Sports Photography Made Simple
Do you wish you could capture some of the best moments in sports? Are you always taking pictures at the sporting events you attend? If so, you may want to think about sports photography as a career or hobby. Here are some of the things you’ll need to know in order to take the best pictures, as well as the best resources for finding the equipment you’ll need.
There are no schools that will offer you a degree solely in sports photography, so if you are going into photo journalism, it may be a good idea to have a concentration in this form of photography so that you will be better prepared for the jobs you’ll want in the future. You may also want to ask your admissions advisor if there are opportunities for you to participate in an internship with local sports teams, so that you can learn more about sports photography first-hand. Local, smaller newspapers may also be looking for students that are interested in sports photography; this will give you the experience you need when it comes to capturing images for print.
It will also help tremendously for you to take a look at sports magazines, so that you can get the inspiration that you need for taking images that capture athletes at their best. Sports Illustrated and ESPN the Magazine have great images of athletes making winning shots, congratulating teammates, and focusing on perfecting their skills. These magazines will also most likely have pictures of your favorite athletes and sporting events, so you’ll know how the lighting and backgrounds should be if you’re trying to capture an amateur sports game of the same sport.
Getting to know the work of some of the best professionals in the sports photography business will also help you to become better at your craft. People like Walter Iooss are great at what they do, and if you want to have regular exposure to sports photos, you may want to subscribe to Robert Hanashiro’s Sports Shooter. There is a Picture of the Year contest on the site, so be sure to study these to see which type of photos win. Are the athletes smiling, or do they have an intense look on their faces? Are you able to see the crowd that is watching the sporting event? Are there a lot of pictures that showcase a whole team as opposed to just one athlete? Checking for these features will help you to make choices as a photographer, and will help you to come up with your own personal style that could make you stand out.
If you want to know more about sports photography, be sure to visit informational sites like www.helium.com and www.phototips.com.