Hello everyone. Yesterday it was the first time for me shooting sports. It was Volleyball. How the *** do professionals get solid photos with all the faces, people running around, athletes getting in your shot while you are focused on a subject, limited space etc? I took around 1300 photos. Only like 300 of them are usable. It was extremely tough anticipating the ball and trying to capture the action. And when I did… the faces… Oh my god. And not only that… it was women playing…you can imagine how many of the photos they will like. Some are pretty good athletic photos not gonna lie. And to my defense I had only one lens a 24-105 f/4. I am waiting for the new Sigma for Sony mount. I think it will help a lot. Anyway I would love some advice. Thank you.
Edit: By saying it was women I wasnt trying to be sexist at all. But my girlfriend was playing and when see saw the photos she would look at every minute detail of her body.
Have worked in sports photography for 10 years or so now! It takes a lot of practice, there’s a real art form in learning to follow the action and predict where the good photos are going to be. I would also argue it’s easier at a higher level. Pro athletes performing in well lit environment’s that are set up in a way for pro sports photographers to work produces better pictures much easier. Pro level gear makes the difference too, there’s a reason people spend tens of thousands on equipment. I think it’s a real issue with the industry that makes it hard to break through when starting out but that’s a whole other conversation!
Last biggest tip, don’t be afraid to crop in tight, its almost impossible to get clean action images in some sports but you can pick out clean pictures with a good crop!
Thank you very much for the tips!!! I guess yes gear here matters no matter what people say.
I would agree with this. Well lit professional environments are a huge plus. High School Volleyball is almost definitely the worst lol. And you start to get to know where and when things happen.