A photograph has a number of elements that work together in synergy to make final outcome a treat to see. Photographing sports is no different as Jehan Lalkaka discusses ten tips to become a champion at taking sports photos.
Your Tools
A telephoto lens would do wonders at a sporting venue. In most sports, photographers are distanced from what’s happnning. Think about it – capturing MS Dhoni’s face while sitting at the boundary, or capturing Fernando Alonso overtake Lewis Hamilton while sitting 30 meters away from the track isn’t possible with anything but a telephoto lens.
Other things which you should carry include a tripod (or a monopod) to keep your camera steady, an extra set of batteries, extra (Class 10) memory cards, a lens hood to block out the flare (most sporting events happen under harsh sunlight or floodlights.
If you can anticipate where the subject is going to be, compose the image beforehand. This will save you a lot of time. Photograph/Premjith Narayanan
Anticipation
Shooting sports requires a certain level of anticipation. In many sports, by simply observing the nature of action, one may foresee certain events. This becomes much easier if you have been following the sport for a few years. It also helps if you spend time at the stadium, race track or course, especially during practice sessions in order to understand the best vantage points.
Burst Mode
If Lasith Malinga bowls an out-of-control yocker at the batsmen, capturing the entire sequence of events from the time the ball leaves his hand to the batsman ducking is possible in burst mode. This is also quite useful if you’re wary of your skills and want to take extra shots.
Get creative with the pictures you take in Burst Mode! Here, five different pictures taken from a tripod-mounted camera have been combined to create one picture. Photograph/Nevit Dilmen
The Emotional Connect
Capturing sports isn’t just about capturing an athlete at the start line of her 100m sprint, for example. It’s about capturing the raw emotions she would go through.
Photographing the facial expressions or body language is a vitally important aspect of sports photography (or any kind of photography, for that matter) as it makes people look less like a ’muscle machine’ and more like a human being.
Don’t forget to capture the emotions of the fans too! Imagine photographing a few fans feeling ecstatic and a few in agony in a single frame – now that’s a picture that would tell a great story.
Don’t restrict yourself to shooting only popular sports like football or cricket. Shoot sports that are specific to a region within a country as they convey a lot about the culture of that place. Photograph/Reju Vengara
Simplicity is Key
Keeping the background as simple as possible is important to keep all the attention on the subject. If there’s a lot going on, like harsh colours or a clutter of unwanted elements, pan as the subject passes in front of you. This will create a blur effect, thereby keeping out the unnecessary and show a sense of motion to the image.
Don’t Lose Focus
Switch your camera’s Auto Focus and set it to Continuous Focus or set a single-point focus so the camera can track the subject’s movement. Alternatively, if you can anticipate where the action is going to be, focus beforehand and release the shutter as soon as the subject is in the area of focus.
The excess blur makes the runner seem faster than he may actually be. In addition, notice how the pan not only blurs the background but also the subject’s limbs. This is because the limbs are moving in different directions at different speeds. Photograph/Shridhar Kunte
Depth of Field
There is no such thing as a perfect depth of field. It’s subjective because one might want to capture an image with the crowd in the background while another would not.
The narrower the aperture, the easier it is to focus as the DOF is larger. Capturing the crowd in the background adds a sense of context to the image. Experiment to see which works best for you.
Photograph the Priceless Moments
In every physical contact sport, there is bound to be tiffs between two or more players.
As amazing as it would be to capture the fight, capturing one player help his opponent get back on his feet is even more amazing. Such photographs exemplify what sport is all about and might just become a personal favourite.
In addition, keep an eye out for funny moments which could have a hilarious caption in the future!
While most photographers use blurs to create a sense of motion, action sports pictures frozen in motion also make some stunning images. Photograph/Ryan Arguello
Backstage Activity
In every sport, be it Badminton or Rugby, there is so much activity unfolding behind the scenes! Such pictures don’t usually surface in public, so when you do show such shots of Kushti players interacting just before they are going to fight, for example, people
love them!
Enjoy Yourself
The only way to click great pictures is to enjoy yourself. Make friends with people who work at the venue for they might just take you to some restricted area with the best vantage point. Loving the sport you’re shooting makes things better as you can really show the tension and action that you are witnessing.
If you love sports photography, just step outside your home and shoot children playing street Cricket, Kabaddi, Lagori or even Cycling. This practise will help you tremendously when you actually find yourself in a sporting venue.
Finally, add a characteristic element to each of your pictures so differentiate them from the rest.
Sports photography isn’t just about clicking what you see in a stadium. Capturing people playing sports on the streets is as interesting, if not more, as photographing professional players. Photograph/Raj Lalwani