The Sports Photographer

2016-03-27T09:51:00.002-04:00

The Sports Photographer has just released the latest issue of the online magazine, MetroSports Magazine featuring the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) stop at NYC's Madison Square Garden, the NYC Manhattan Classic Gymnastics tournament featuring over 3,000 participants, and the Extreme Cage Fighting MMA. Check it out at www.MetroSportsMag.com

www.MetroSportsMag.com

Announcing MetroSports Magazine

2015-01-29T07:42:00.001-05:00

The Sportsphotographer is now publishing an NY metro region magazine, rich in imagery, delivered in an online format, and called MetroSports Magazine.

Check it out at http://www.metrosportsmag.com/

Let us know what you think, what you like, and what you don't.
Like us, share us, and sign up so we can send you an email notice when each new edition is posted.

Feel free to submit a photo to our Fan Favorites section.

http://www.metrosportsmag.com/

Follow-up on the Canon 5D-III as a Sports Photographer's Camera

2014-09-01T22:55:00.001-04:00

It was just over two years ago that I posted the question on The Sports Photographer blog, "Is the Canon 5D-III a Camera for Professional Sports Shooters ?" While I commented favorably on the then new and untested 5D-III's attributes, I reasoned that it would be wise to sit on the sidelines for a brief while and see what Canon came up with for the next generation 7D. With over two years now passed and the 7D-II still only a rumor (with perhaps a speculated 7D-II announcement at the 2014 Photokina), I had given in and added a 5D-III body to my shooting arsenal about a year ago.

With two professional boxing matches, a NASCAR race weekend, an International Table Tennis Federation tournament, collegiate soccer, volleyball and track & field and and three weeks of youth baseball and softball tournaments under it's belt, I'm happy to announce the Canon 5D-Mark III as a worthy camera for any sports photographer.

True, you do loose 2 frames/second in burst shooting with the 5D-III compared with the 7D and up to 6 frames/second compared with the 1D-X but for most sports and in most shooting situations, knowledge of the game and pre-planning when to release the shutter can still get you great results. The loss of lens reach with the full-frame 5D-III sensor compared with the 7D's APS-C sensor is
noticeable right out of the camera but, with the full-frame and
higher pixel count of the 5D-III, you can easily make up any loss by cropping in post processing.

Where the 5D-III excels is in low light situations such as indoor gyms and evening sporting events. While the 7D is still a great camera and gets nearly as much use as the 5D-III, its low light performance and noisy high ISO output makes it a challenge to use in low light situations. After all, there's only so much you can do with noise-reduction software. The full frame sensor on the 5D-III also helps to increase background blur and make your primary subjects stand out from the often distracting sports venue backgrounds. The autofocus system, exposure metering, firmware, weather sealing and build are all top-notch on the 5D-III.

Indoors, its the 5D-III, hands-down. Sharing much of its pedigree with the 1D-X, I find that the price differential doesn't justify the 1D-X unless, of course, you're shooting for one of the major photo outlets or job depends on nailing the perfect photo every time. My keeper rate in marginal conditions with the 5D-III is nearly 60%, well above that of the 7D. Outdoors, I shoot with the 7D and a 300mm lens (now that's great reach) and the 5D-III with a 70-200 f/2.8 for closer work. The 7D and the 300mm prime lens still takes great pictures and I find nothing lacking.

If sports shooting is your thing and you're thinking of taking the leap to a 5D-III, go ahead and jump with confidence. I doubt any 7D upgrade is going to knock this winner off the medalist platform.

A View From Vest Number 002: NASCAR's Phoenix 2014 Race Week

2014-03-16T23:01:00.002-04:00

I've finally gotten around to putting my NASCAR Phoenix race week notes down to share on The Sports Photographer Blog. The Blog title refers to the photographer's vest #002 that was assigned to me and which I wore for the next four days of shooting. The photographer's vest is a staple of sports photographers and is a visible symbol that grants photographers access to areas off-limits to other event guests and workers. Wearing Vest #002 was quite an honor given that Vest #001 was assigned to my boss for the race week, Mike Meadows, Director of Photography for the International Speedway Corporation (ISC), parent company of the Phoenix race track.

After a snowy departure from NY and a diversion through Atlanta, it was was wheels-down at PHX late Wednesday, Feb 26th, for a four-day race event at Phoenix International Raceway (PIR) culminating with the Sunday, March 2nd NASCAR Sprint Cup race, the second race of NASCAR's 36 race 2014 season. Following his previous week's win at the Daytona 500, all eyes were on Dale Earnhardt Jr and the #88 National Guard Chevrolet.

Thursday, February 27 was day 1 of racing and included a busy day of shooting ending, ultimately, with the K&N Pro Series race. Arriving at the track around 8:00am the first stop was NASCAR's credentialing trailer where I picked up my all-access Press Pass and a NASCAR Garage and Pit Access Hot Pass. Then it was on to the Media Center, my home-base for four days, to set-up my workspace and meet with Mike Meadows to receive the day's "shot list". Shooting for the track and International Speedway Corporation (ISC) is quite an experience and the days were spent alternatively shooting specific assignments around the track facility and coming back to the Media Center for some quick Adobe Lightroom processing (straightening, color correcting, and cropping) and uploading files via FTP to ISC's server. A typical morning of shooting assignments, divided up among the half-a-dozen or so photographers, can be seen on the shot list at right. Shooting for the track and ISC is not quite the same as shooting for news outlet, sports publication or your own pleasure. Rather, most of the images called for on the shot list were to satisfy the needs of the various corporate sponsors that make NASCAR racing commercially viable as well as for the track's own public relations use.

Thursday's shooting was briefly interrupted by two scheduled video conferences which were set up to link students in marketing classes at The College of Westchester (CW) to PIR's Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Scott Rovn, and the Director and Editor of PIR's Pit Notes and former Indy Car Series Director of Public Relations, John Chuhran. CW students in Dr. Jim McGee's and Prof. Noel D'Allacco's marketing classes had been studying NASCAR's recent diversity efforts as an attempt to reach a broader Black and Hispanic audience. A feature of the race week was Friday night's NASCAR Toyota Mexico Series race, part of NASCAR's effort to expand it's reach to a larger Hispanic audience. In two sessions that ran approximately 45 min each, CW students had an opportunity for a Q&A with these two experienced marketing professionals. It was a great experience for the students, particularly for Prof D'Allacco's class which consisted of high school students earning college-level course credits through CW's Jump Start early college high school program.

Among the off-track photo assignments I covered were press conferences with Dale Earnhardt Jr. and four-time Sprint Cup champion Jimmy Johnson, fan Q&A and autograph sessions with Bobby Alison, Rusty Wallace, Danica Patrick, Michael Waltrip, Casey Khane and former Indy Car driver Billy Boat. The Billy Boat session was of particular interest to me as my middle seat neighbor on the flight from Atlanta to Phoenix was none other than NASCAR Nationwide Series driver Chad Boat, Billy's son.who introduced himself to me when he saw me reading through some pre-race media releases. Candid photographs of drivers, crew members, and fans were also requested and I logged a lot of mileage walking thorough the garage, pits, midway and stands looking for opportunities. I also shot a track-side concert with country music group, Chelsea Bain, and walked the midway and infield shooting fans having fun.

The fan experience is a critical part of NASCAR's success and fans are the center of many of the shot list items. Whether shooting race fans in their seats, enjoying an autograph session, or tailgating in the infield, capturing images of people having fun enjoying their NASCAR experience is a must.

For example, when I was shooting a performance of the country music group, Chelsea Bain, the standard front-on views of the performers which might work well elsewhere, and during which I got this great shot at top left and which is one of my favorites, won't work well for this assignment. Its not about the performer, its about the fans and the fan experience while at the race track. Instead, getting up onto the stage, moving behind the performers and shooting forward into the crowd, was the way to go.

Sponsor signage was everywhere and all members of the photography crew were asked to shoot signage wherever visible. Of course, sponsors want to see their signage appear only in the proper settings for example, when shooting the Toyota signage on the track walls, it always helped to have some on-track action visible in the shot such as a car streaking by. When I typically shoot a car running on the track I'd select a moderately slow shutter speed and pan the camera along the axis of the car's movement to make sure that I'd get adequate motion blur to convey a sense of speed. Doing so in this case however would have blurred the Toyota sign and that just wouldn't do. One thing to make sure of if you want to keep the Toyota folks happy - never upload a photo of anything but a Toyota in the picture! This photo, of one of the Toyota Mexico Series cars - a Camry - would do quite nicely.

With about 3,000 shutter clicks for the four-day event, a few hundred "keepers" which satisfied the shot list requirements and which I found worthy of uploading, my favorite shot of the week was this one, below. Why? Perhaps its Danica's celebrity status among the fans and, if that's what you're thinking - you're wrong. This is my favorite because it's my version of a "selfie" - That's me reflected in Danica's sunglasses.

Several days after getting back home I received a "cold call" email from a young lady who asked if I was the photographer who took the picture of Dale Jr. autographing a souvineer helmet she was carrying. Interestingly, I was, and thought it was a great photo since she had large photo of Junior on the back of her tee-shirt and was standing right next to the real thing. I asked her how she found me and she mentioned that she saw the photo on the Phoenix Raceway Facebook site which the track had posted with my photo credit. She looked me up, found my website (nyspg.com), and sent me an note.

Here are some other selected photos.

Tell A Story

2013-11-17T11:38:00.002-05:00

Although most sports and action photographs are compelling enough in their own right you can sometimes convey a more complete story by combining a series of images together, perhaps as a series of consecutive slides in a show or as a matted and framed triptych for display.

A typical series might include a pre-game photo, perhaps of players in the locker room, a game-time action shot or two, and a post-game celebration image. I often like to focus in on the personal competition that develops between two players during a came which sometimes can become very animated.

Below is a serious of photographs I took at a recent collegiate soccer game between the women's teams of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and Boston University. These two women were playing each other very hard as can be seen in the following photos.

As the game progressed, the intensity of the competition, and perhaps animosity between the players heated up and became a little more physical resulting in the capture below.

Actually, I didn't know you could do that in soccer. It goes without saying that #19 on the Army team didn't think that this was an appropriate action on the part of Boston's # 16 and I remained focused on these two to see what might happen next. It wasn't too long before I was rewarded with the next shot. Payback Time ! Now there's a story.

World Class Table Tennis in Westchester County

2013-03-02T11:26:00.000-05:00

Two-time Olympian, Yadira Silva

(click anywhere within to see the entire article)

Last weekend (Feb 23-24, 2013) The Sports Photographer had the opportunity to photograph a number or world-class table tennis players in a two-day tournament held at the Westchester Table Tennis Center (WTTC) in Pleasantville, New York. Among the more notable competitors I had the pleasure to meet and photograph was the former Cuban National and Latin American Championship silver medalist (2002, 2003) and more recently two time Mexican Olympian (2008 and 2012 games) Yadira Silva.

Also competing were several hard-playing members of the current Costa Rican National Table Tennis Team, both men and women, who had a very respectable showing. I was most impressed by the intensity and competitiveness of these players as well, of course, as the nail polish worn by National Champion Angie Araya reflecting the colors of the flag of Costa Rica (below, center).

Members of the Costa Rican National Team, Angie Araya (center), Costa Rica National Champion

Also competing this weekend was the nationally ranked player from France, Damien Provost, a regular at WTTC tournaments.

WTTC, owned by New York Times crossword puzzle editor, Will Shortz and managed by Barbados table tennis star Robert Roberts is an easy-to-reach premier table tennis facility located about 30 miles north of New York City.

Coming up the weekend of April 19-21, WTTC will be hosting the North America Cup Championship, an elite event that will be streamed world-wide live over the Internet by the International Table Tennis Federation. The Sports Photographer, through the New York Sports Photo Group and Warren Rosenberg Photography has been granted exclusive rights to photograph this and other WTTC events. If you haven't experienced the passion of competitive Table Tennis, please plan on stopping by. I'd be happy to shoot your picture !

You've Got To Check Out "2.8"

2012-12-16T17:31:00.000-05:00

Anyone and everyone with an interest in sports photography, photography in general, or who is a fan of competitive sports has just got to get the current issue of the Italian sports photography publication, "2.8" or "Dueeotto" in Italian.

The current issue of "2.8" the third in its first year of publication features the work of the award winning sports photographer, Donald Miralle.

"2.8" is a high quality print publication available through Amazon's Italian outlet, "Amazon.it", through 2.8's own website at "Dueeotto.com", in select bookstores and magazine shops throughout the world, and in an online version available through iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/2.8-donald-miralle/id583728426?l=it&ls=1).

Donald's work is simply fantastic, most notably because of the unique and creative camera angles he shoots from. The range of sports that are included in this issue of "2.8" are sure to satisfy everyone.

If your local bookstore or magazine shop doesn't have "2.8", ask that they get it. I have not seen a better sports photography publication.

Women's Boxing

2012-11-30T11:43:00.002-05:00

Jennifer Santiago - Professional Boxer

Much of my work focuses on women in sports. Recently, I've been photographing the career of currently undefeated bantamweight professional boxer, Jennifer Santiago, a two time former Golden Gloves amateur boxing champion (2003 and 2004), and former mixed martial arts fighter with 18 professional wins in Chuck Norris' former World Combat League. The pictures in this post are from one of Jennifer's training sessions shot at the Gotham Gym in NYC where she trains and from her most recent fight last month at the Aviator Sports Complex in Brooklyn. When not fighting, Jen is a personal trainer, spending time at NYC's Printing House Gym, and as president of J5 Fitness.

Westchester Table Tennis Center

2012-08-21T09:04:00.002-04:00

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Wow ! Who would have thought that table tennis is such an exciting sport. It's no wonder that this fast-paced, highly coordinated, and emotionally-charged sport is included among the modern Olympic events.

Thanks to Westchester Photographic Society (WPS - wpsphoto.org) member Serge Migdal who set up the photo shoot of a tournament this past weekend at the Westchester Table Tennis Center and to WTTC owner Will Shortz and manager Robert Roberts, I had my first ever experience shooting this sport.

There's a lot more to this game than the simple "ping pong" that I remembered as a kid. The competitors I photographed came from around the world, both men and women, both young and old. They were athletic, animated, and full of action. The lighting was superb and the shooting angles ideal.

I had the pleasure of speaking with a writer for the US Table Tennis Association Magazine, Bill McGimpsy, and learned a lot about what went on at this tournament that I was unaware of through my viewfinder. International intrigue, "ringers" being flown in from outside the country, and mind games being played between and among competitors. Look for Bills article in the November issue of the USTTA magazine for full coverage and all of the "backstory".

I can't wait to go back !!!

Photographing Baseball and Softball

2012-07-01T12:45:00.002-04:00

I just finished a hectic week of shooting a boys national baseball tournament on Randall's Island in NYC for Triple Crown Sports. Here are some pointers for capturing great action shots on the baseball/softball field.

Shooting Positions with Credentials:
I found that there are basically four ideal shooting positions that allow you to cover most of the game action and which work well using a single camera and lens combination. Most of your time would be well-spent only at positions A and B. You will only occasionally need to reposition yourself at C and D for pitcher shots. Unless pitchers change, you only need to spend a few minutes at C and D. I found the ideal lens for these positions to be the 70-200 f/2.8.

Position A. Behind the first base coach.
This is the single, most ideal position where I spent most of my time.

Shooting from this position allows you to shoot straight down the baseline at home plate to capture right-handed batters as they stand at the plate. A great still capture of each player as he or she stands to bat with, full concentration on the pitcher, is easy to get. You'll also be able to get some good pictures of the batter swinging and, occasionally the luck shot of the ball flying off the bat. Whether the batter gets a hit or a walk, you'll also be able to get an action shot of the player coming straight at you, in a trot or full run, as they move to take first base.

Occasionally, you'll want to move to position B to get the left-handed batters straight on.

You'll also be able to get the action plays at home plate with a runner sliding in to score, the catcher poised to receive the ball and, perhaps, team mates the batter and umpire looking on. The 200 mm focal length of your lens will let you get close in on the action at the plate.

During the course of a game, more players will either cross first base or stand on first base than either second or third bases. Position A allows you to catch close-up action at first base using the 70mm end of your lens. As you watch the game action you'll pick up quickly if the first base coach has his/her runners take large leads and steal second base with some regularity. If so, be ready for some great action in the pick-off play. Position A puts you in the ideal place to capture the runner sliding back into first in a cloud of dust, the first base player poised to make the tag and the pitcher watching the action and, more often than not, throwing the ball.

Finally, from Position A and using the long end of your lens, you're also well-positioned to get the play at second base. Knowing the game and learning each team's strategy as you're observing and shooting, will help you anticipate when such a play is likely. There's a heck of a lot of good shooting that can be done from Position A with just one camera and a 70-200 mm lens.

Position C for Photographs of the Pitcher:
To get some great action photos of the pitchers, you'll need to occasionally move to positions C and D. Position C looks challenging because you'll have to shoot through the fencing of the backstop. Actually, this is not at all difficult. If you place your lens right up to fence, centered on one of the small fence openings, have your aperture wide open and your focal length zoomed out, the fence wiring will be thrown so far out of focus that it will simply appear as a slightly dark shadow around the frame of your image. A natural vignette. You get wonderful facial expressions and, frequently, the ball in flight as it moves towards the plate. Shooting in burst mode will get you a nice sequence of images, one of which is sure to have the "money shot. Once you've gotten three or four good, usable shots of the pitcher from this perspective, you're done at position C. You only need go back to get the other team's pitcher and when a team makes a pitching change.

Position D for Another Perspective on the Pitcher:

The face-on shots of the pitcher (above) are great for capturing intensity and emotion but the side view will provide some wonderful shots of the pitcher in full stretch. You can move the position D, once for each pitcher. If the game organizer and umpire crew allows, shoot from outside the baseline halfway between the plate an first base (for right handed pitchers) or third base (for left handed pitchers). If your not allowed, stand on the bleachers and shoot over the fence or, if you need to, through the fence, to get shots like this one, below.

Finally, for those other players (second base, third base, shortstop, and outfield, use the time between innings when players take the field following their at bat, and warm up. Typically, the first baseman (or woman) will warm up the other infielders by throwing ground balls to them before the umpire calls for the game action to resume. From shooting Position A, you'll get a face-on look at the second and third base players and the shortstop fielding ground balls and throwing back to first. Although not actual game action, these will be great and easy to capture shots. Likewise, the outfielders will be taking practice fly balls and, with your 200 mm focal length, you can get these players in action as well.

June 2012 Sports Photo Shoots

2012-06-17T20:36:00.002-04:00

Sabrina Vega (C) Warren Rosenberg

What a month it has been. I just spent a wonderful morning this past Friday photographing a member of the U.S. National Women's Gymnastics Team and 2012 Olympic hopeful Sabrina Vega during one of her training sessions. Sabrina trains right here in the N.Y. metro area with coaches Teodora Ungureau and Sorin Cepoi, both former Romanian Olympic gymnasts. Sabrina placed on the US National Team and qualified for the US Olympic Team Trials last week at the VISA Cup in St Louis and is headed to the Olympic Trials later this month. After the shoot I had a chance to speak with Sabrina and she is a delightful young lady. This was the last of the sports photos I've been shooting for the upcoming issue of the Italian sports photography publication 'Dueeotto' - or '2.8'. Look for me in the September Issue, available through Amazon and selected bookstores.

Jennifer Santiago Pro Debut (C) Warren Rosenberg

The month started with a June 3 boxing event at the Aviator Sports Complex in Brooklyn. Boxing coach Luigi Olcese arranged for me to photograph two of his fighters, one, a former Golden Gloves champion making her professional debut. Jennifer Santiago, who won her pro debut, is not only is a former Golden Gloves champion but she has been competing as a mixed martial artist for several years. Keep your eyes open as Jenifer's sure to make a splash in women's professional boxing.

I also photographed another of Luigi's fighters, Armin Mrkanovic, a Bosnian-American former kickboxer who also won his match. The headliner of this fight card and another boxer I photographed that evening was the former U.S. Olympic Boxing Team member Sadam Ali who, like Jennifer, was also making his professional debut. Ali was the first Arab-American boxer to represent the United States in the Olympic games. I had the pleasure of shooting three winners that night.

Armin Mrkanovic (C) Warren Rosenberg

Next week my month closes off with a week-long baseball tournament hosted by Triple Crown Sports that I've contracted to cover. This is one of three NYC-based Triple Crown Sports events that I'm covering, the last of which is next month's National Fastpitch Softball Tournament to be held at Randalls Island. More on those events later.

A Weekend with Joe DiMaggio

2012-04-01T21:09:00.002-04:00

(click anywhere on the text below to open this full blog posting)

Say it ain't so, Joe. It is !! A weekend with Joe DiMaggio.
I'm talking about world famous photographer Joe DiMaggio, noted among other things for his award winning Sports Illustrated cover in 1981 of the Larry Holmes - Jerry Cooney fight.

While, as a sports photographer, Joe has photographed professional boxing and boxers, pro racing, the Olympics, captured the iconic picture of the late Joe Paterno for Time Magazine in 2002, and, more recently has produced a video, "In This Corner", on the fighters at Gleason's Gym (http://vimeo.com/9585686), he is perhaps best known in the New York Metro area for his always sold out Photowalks with Adorama Camera and his workshops at the DiMaggio/Kalish Workshops (https://dimaggio-kalishworkshops.com/Home_Page.html).

I've had some great times - and great opportunities- photographing with Joe on his photowalks, and the shooting session at Gleason's gym was perhaps my favorite.

With the help of Westchester-based photographer Ann Raine (http://annrainephotography.com), a colleague in the Westchester Photographic Society (WPSPhoto.org), we've managed to put together a Friday evening lecture and a Saturday workshop with Joe DiMaggio. Scheduled for Friday, June 29 and Saturday, June 30, this special weekend with Joe is sure to sell out. Joe is limiting us to no more than 20 participants. For more information on this private workshop, please see (https://dimaggio-kalishworkshops.com/June_30_Private_Workshop.html), or contact me.

World Boxing Council Featherweight Champion Maureen Shea

2012-03-21T20:40:00.004-04:00

(Click on text to read the whole positing)
Got to spend some very nice quality time this afternoon with one of my former students and the current WBC Women's Featherweight Boxing Champ, Maureen Shea and her good friend, Joy Schoenthaler. Now training and fighting out of California and preparing for a title defense next month in Mexico City, "Moe" gave some time to do what she does best (after boxing) and that is, to give motivational talks to groups of students. Even though she came back to New York for some well-deserved time off from boxing before getting back to heavy training for the Mexico City bout on April 21, she managed to squeeze in a well-received talk to students at The College of Westchester, where she had studied briefly back when it was the Westchester Business Institute.

As a sports photographer, I'll always be thankful to Maureen for giving me ringside access to shoot several of her fights including a title bout at Madison Square Garden, her NABF Championship win in Saratoga, NY and, one of my favorites, her knockout win at the Yonkers PAL (below).

This is one tough young lady and a class act all the way. Root for her on April 21.

Maureen Shea, She hits like a girl !

Iona Gaels v Syracuse: How Would That Be for an NCAA Tournament Matchup

2012-03-13T08:12:00.000-04:00

With Syracuse University receiving the number one seed in the 2012 NCAA College Basketball Tournament and the Iona Gaels just squeezing in at the bottom, how would the potential for a Syracuse-Iona matchup look. I photographed the last (and only) meeting of these two teams last season and, believe it or not, Syracuse was manhandled by the duo of Mike Glover and Scott Machado. Here are some pictures from that game.

How to Shoot Great Sports Photos

2012-03-05T22:33:00.001-05:00

Photographing sporting events provides an exciting and challenging opportunity for both amateur and professional photographers who wish to try new avenues of photographic expression and technical challenge. As the American photojournalist and National Geographic photographer Jim Richardson has been quoted as saying, “if you want to be a better photographer, stand in front of more interesting stuff”. The exciting and fast moving action, colorful uniforms, the range of emotions and facial expressions running from sheer joy to heartbreaking disappointment, and the drama inherent in winning and losing all work to qualify sports as “interesting stuff”.

For those looking to challenge their photographic skills, to try something a little different and outside of their normal comfort zone, sports photography is good place to look. While landscapes, portraits, still life and street photography are common subjects for many photographers, sports photography is a little different for most people and poses some unique technical and artistic challenges for photographers.

Determining What to Shoot

Most sporting events are characterized by fast moving plays that require the photographer to constantly be on the ready and able to anticipate action as it develops. On the field, court, track or other venue, there is frequently lots of action to choose from and you’ve got to be able to determine where you set your sights which camera settings to select to capture the best images. It is always helpful to know something about the sport you are shooting: what the important plays are that make the most compelling photographs, who the important players are, the rules of competition and any history between the competing teams to be able to focus on any long-standing rivalries between competitors.

Taking pictures of the venue and crowds can help you document the event from a more photojournalistic perspective. You’re also certain to find interesting and colorful subjects, both architectural and human, when you scan the venue and crowds. Sports fans are a passionate and sometimes eccentric group and you don’t want to miss some wonderful photo opportunities that take place outside the boundaries of the game. Take, for example, these fans, below, at NASCAR race and Syracuse University basketball game.

You should also pay attention to the sidelines and benches where some wonderful photo opportunities can be found of players cheering on their teammates, or coaches sharing private moments with their players. Be sure also to look for photo opportunities during the pre-game and post-game periods. The pictures below capture NASCAR drivers Casey Mears and Jimmy Johnson in private moments with their daughters before a race at Phoenix International Raceway.

But realize that what is most important is capturing the competition of the event and what follows is some advice on how to get the best pictures. It is rarely helpful to shoot players from the back and photo editors for sports publications often reject images that don’t contain the players’ faces. As Rod Mar, team photographer for the NFL Seattle Seahawks and staff photographer for the Seattle Times writes in his instructive article on how to photograph football, “The essence of all sports photography can be captured in the old adage, often repeated by crusty old wire service editors to young wannabees: ‘two faces and a ball, kid, two faces and a ball’ ”.

Not only does the adage, “two faces and a ball” help make for great photographs but it is even better when those faces show human emotions such as intensity, anger or fear as is shown in the following images from a Syracuse University men’s’ and Notre Dame University women’s’ basketball game demonstrate the power of “two faces and a ball”.

Determining Shooting Location

When shooting events like football, soccer, lacrosse and rugby which are played on fields 100 yards in length you need to determine and gain access to a suitable shooting position and then determine if the action will occur close to you or on a distant part of the field. This will affect your choice of lens. Wide-angle lenses can provide photographs that span large sections of the playing field and allow you to catch action near your shooting position. Telephoto prime lenses such as the 400mm, 500mm and 600mm lenses are well-suited for shooting across the field and for getting those all important tight shots of faces, hands and player interactions. If shooting with a single camera, the 70 – 200mm or 100 – 400mm lenses will give you a good degree of latitude. If possible, bring two camera bodies with you, setting up one to cover action close by and one to provide reach to the far ends of the venue.

The perspective that you can achieve in games such as football and basketball are vastly different depending on whether you are shooting from the sidelines or the end zone. For example, when shooting basketball, the most common and sought after position is the photographers “pit” at the baseline either to the immediate right or left of the basket .

This position allows you to capture the offensive players, head on, as they drive in towards the basket and to photograph the all important dunks while shooting up from under the basket. Not only is this a great angle to capture the offensive and defensive player’s faces during the dunk but the angle of shooting up towards the basket from below adds to the sense of height. Sometimes it is all right to break the rules in photography and, although the next two pictures are shot from the player’s back, the images still effectively capture the game action.

I also like to wander, occasionally, to the sidelines where you can capture action from the side that includes a background of the stands and shoot across the court to photograph activity on the team benches. One particular position I like to shoot from is within the spectator seating, at the level of the basket where, with a telephoto lens, you can capture the action of a dunk at player eye level.

Photographic Composition

The elements of good composition, applicable to areas of general photography, hold true for sports photography as well. The most compelling sports photographs are those that highlight an element of action with a minimum of confusing background clutter. As photographer, author and Canon Explorer of Light Rick Sammon is fond of saying, “The name of the game is to fill the frame”. Your final image should comprise mostly your main subject, not lots of empty space or background. While some of this can be achieved by cropping in post-processing, cropping down too much can reduce the resolution of your final image and result in less than optimal results. It is better to try and fill the frame with your main subject while composing the image in your camera. Another common way to achieve separation of your main subject from the background by using a large aperture (small f/stop number), creating a shallow depth of field that will help throw the background out of focus. Both techniques were used to make the image below, shot from the end zone at a Notre Dame football game.

The placement of the main subject within the frame of your photograph can also enhance the look of your final image. Placement of your main subject in accordance with the rule of thirds can help contribute to an aesthetically pleasing photograph.

The use of diagonals in a photograph help to convey a sense of action or dynamic tension which can be lost in an otherwise sharply focused picture. When going through the hundreds of images you capture during a single game, try and select those in which the players or parts of their bodies lie along diagonal lines within the frame of the photograph.

Technical Considerations

In addition to selecting what to shoot, where to shoot from, and how to compose your photographs, the technical considerations of actually using your camera are of paramount importance and include your selection of shutter speed, aperture, ISO and shooting mode.

Shutter Speed and Aperture

Fast lenses, characterized by low f/stops such as 1.4, 1.8 and 2.8, are ideal for sports photography because they allow you to maximize shutter speed using the lowest possible ISO settings. A fast lens will also allow you to shoot with a wide-open aperture to minimize the depth of field and ensure that your photographs will capture sharp detail against a blurred background. In some circumstances, you’ll want to select a high f/stop (small aperture) so that you can capture several players in sharp detail even if they are not all in the same plane of focus. The picture below was photographed with a shutter speed of 1/1000 to freeze the action and with an aperture set to f/4, slightly stopped down from the lens’ maximum f/2.8, to ensure that the majority of players would be in reasonable focus yet allowing for some blurring of the background stands.

Shooting in the manual mode gives you the greatest level of control. Many guides to sports photography recommend that you shoot in the aperture priority mode with your camera dialed into the widest aperture (smallest f/stop number) available on the lens you are using. This recommendation is targeted toward ensuring that your camera will select the fastest possible shutter speed to obtain proper exposure. In low light situations however, you run the risk of your camera selecting a shutter speed that may be too slow to freeze the action. Conversely, selecting shutter priority mode allows you to lock in the ideal shutter speed for the action you wish to capture and letting the camera choose the best aperture to achieve proper exposure. The downside of this setting is that you may not be shooting with the ideal aperture to either fully blur the background or to achieve focus through out the depth of the photograph, whichever may be your preference.

When I first enter a venue, I’ll move around to each of the shooting positions that I might be using and, with the camera’s built in exposure meter, determine the ideal settings for shutter speed, aperture and ISO at each location. I’ll write these down on a small note card that I keep with me throughout the event. If your camera allows, you might wish to program these various settings into the camera’s custom function selections. Be sure to try and do this while players are warming up before the game, being sure to meter off their uniforms and./or faces with center-weighted metering selected. It’s best not to leave this to chance as, once the game starts, you’ll want nothing to distract you from following the action and shooting away.

Shooting Mode

Manual mode allows you to select both the shutter speed and aperture ideal for the image you want to create. Depending on the low light sensitivity of your particular camera body and the effectiveness with which your camera’s built in processor handles noise, you can select a higher ISO setting necessary to achieve your desired shutter speed and aperture settings. With the improved noise reduction capability of Adobe’s Photoshop CS5 and Lightroom 3, and with several other noise reduction software solutions available, high ISO pictures can still yield reasonable results in low light situations.

Autofocus Settings

Since you’ll be photographing action that moves quickly across the frame of your camera’s sensor as well as moving closer and farther away from you, it is best to set your autofocus tracking to AI-Servo (Canon) or AF-Continuous (Nikon). This will allow your camera’s autofocus system to lock on to a specific player when you initially compose and press the shutter release half-way and to continue tracking that specific player as he or she moves around the field of play. In order to ensure that your camera’s focus remains locked on this particular player and does not recompose focus on another player who may cross in front of the original player you’ve locked on to, be sure to set your autofocus tracking sensitivity to a low setting. In Canon cameras this would be autofocus tracking sensitivity set to “low” and in Nikons, focus tracking with lock on set to “long”.

It is usually best to select a single focus point rather than a zone or evaluative and to use the center focus point as the one you select. In most digital SLR cameras the center focus point will be the most sensitive as it typically consists of a cross-point type sensor where the focus points towards the periphery might not. Since you will most likely be shooting a moving subject, be sure to engage the focus point expansion setting which will allow your camera to engage surrounding focus points, as necessary, to keep your main subject in focus if it is temporarily lost by the center focus point.

Metering Mode

Since your primary subject may be wearing either a dark or a light uniform which differs greatly from the illumination of the other team’s uniform, from the playing surface, and from the background, you’ll want to set your exposure meter to evaluate the scene from the area immediately surrounding your main subject and to de-emphasize readings from other regions within the frame. To do this, select the center-weighted metering (assuming you are using the center focus point and initially composing your shot with the main subject in the center) and not spot, evaluative or matrix metering.

Frame Advance Rate

It will be incredibly difficult to anticipate and time the live game action to capture the perfect image with a single exposure so why not take advantage of your camera’s rapid shooting and focus tracking capability if you have it. Selected as the “frame advance” or “drive” mode, you’ll do no harm in selecting your camera’s highest rate.

The picture below is a composite of the individual frames shot with a Canon 7D at 8 frames per second.

Image Quality

I recommend that you always shoot in your RAW mode since you’ll most likely be facing frequent low light, bright light or variable light source conditions. RAW image capture will allow you to extract the most data from the shadows when shooting in low light conditions, from the highlights when shooting in harsh lighting conditions and to adjust the white balance in post-processing. Since shooting at a high frame rate and capturing RAW images will quickly fill up camera memory, be sure to bring plenty of high capacity memory cards and, preferably, those with a high writing speed.

No go out and shoot.

References

How to Photograph Football. Rod Mar. Photoshelter. December 8, 2009. http://blog.photoshelter.com/2009/12/how-to-photograph-football/

Photographing Youth Sports with Stephen Green. Canon Digital Learning Center. July 2011. http://www.learn.usa.canon.com/resources/articles/2011/photo_youth_sports_stephen_green_article.shtml

Nikon Guide to Professional Sports Photography with the Nikon D3 and D3X. Nikon Imaging of Europe. 2008. https://nikoneurope-en.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/26800/~/guide-to-professional-sports-photography

Photoshop and Extreme Sports. Connor Walberg and Daniel Milchev. Photoshop User Magazine. August 2011

Is the New Canon 5D III a Camera for Professional Sports Shooters?

2012-03-02T13:24:00.003-05:00

Canon recently announced the release of the long-awaited replacement for its very successful and well-regarded full-frame 5D Mark II. While the 5D Mark II was by all measures an excellent pro-level camera for event, portrait and landscape photography, it fell well-short of the mark (no pun intended) for professional sports shooters.

Prior to this week's announcement of the 5D-III, the Canon cameras most widely used for sports photography were the 1D series (Mark IV and older Mark III) and the 7D. The full-framed sensor 1DS and 5D Mark II lacked both the high frame rate shooting capacity of the 1D-IV and 7D (10 fps and 8 fps, respectively) and also lacked the advanced autofocus tracking capability found in the 1D-IV and 7D. The ability to shoot multiple frames per second at a high rate and to set the camera's autofocus to incorporate single focus point expansion, to set the autofocus system's priority on tracking an object, and to set the autofocus tracking sensitivity to ignore objects crossing in front of the initial object upon which the autofocus had locked are all extremely important to sports shooters (see article in JPG magazine: http://jpgmag.com/stories/18391).

Given these requirements for serious sports shooting and the limitations of the 5D-II, how does the new Canon 5D-III stack up? Consider it a given that the 22.3 MP full-frame sensor with the inclusion of gapless microlens overlayment will provide excellent resolution and low-light sensitivity on par with the 1D-IV and superior to the 7D. Initial tests and reviews on sites such a DP-Review are already bearing this out. The expanded ISO and Digic 5+ image processing chip with 14 bit A-D conversion will provide an extremely valuable high ISO sensitivity for capturing fast action in those low-light high school and college gyms and for poorly-lighted night games outdoors. The magnesium alloy frame and improved weather sealing help make this camera rugged enough to withstand outdoor weather conditions and the occasional bumping and trampling sports photographers may encounter on the football sidelines or the basketball court baseline.

The only deficit the 5D-III still suffers from is the limited maxium shooting rate of 6 frames per second. Compared with the 8 fps of the 7D, the 10 fps of the 1D-IV and the 12 fps of the recently announced 1D-X, the 5D-III leaves a lot to be desired. Now, admittedly, there is not a great difference between the 7D's rate of 8 fps and the 5D-III's rate of 6 fps. The 2 fps deficit of the 5D-III is not likely to be noticeable in most shooting situations and, as with most professional sports photographers, if you know your sport well-enough to anticipate the action and appropriately time your shutter release, a 2 fps deficit is not going to make much of a difference at all. For those who shoot indoor sports professionally and use a venue's overhead strobe light system with wireless triggers, the refresh rate of the strobes already limits your high speed frame advance rate.

To sum it all up, the 5D-III is likely to find place in the Canon lineup as reasonable choice for sports shooters and at a cost of about $2,500 - $3,000 less than the 1D-X. The question that remains to be answered, and one that I will personally await prior to picking up a 5D-III, is what will Canon release as the replacement for the current 7D. If 7D line is dropped, then I'll be looking for either a new 5D-III or a used 1D-IV. If the 7D successor maintains the current camera's construction quality, advanced autofocus system and high frame rate along with a sensor upgrade improving its low-light capabilities, then I'll probably opt of the 7D-II - or whatever its called.

My bottom line: I'll sit on the sidelines and wait to see what Canon does next.

Army Basketball at West Point

2012-02-26T08:01:00.001-05:00

Feb 25, 2012. Highland Park, NY.
Just finished shooting another exciting game of Army basketball at the Cristl Arena on the West Point campus. A tight game throughout, Army lost in overtime. I was joined by two of my fellow shooters from the Westchester Photographic Society, Joe Ferriera and Serge Migdal and we had a great time shooting from the floor. Here are some pictures from the game.

Two weeks ago, Charlie Koenig, Kevin Luker and Bob Piro joined me for what was probably one of the most exciting basketball games I've seen when Army took on Navy in a men's and women's doubleheader at West Point. The Black Nights split the doubleheader with Navy with the women falling and the men prevailing.

Big East Basketball - Seton Hall v Notre Dame

2012-01-27T14:11:00.000-05:00

We had blast this past Wednesday night (Jan 25, 2012) shooting the Seton Hall vs. Notre Dame men's basketball game at Newark's Prudential Center. I brought two of my Westchester Photographic Society (WPS) shooters along with me for their first experience shooting from the photographers pit on the baseline. Thanks to SID Matt Sweeney of Seton Hall for reserving three shooting positions for WR-Photo.

Check out the reserved signs on our shooting positions. This is best place to watch a basketball game, up close, with the players literally falling all over you ! Next, we're on to shoot the Army-Navy men's and women's basketball games at West Point. Enjoy some pictures from the Seton Hall game.

NASCAR @ Phoenix International Raceway

2011-11-25T16:36:00.000-05:00

What a blast. A full NASCAR race weekend shooting for the Media Center's "Pit Notes" with full garage, pit lane and media center access. PIR's Pit Notes are written and edited by my good friend, John Chuhran, and provides regular updated news feeds to all of the working media in the Media Center. My favorite images to capture are those which happen off the track. The quiet moments of contemplation before the race. Race car drivers sharing a quiet moment with their families.

A quiet moment of contemplation before the race.

Five-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion Jimmy Johnson, driver of the Hendrick Motor Sports Lowes Chevrolet in a quiet moment with his daughter before the start of the Phoenix race.

Indy Car Series driver and Go Daddy spokeswoman Danica Patrick, driving in the Nationwide Series race. Danica will be moving full-time into the Sprint Cup series in 2012.

Some of the most interesting photo opportunities happen off the track, court or playing field. NASCAR attracts a wonderful mix of people from across the spectrum of the American population.

What a great opportunity to catch four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Jeff Gordon celebrating his first win in several years.He truly enjoyed the moment.

How to Improve Camera Angles in Basktball

2011-11-25T16:20:00.001-05:00

Here is the link to an article I wrote for eHow.com on positioning yourself to get the best basketball photographs:
http://www.ehow.com/how_8330612_improve-camera-angles-basketball.html

Photographing Gymnastics

2011-11-25T16:06:00.001-05:00

I've previously posted an article on the eHow.com site about how to successfully photograph gymnastics. You'll find the article here
http://www.ehow.com/how_7827897_photograph-gymnastics.html:
Let me know what you think.

Welcome

2011-11-25T15:45:00.000-05:00

Welcome to "The Sports Photographer" blog, a site where I will be reviewing new cameras, lenses, lighting, software and other equipment and posting helpful "how to" notes on capturing great sports and action photographs.