Guidance

tevo · Oct 11, 2013

First and foremost I would like to extend my thanks to the TPF community. If not for your help and support I would not be anywhere near where I am today with my photography.

As of yesterday I have stopped shooting for the website I had been for the last 3 years. The owner is a shady businessman and screwed me out of a fair amount of money. I have chalked it up as experience, and on some levels time wasted. However, what I did gain from the whole experience was the discovery that I love shooting sports, and a bounty of experience doing so. The consequence of working for a website and focusing on quantity instead of quality left me with little time to improve my photography skills, especially focusing on sports technique; I had to get 1500 pictures per game, encompassing filler shots to break up the album. It left very little opportunity to be strategic for crucial shots of each sport.

I am finding myself with extreme motivation to pursue sports photography as far as I can take it- perhaps as a career. I have accumulated the best gear for sports photography as I can within my 18 year old means, and I am looking to step up my game big time. I know there are some regular sports photographers on TPF; What is your advice? What separates the men from the boys? I am going to shoot as much as I can for a few weeks to solidify my portfolio and then follow a few leads I have on opportunities to freelance sports photography.

My sports photos can be found here (I am going to re-process some of the older ones, I was very vignette-happy for some reason), but here are 10 of my best. Am I on the right track?

#1

Volleyball by theofficialtevo, on Flickr
#2

Spike by theofficialtevo, on Flickr
#3

169 by theofficialtevo, on Flickr
#4

183 by theofficialtevo, on Flickr
#5

Day 138: June 18, 2013 by theofficialtevo, on Flickr
#6

202-2 by theofficialtevo, on Flickr
#7

Catch by theofficialtevo, on Flickr
#8

Day 94: April 19, 2013 by theofficialtevo, on Flickr
#9

Out by theofficialtevo, on Flickr
#10

Goalie by theofficialtevo, on Flickr

Designer · Oct 11, 2013

Tevo; I'd say you're definitely on the right track. I cannot offer advice on the sports photography, but stay focused on the prize and you'll win it.

tirediron · Oct 11, 2013

Some VERY solid work there Tevo! :thumbup:

Braineack · Oct 11, 2013

I'd be happy with these. The studio shot of #44 is great!

SCraig · Oct 11, 2013

I agree with the others. I'm certainly not a sports photographer, but I think that you captured the essence of the games extremely well in each of them. They show the motion and intensity very well, and that's what counts in my opinion.

rlemert · Oct 11, 2013

I, too, like these very much. The two volleyball pictures, though, confuse me - especially the first one. It looks like she's preparing to receive the ball, so I would expect it to be in the same plane as her body and her arms. They are in focus, however, while the ball is not - suggesting that the ball is on a different plane.

Actually, upon further reflection I guess what I'm seeing in motion blur that's masquerading as a DOF issue. Either way, to me it makes the ball and the player look like they're from separate images.

(Her eyes also seem to be looking past the ball, which doesn't help as far as I'm concerned, However, I'm willing to to ignore this because she's probably just looking for where she wants to set the ball.)

All this is probably apropo of nothing - just a random observation.

Derrel · Oct 11, 2013

Yea, I think you're on the right track. I thought you had some even better football shots than these on your Flickr. You seem to be doing pretty well. Considering your youth and your equipment arsenal, I think you're doing a really great job. I'm not a sports photographer. I shot sports for two local newspapers for two years back in 2005 and 2006, typically two or three assignments per week. At THAT time, I had a Nikon D1h and then a D2x...I wish I had NEVER sold the D1h to get the D2x...the D2x handicapped me in terms of Higher ISO performance. A D3 OR D700, or D3s or D4, would have really been VERY helpful for night football, and springtime late afternoon stuff, and indoor court sports, but those cameras were four and eight years in the future.

I dunno...I suppose what separates the men from the boys would be dedication, skill, knowledge of the sports being shot, and maybe practice. Gear is also very helpful too...good, fast-focusing lenses help too. I mean, for example, a person who is stuck using a 55-300 VR versus a 70-200 AF-S VR...the kit zoom focus is slooooooow...the 70-200 just...focuses. Knowing WHERE to position yourself, in relation to the light, or in relation to the action, is a big,big deal.

tevo · Oct 11, 2013

Braineack said:
I'd be happy with these. The studio shot of #44 is great!

I actually shot that on the field just after the game- the fog made for a cool backdrop.

Braineack · Oct 11, 2013

oh, wow!

vintagesnaps · Oct 11, 2013

I've done sports, mostly hockey. You seem to be getting your backgrounds nice and straight (#8 could use a bit of straightening but the others look good); and you seem to be keeping distractions out of the frame. Could be some movement blur with the ball in a couple, if you're noticing that check your shutter speed (but nice job freezing the ball cap!). Looks like you're noticing your backgrounds and thinking about them when you're framing shots, I think that can make a big difference in a good photo because in sports they tend to have plenty of lines and posts and signage etc.

Nice use of the fog; looks almost as if there's some vignetting where it gets darker in the upper corners but I'm guessing that's actually where the sky is darker. I'd think about if you want that much space in the photo, if there's more space than you need in a shot I'd think about framing differently or cropping a little if needed. I like the photo with the dust getting kicked up in #9 too, I think it gives a feel for the moment.

#4 is great, #5 and #7 are particularly nice too. I'd think about not including #10 in a portfolio, great idea but the player's face is covered and he's at an odd angle fading into darkness to the right; I'd keep it in mind and keep trying til you get just the right moment and nail it. On that and #2 I'd try to keep the edge of the netting and/or post out of the frame or crop it (I hate nets! saggy edges etc.).

The B&W might need some adjustment, looks more dark charcoal than black.

Are you familiar with Sports Photography and Photojournalism for Professional Photographers and Photography | SportsShooter.com ? some good resources there. You seem to have a good eye for this, and a lot of shooting sports is the timing and anticipating when something might happen; I've spent a lot of time watching thru the viewfinder, getting ready, and waiting. And I use cameras that look like they've gotten dragged around hockey rinks, you don't need a pretty camera but a sharp lens helps - beyond that in sports they don't much care how you do it, just get it done and do it right. I think you've got the ability and are on the right track.

tevo · Oct 13, 2013

vintagesnaps said:
I've done sports, mostly hockey. You seem to be getting your backgrounds nice and straight (#8 could use a bit of straightening but the others look good); and you seem to be keeping distractions out of the frame. Could be some movement blur with the ball in a couple, if you're noticing that check your shutter speed (but nice job freezing the ball cap!). Looks like you're noticing your backgrounds and thinking about them when you're framing shots, I think that can make a big difference in a good photo because in sports they tend to have plenty of lines and posts and signage etc.

Nice use of the fog; looks almost as if there's some vignetting where it gets darker in the upper corners but I'm guessing that's actually where the sky is darker. I'd think about if you want that much space in the photo, if there's more space than you need in a shot I'd think about framing differently or cropping a little if needed. I like the photo with the dust getting kicked up in #9 too, I think it gives a feel for the moment.

#4 is great, #5 and #7 are particularly nice too. I'd think about not including #10 in a portfolio, great idea but the player's face is covered and he's at an odd angle fading into darkness to the right; I'd keep it in mind and keep trying til you get just the right moment and nail it. On that and #2 I'd try to keep the edge of the netting and/or post out of the frame or crop it (I hate nets! saggy edges etc.).

The B&W might need some adjustment, looks more dark charcoal than black.

Are you familiar with Sports Photography and Photojournalism for Professional Photographers and Photography | SportsShooter.com ? some good resources there. You seem to have a good eye for this, and a lot of shooting sports is the timing and anticipating when something might happen; I've spent a lot of time watching thru the viewfinder, getting ready, and waiting. And I use cameras that look like they've gotten dragged around hockey rinks, you don't need a pretty camera but a sharp lens helps - beyond that in sports they don't much care how you do it, just get it done and do it right. I think you've got the ability and are on the right track.

Yeah, I looked at SportsShooter briefly through Brad Mangin's website, but I can't be alone in saying I don't have the first clue how to navigate the site. It isn't terribly user friendly...

cgipson1 · Oct 13, 2013

Hadn't seen these before! Tevo.. you are doing very well.... kudos! :thumbup::thumbup:

tevo · Oct 14, 2013

cgipson1 said:
Hadn't seen these before! Tevo.. you are doing very well.... kudos! :thumbup::thumbup:

Thanks Charlie! :sexywink:

vintagesnaps · Oct 14, 2013

What I mostly look at on Sportsshooter is the newsletter, I think the most recent one is from summer. I'm not a member but being on their mailing list I've found out about workshops etc. - I went to one several years ago held at the NCAA headquarters, and did a webinar that was with the SI photo editor, so for me that's made it a good resource. I don't think the working pros who do the site are on the message board much, they're probably too busy, but I sometimes look at who's updated. (And speaking of Brad Mangin, saw this when I was looking up an article by another photographer, haven't seen this site before to know anything about it. http://www.eyeist.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/eyeist.woa/wa/reviewerbio?reviewer=bradmangin )