High School Seniors + Sports


Covering the Basics of High School Stadium Sports Shoots

October 3, 2016

By Dave Miller

It’s dusk and the high school stadium lights are on. The teams are taking to the field. It’s going to be a great night. Then you start taking pictures with your camera and realize it’s just not working. The pictures are dark, fuzzy and downright terrible—now what? First, let’s understand what we’re working with.


At Curtis High School [in University Place, Washington], I was standing under one of the four pole lights using a Nikon D7100 and 85mm lens at f/1.4, 1/800th of a second and ISO 1600. Photo © Golazo Photography

The Layout

A typical high school stadium is surrounded by a fenced-in track, so simply walking up to the field is not that easy. On top of that, the access gates are typically staffed by uniformed police officers or school staff. Most places that see you carrying what looks like a “professional” camera setup will let you through, but sometimes they will say no. Don’t argue; politely ask what kind of credentials they would like to see in order to grant you access.

Most stadiums will only have the minimal lighting (30 foot-candles) needed to safely play a game. In my area (just outside of Seattle), most stadiums have either four or six light poles, whereas most professional stadiums have lights around the entire field and will illuminate it as bright as day. I have found that stadiums with only four light poles are more difficult to shoot, not because there is less light but due to the light pattern. With only four sources of light, there are more shadows on the players’ faces, resulting in not-so-good images. One way to address this is to get more centrally located. Stadium lighting is designed to provide the most light in the center of the field, so when you are positioning yourself around the field, you will want to keep in mind that any action that’s more central will be easier to capture.


Photo © Golazo Photography

The Access

A significant difference between youth club sports and high school sports is what you can and cannot do with the images you capture. First, a quick lesson on high school athletics and how they are organized: Each school is a member of a league, which is part of a district (multiple neighboring leagues make up a district), which is part of a state association, and each state association is part of the NFHS (National Federation of High Schools). Every season starts out with league play, and if your team does well, they will go into the district playoffs. If they continue to do well, they enter the state rounds of playoffs. All of this is important to understand because each level of play affects how much access you can get and what you can do with the pictures you take.

During the regular season games (league games), you will typically get full access to the field, particularly the home field of the school you are shooting. Any images from these matches are usually unregulated (meaning you can post them online and sell them), especially any non-football sport (soccer, lacrosse, etc.). Football is usually a significant revenue source for almost every school with a program, so getting permission from the coach or the booster club will make access much easier.

District and state playoff games are a little more regulated. There are a few districts that regulate media access and the rights to the images more than the state associations. At the state round level, it is very common to have restrictions on selling your images. Most state associations have authorized or sponsor photography companies that are the only people allowed to sell images. That said, you can still get access to the fields for these games by getting a media pass from a recognized media outlet—I have had the privilege of shooting state finals for soccer with credentials from a soccer news blog. All I had to do was provide a gallery of images for the blog to post and share. I was given photo credit, of course, and my galleries were seen by thousands of people that would not have been seen otherwise.


Photo © Golazo Photography

The Gear

I’m a Nikon guy, so most of the references I make will be to Nikon gear. I know Canon has some great gear—when you watch the photographers in the background on TV, many are using Canon gear—but personally, I’m not familiar enough with Canon to recommend specific items.

Now, I get asked a lot for advice on the right gear to use when you’re taking photos under the lights. My first response is always money. Most modern DSLR bodies will take okay pictures if you have the right lens, but you will get better pictures with a semi-pro camera body such as the Nikon D7000 or the newer D500. For optimum results, you will need a full-frame camera such as the Nikon D750 or D800.

Probably the most important piece of gear in your bag will be the lens. Most seasoned photographers will tell you to buy glass before upgrading your camera body. The saying goes, “You date a camera body but marry the lens.” At a minimum, you will want a 70-200mm f/2.8 lens. You don’t have to run out and buy a new lens; look for a gently used one instead. It’s a very affordable way to get a piece of fast glass.

In general, shoot for a wide-open aperture, 1/1000th of a second shutter speed and Auto ISO. If you have a full-frame camera with good low-light capabilities, you can afford to push the ISO higher (in the 3200 to 6400 range), which would let you boost up the shutter speed as well. However if you have a crop sensor camera with a weaker low-light performance, you will have to make some compromises.

My current setup is a Nikon D7100 and an 85mm f/1.4 lens. With a crop sensor body, the effective focal length with the 85mm is approximately 130mm. Since I have a camera that is okay but not great with low light, the extra wide aperture of f/1.4 helps me keep my shutter speed a little higher. It’s not the most optimum focal length for outdoor sports, but with a little patience I can still get the shot. Since I like to get the action nearest the goal or end zone I position myself on the end of the field and wait for the action to get in range. That said, sometimes I will move up the sidelines to try and catch the action in the middle of the field—after all, everyone gets impatient every once in a while.

Dave Miller is the owner of Golazo Photography, LLC based in Gig Harbor, WA. He’s passionate for sports photography and enjoys both team and individual shoots. This story was adapted from his original article, published on improvephotography.com.