So you want to be a sports photographer
If shooting sport is the career you crave, our advice will get you on the podium. Back of the net!
Words Roger Payne Pictures Dan Matthams
So you can take a decent action shot. Nice one – in itself that’s something of an achievement. But now you want to take the next step and make some money from your abilities, which is where we come in.
Like most branches of professional photography, sport is a competitive environment that can be tough to break into. There are plenty of photographers out there who can capably capture the action just as well as you, so you need to stand out and that means having people skills as well as being able to deliver the goods with your camera.
It’s the harsh reality of a competitive environment that you may have to work initially for little or no reward and at unsociable times of the day or night to get on the first rung of the ladder. While image libraries will accept generic sporting images that will have a timeless appeal, you’re more likely to find success if you shoot newsworthy sporting events – sometimes the more obscure the better.
Don’t aim too high too early. The chances are you’ve already been down to the local football pitch on a Sunday morning to capture some non-league action, but you can’t underestimate how important this time is – it’s a great chance to hone your technique skills and start building up a variety of images that can be presented to picture editors if and when required. Techniques to concentrate on perfecting include framing (tight, but not too tight), focusing (most sports are shot vertically, so be aware of how this may adversely effect your camera’s autofocusing system) and finding the right background (uncluttered and out of focus, ideally).
In addition to park football, find out other grass-roots events that are taking place in your area and make the effort to attend. Generally speaking, it should be OK to simply turn up on the day with your camera and take some shots, but as a backup it can be advisable to find out the organiser’s details and get in touch to confirm such an approach is acceptable. The exception, of course, is any sporting activity involving children which, to be frank, is best left well alone.
If you’re going to try shooting a new sport, make sure you’re familiar not only with the rules, but also the key people involved in it. A lack of knowledge on your part is likely to lead to a frustrating shoot and sub-standard pictures. But knowing what is going on, when and why is likely to breed success. As the adage goes: ‘if you’ve seen the action, you’ve missed the chance to photograph it.’
Equipment wise, you don’t need to be wielding a 400mm f/2.8 to photograph your local pub team, but you do need adequate equipment to tackle the job in hand. A telezoom with a slow maximum aperture will produce images good enough to impress a picture editor, but what happens if the one chance you subsequently get to prove your ability happens to be in the middle of winter? The light might be so low that you only end up getting the coin toss, and even then the coin will be blurred. It’s also worth considering that, should you make a success of things, you will need to upgrade your photo gear – and keep it in good working condition. For this reason, you need to take a critical look at your gear, and budget accordingly for upgrades. The same applies to your SLR body. Digital is obviously the mainstay of the sports photography business, but camera resolution isn’t as crucially important as it is in other photographic disciplines, so don’t get hung up on ‘more pixels means better pictures’. Speed and AF are crucial.
