Become a Pro at Sport Photography with These 4 Tips

Sports photographers are the masters of speed and movement. Catching the perfect moment in the excitement of a game is not an easy job. Prevention and intuition are your weapons.

It takes a lot of knowledge and patience to be a good sport photographer. But most of all you have to like both the photography and the sports you are documenting.

Choosing the best spot

Choose whatever sport you enjoy and you often watch or even practice.

Give yourself time to observe the movements, the speed, the rules of the sport, the enthusiasm of players and public, how points are scored, and so on. Then, do a mental exercise and choose the moments you want to photograph. It might be the victory moment or the most difficult moment. It might be the tension from the beginning of the game or the players’ muscles and facial expressions.

Choose whatever defines the sport you are taking pictures of. You can even photograph a noisy public, anger, or disappointment. Sport arenas are places full of drama, pain, and feelings.

Most importantly, you have to tell a story. Similar to a sport commentator who speaks through a radio to transform images in words, you have to put a story in a frame.

Be prepared

Speed is the key in sport photography. So, you have to be prepared and your camera has to be ready at any time.

Choose the best settings and stay with them. Essentials in sport photography are a fast shutter speed, a tripod, and the lowest ISO possible. So, put your camera in sport mode if you have this option or give priority to shutter speed.

Zooming can also increase your chances of shaking the camera, so it is vital to use a tripod. Focus on players’ faces and moves, but don’t forget about the specificity of the sport you are photographing.

Learn special techniques

There are some techniques that can really make a difference in sport photography. One of them is panning.

Panning means focusing on a moving subject and following the subject by moving the camera. This way, the subject will always be in focus and the background will register the movement.

Another useful technique is using burst mode. Burst mode allows you to continuously take pictures as long as you keep the shutter button pressed. This technique increases the chances of taking sharp pictures.

Sports don’t always happen in an arena

Sports events are awesome and everybody wants to take part in an international event or the Olympics.

Neither of these is required.

You can photograph sports in a schoolyard or a park. Running, skating, basketball, kayaking, yoga, football, cycling, and many other sports are happening in your own neighborhood. The good thing about people who practice sports is that they never lose the enthusiasm and the passion.

Results aren’t always so important. The greatest joy of photographing sports is in the people. The focus of their efforts and determination and your pictures will be great.

All in all, you cannot be a great sports photographer if you don’t love sports.

It doesn’t matter if you play hockey or go to yoga classes– you have to enjoy practicing some sort of sport. Understanding the hard work behind every move, the determination of team sports, the sweat and pain each athlete go through are essential when it comes to transforming sports in stand still images.

Anticipation comes from knowledge and great photos come from passion.