What an exciting career! And here are tips about how to get started.
Unlike shooting portraits or landscapes, sports photography requires photographers to be quick on their feet and always on the lookout for a dynamic photo. For this reason, a lot of photographers tend to avoid this niche and would instead focus on more accessible subjects.
However, learning how to shoot action-packed sports photos can be an enriching and fulfilling experience.
If you’re a massive sports fan and want to capture iconic events, sports photography can also be your ticket to the most significant sports events to see your favorite athletes in action.
In this post, we’ve listed some of our top tips to help you get started in sports photography.
Invest in a Fast Lens
Depending on what kind of sports you plan on shooting, the distance between you and the action constantly changes. Additionally, the lighting in venues drastically varies and can sometimes be very poor — making it difficult for you to get a decent shot. That’s why if you plan on pursuing sports photography, you’re going to need a high-speed zoom lens that allows you to shoot in poor lighting conditions while still having a considerably fast shutter speed.
The wide selection of cameras and accessories on the consumer market nowadays represents how you have lots of options for fast telephoto lenses. If you want to get a feel for sports photography, you’ll love the Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-300mm F/3.5-6.3G ED VR as it can go from a wide-angle to a very tight zoom with ease. However, its aperture slows down as you zoom in and can result in underexposed photos. On the other hand, you can find stability and consistency with the Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8 D ED AF zoom, as it lets you shoot with a fast aperture speed — no matter the focal length.
Try to Tell a Story
Aside from having the right gear, sports photographers should also understand that without a compelling narrative, looking at sports photos are about as exciting as watching paint dry.
That’s why, as a sports photographer, you should go beyond what’s exciting and try to encapsulate the emotions and stories felt in the game.
Practicing is Key
There’s no better way to learn the ropes of sports photography than actually going to the games and doing your thing. Once you start to build a portfolio that showcases your skills, you can get in touch with your local papers, sports magazines, clubs, or associations and show them what you can do. This is also a great way to get passes to cover games and matches.
Of course, it’s also important to seek learning opportunities outside games. You can check out online photography courses and look for online photography and editing tutorials to help you gain a solid foundation for your craft.
For starters, you can expand your knowledge with the hour-long online seminars held by B&H Event Space or learn how to master Photoshop from the program’s makers themselves.
Go for it!
