Shooting School Sports Like a Pro: The Definitive Guide

August 15, 2012 —

Be Prepared

Sure, photo gear is a critical part of preparing to shoot a sporting event but, “The number one most important thing is knowing as much as possible about the sport, the team and the players,” says Sports Illustrated photographer Peter Read Miller (www.peterreadmiller.com). Miller has shot pretty much every major sporting event many times over, and his images have been selected for more than 100 SI covers. Although sports are unpredictable, Miller says that if you’re well-versed in the sport and familiar with the team and its players, you’re more likely to get great shots because “you know what their tendencies are…that’s more important than any camera or lens.” He uses his familiarity with the Lakers and Magic Johnson as an example, saying: “When Magic got the ball in that corner of the court, I knew what he was going to do.” And that gave him an edge in getting the shots he wanted.

Terrell Lloyd (www.rtlphotos.zenfolio.com)—who’s been shooting for the San Francisco 49ers for about 14 years and has been the athletic photographer for San Jose State University for almost eight years—agrees. Whatever sport you’re photographing, says Lloyd, “You want to understand the sport itself. In sports photography, it’s all about anticipation—anticipating what’s going to happen…not just the action; sometimes it’s about the before and after, the emotional part, too.” 

Even more challenging is photographing extreme sports such as mountain biking and skiing. Award-winning outdoor sports and lifestyle photographer Scott Markewitz (www.scottmarkewitz.com), whose images have graced the covers of some of the best-known magazines in his field more than 400 times, mostly sets up his shots. However, he can also be found photographing skiers on snow-covered mountains or positioned to grab a shot as a mountain biker comes flying down a trail. “If you understand the sport,” says Markewitz, “you know what they’re going to do.” 

As prepared as a shooter can be, the best laid plans can quickly and easily fall apart due to the unpredictable nature of sports, weather and any number of other uncontrollable variables. Legendary Sports Illustrated contract photographer Rich Clarkson (www.richclarkson.com), whose list of credits includes 57 NCAA Final Fours and 8 Olympic Games, to name a few, offers an interesting philosophy about sports photography. “I have always looked at sports photography as essentially crisis management,” he says. To reduce the impact of the unexpected, Clarkson tries to “figure out what can go wrong and what I can do to minimize what can go wrong.” He might scout the location beforehand to discover potential problems; sometimes, says Clarkson, “it’s as simple as visiting with the police or guards…and saying ‘I’m so and so and this is what I’m trying to do’ to get them on your side.” While that won’t always work, Clarkson recalls shooting a Fiesta Bowl in Phoenix where one of the security guards he had previously chatted with kept the cheerleaders out of the way while he was shooting. 

A friendly attitude across the board makes sports shooting a much more pleasant experience for all concerned. And, as Clarkson points out, “having everyone think of you as a nice guy who’s trying to do something really, really well and considerate of what other people are doing is tremendously important because it gets other people helping you.” Clarkson has made friends with coaches and athletes explaining that there may be times when “they will tell you something about what you should look for during a game.”

“Be polite,” says Miller adding that, “I’ve rarely been to a sporting event where I’ve had issues with other photographers. On the professional level, most everybody knows everybody and [adheres to] a reasonable code of conduct.” He also cautions, “Try to be aware of other photographers. The classic [faux pas] is the play goes to the end zone and a photographer leans out and messes up the other person’s shot.”

7 SPORTS SHOOTING QUICK TIPS

Gearing Up

Knowing your equipment is perhaps equally as important as knowing the sport you’re shooting. “Don’t grab the brand new camera out of the box and take it to the big game,” warns Miller, although he qualifies that statement with: “We’ve all done it but it’s not the best way.”

While the photographers we interviewed use  a range of different cameras from Nikon D3s and D4 to Canon 1D Mark IV and 1DX, you don’t need to use the same brand or models to get good shots. Fortunately, some of the features of higher-end cameras—most notably high ISO—have trickled down to more affordable DSLRs. “Cameras today are better with high ISO,” Lloyd says, citing the ability to shoot at ISO 4000 or 5000 “with less noise in images.” High ISO capabilities are often critical for getting the shutter speed necessary to capture the action, especially in low light and/or with slower lenses. As Miller points out, “there’s a lot of great software for correcting noise, but there’s nothing to correct blurry pictures.” For Markewitz, who is transitioning from the Nikon D3s to the D4, “high ISO is no problem. And I’m not afraid to use it even if there is a little bit of noise. Lightroom has amazing noise reduction.”

Unless you plan to place remote cameras around an arena, one or two DSLR bodies should be more than sufficient. “There are times when I’m using six cameras—two handheld and four remote,” says Clarkson, commenting on the fact that he has no “typical” gear bag for shooting sports. But, he advises, “To really cover something well, it’s better to keep it simple than try to do everything with 17 different cameras.” Miller might use two handheld cameras with different lenses, as well as one mounted on the backboard during a basketball game. “If you can mount a remote camera on the backboard…it will give you a nice view of what’s going on under the basket.” Alternatively, Miller suggests placing a camera on the floor near the end line and propping it up by taping a couple of AAs on the bottom of the camera. “You want it on the floor and you just have to watch it or be there with it,” he says. He also cautions that it’s better for the camera not to be attached to anything in case a player accidentally runs into the area. Lloyd, who shoots Canon, often works with three cameras: two attached to a BlackRapid strap and one on a monopod with a long lens.

In the end, there’s no need to run out and buy more gear, but if you have a second DSLR, it will come in handy—if only to hang around your neck with a different lens. 

Lenses 

Lens selection by focal length may vary according to the sport, but one thing is for certain: fast lenses are preferable, particularly in low- light situations so your camera can achieve high shutter speeds. If you’re only shooting outdoor, daytime games, you can get away with slower lenses, but f/2.8 (or faster) seems to be the norm for these sports shooters. 

Shooting with a Canon EOS 1DX, Miller says that the minimum for football is a 200mm lens. Again, f/2.8 is preferable “especially at night; but, during the day,” says Miller, “you can use a slower lens if you move right and know what’s going on.” His football gear bag usually consists of two DSLRs, 400mm, 70-200mm and 24-70mm lenses, all f/2.8. He might add a 1.4x tele-extender to the 400mm lens and he’ll use the 24-70mm on a second camera around his neck for “grab shots.” If he has an assistant, Miller may bring a 600mm or 800mm lens as well because they are “especially useful when shooting full-frame.”

A full complement of lenses for Markewitz will include everything from 16mm fisheye to a 300mm (all are f/2.8 or faster), including 17-35mm, 28-70mm and 70-200mm, a 1.4x tele-converter, as well as a few other fast primes and, occasionally, tilt-shift lenses. In addition to being able to achieve faster shutter speeds, Markewitz asserts that he’s better able to control depth-of-field. “One of the reasons to use fast lenses is not only the extra light, but also for shallow depth-of-field—that classic, big lens, shallow depth-of-field—that’s focused on the athlete so it draws your eye to the action,” he says. 

Lighting 

Unless you have the equipment, knowledge, access and permission to mount remote strobes, chances are you’ll be shooting with available light. Of course, if you’re like Markewitz and are able to set up shots (or are capturing portraits of athletes), you may be using off-camera lighting. He’ll use on-camera strobes once in a while but Markewitz emphasizes that, “I really like the power and control with off-camera strobes.” And though it takes a lot of extra effort, he’ll sometimes take a lighting set-up such as the Bron Mobil A2L (which comes with a lighter-weight lithium battery that delivers more shots than its predecessor) on location. He explains, “I’ll have two assistants with backpacks and the battery-operated strobes and will use them as moving human lightstands” to capture a skier or snowboarder on the slopes

Camera Settings

As expected, there’s no consensus on shooting RAW versus JPEG versus RAW + JPEG. Miller, for example, always shoots RAW, unless there’s a client on site that needs or wants JPEGs (then he’ll shoot RAW + JPEG). With RAW, says Miller, you get “incredible exposure latitude and have complete control over white balance after the fact and the ability to do everything better…Anything you can correct, you can do it better on a RAW file.” Of course, the downside is that the files are big (and with higher resolution cameras, files are increasing in size), and fill the buffer faster. They also take longer to transfer and require higher-powered computers. Miller, who generally uses 8, 16 and 32GB Hoodman CF cards, says he may phase out the 8GB cards and start using 64GB cards. 

Lloyd, on the other hand, almost always shoots JPEGs. “I am a JPEG shooter but will shoot RAW when I have to, depending on the sporting event,” he says. “With a lot of shooting, the JPEG files are very good quality and you get more storage [on CF cards and computers].” But, he cautions, “The key is making sure your exposures are correct. If you make a few mistakes in JPEG, then you can get into a little trouble,” and then RAW might be a better option.

Because shutter speed is critical in sports photography, it’s important to keep an eye on your settings. Lloyd recommends a minimum 1/500th of a second while Markewitz prefers at least 1/1000th or above for his shoots. The photographers we spoke with either shot aperture priority or manual, sometimes switching between the two (aperture priority when the light was good; manual in low light). “I shoot most everything in daytime on aperture priority,” Miller reports. At night, he’ll shoot in manual, looking at both the exposure and histogram because “there’s too much difference between a light uniform and dark uniform” to depend on the camera’s metering. Lloyd does the same, switching to manual when it’s overcast or he’s shooting indoors with low light. Markewitz always shoots in manual, explaining that, “I like to have full control over what I’m trying to get. If you’re letting your camera determine your exposure, you’re going to have some variations,” adding that manual exposure also allows him to more precisely adjust depth-of-field. 

It’s no surprise that continuous shooting is the norm among these photographers. But, as mentioned earlier, shooting RAW can rapidly fill up the buffer and, ultimately, may slow you down. Even with continuous shooting, however, it’s important to have a purpose and a goal and that’s where experience and timing contribute to a great shot. “I always shoot burst mode,” says Lloyd, but, he adds, in all sports, “I let the action come to me…you don’t want to shoot too loose. Sports photographers understand that and have an idea where the action is going to be and follow up with that.” 

Of course, you can “motor through” the game and end up with 2,000 shots. However, says Miller, the bad news is that nobody wants to see that many. In baseball, for example, you want to get a shot of the bat on the ball as the batter swings. “You can motor through every guy taking a swing,” he says. “You may get it with a burst, but maybe not. Great baseball photographers know the timing.” And, says Lloyd, “You can shoot 30 images of a batter at the plate and they haven’t swung yet…you have to feel it,” to get the shot.

Continuous autofocus or subject tracking can be invaluable in some situations. “You want to follow almost wherever the ball is…You can look around, panning and tracking the subject,” says Lloyd. Markewitz says he uses continuous autofocus, “if it’s a real straightforward action shot and whatever I’m shooting is moving consistently and at a steady rate of speed.” On the other hand, Markewitz says, “I may pre-focus [manually] knowing the action is going to happen in a certain spot. Autofocus limits you to the box [of focus points] and sometimes you want to be outside that box.” 

There are as many different styles of shooting as there are photographers; your style and technique may not exactly match the pros we spoke with for this article—and according to them, that’s okay. As Lloyd says, “There’s no right or wrong…but honing your skills and your technique is key.” 

Theano Nikitas, a full-time freelance writer and photographer, has been writing about photography for the past 18 years. Her digital imaging reviews, features, “how to” articles and images have appeared in American Photo, CNET.com, DigitalCameraReview.com, DPReview.com, Imaging-Resource.com, Macworld, PC World, Photo District News and Popular Photography/PopPhoto.com. Although she loves digital, Theano still has a darkroom and a fridge filled with film thanks to her long-time passion for alternative processes and toy cameras.