Sports Photography By: Lizzie Abshire

What is it? When a sport is being played, a photographer goes and takes photographs of the people playing. To photograph training sessions and games of any sports. Someone has to have a keen eye, attention to detail and fast thinking. Someone who works constantly to improve their skills within sports photography directly. Like many photographs, the background has to help the main focus (athlete) stand out, so the lighting and the set up is very important.

Basics When going to a sport event, get there early to get a good spot (somewhere that most of the action will be seen from. Getting there early means that there is time to get comfy and acclimated in the spot you will be in for a couple hours. Some photographers download their photographs on their laptop beside them between pauses, others bring multiple camera cards.

Ross Kinnaird He is 48, and a sports photographer for Getty Images, the worlds largest photography agency. He does football and golf photography mostly. He normally covers the World Cup and the Open Championships. Ross is one of the photographers that brings a laptop with him to the games/practices and downloads the photographs and puts captions under them to say what it is and sends them to his office by his phone. When he gets back from the games, he sends the photographs to newspapers and magazines all over the world. He says that when taking photographs, “time is vital because there’ll be six other guys sitting near you – you’ll be very lucky to be the only one to get an image.” So to take sports photos, you have to be fast. He summed up sports photography in one sentence; “That’s what takes you there – enjoying what you’re doing, rather than what everyone thinks you’re doing.”

Photo Critique Ross Kinnaird’s photograph of Rory McIlroy taking a shot at the 2012 British Open Practice rounds. I like it because it captures his swing shot and when looking at it you can imagine him actually hitting the ball and landing it near the hole.

Downside Being away from home and seeing hotels for long periods of time, really puts a toll on the photographer. When away on trips, taking photographs, you do not get to see much of the town or city you are staying in. Having to carry all of the camera equipment gets heavy fast.

Upside Getting to go to the games. Being excited to see your photographs published. People normally remember iconic images from an event, so that gets etched in people’s mind. So when they see the photograph they can see the play happening as if it was happening right in front of them, brining them back.

Skills Needed Use the autofocus cameras, they have leveled out some of the technical skills. Knowing the sport is very useful. Have to be able to predict what will happen next. Visualize the picture before taking it, instead of just taking it and not knowing why it was taken. Pay attention to the game, even if your favorite team is playing.

The Salary They can make up to $35,000 annually depending on how good the photograph is. Depending on how someone’s photo is depends on how much their salary is.

Works Cited your-job-sports-photographer htmlhttp:// your-job-sports-photographer html