, since it’ll help me get to know you better before the wedding I’ll throw in an engagement shoot free of charge…” BAM -this is called “added value”. Sure, tie it into your $5000 packages – but on a basic level it doesn’t make sense to list it as “free”.

How it ALWAYS pays off…

If they’re good (and since the client paid you they should be) then in all likelihood the couple will insist on using the pictures in their announcement at a minimum. Most of the time you can also count on them wanting prints just because…and as an added bonus, their guests will have more pictures to look through (and buy) and you’ll be generating traffic to your website since they’ll want everyone they know to see the pictures.

More “added value” for YOU

As a personal touch, design some nice 4×4 cards with your contact info (and of course web address) to give out at the wedding and/or reception instead of business cards – or if the couple agrees, to put on the tables. Let guests have an extra card when you take their picture – it encourages them to go to the site and look/buy.

UPSELL MORE

What other angles can we work? How about a studio press guest register featuring the engagement photos on each left page? Guests think they’re amazing and it’ll double as another timeless keepsake for the couple.

These are some of the things I recommend, but if you have any ideas please share..

Atlanta Photography Exhibit Monthly Meet-up Mixer

Thursday, February 5, 2009, 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM; Marlow’s Tavern; Hosted by atlantaphotography.org

Push Pin 2009 (hosted by Atlanta Photography Group)

March 13-March 20, 2009

Photograher’s Choice 2009 (hosted by Atlanta Photography Group)

April 3-May 15, 2009

The Atlanta Photojournalism Seminar (http://www.photojournalism.org/)

December 4-5, 2009