Turning my love of sports and learning into a channel to help other photographers thrive. Sharing my tips, thoughts, and behind the scenes of a career in freelance sports photography.
Shooting all levels of play from middle school to the professional level. Check out my portfolio on my website below!
The one eye in the camera, one eye scanning the peripherals technique is sooo hard for your brain to figure out, but once you do it’s such a beneficial skill.
Hey, I am an event photographer here in the Caribbean.. I haven't yet owned my first camera as yet but I hopefully will soon be investing in my first camera. I have worked with Canon & Nikon before haven't worked with any other's as yet.. Do you have any advice or so for me on what may be the best/ most suitable camera for me? I also want to be able to be able to be Wide & also be able to Zoom.. So something like a bridge camera with inter-changeable lens?
I don't know a bunch about Nikon, but the R6 is a great camera and the 24-105 allows side and zoomed shots. I don't know your budget so its hard to give a lot of recommendations. Hope that helps!
do you always use center focus? I recently started shooting beachvolleyball and im having a few obstacles; 1, wide shots are fine, easy. but close up shots of emotions or in action, especially where you look the players in the face, are so hard to even reach. 2, the ball is often morphed due to its speed 3; I often dont get the right person in focus. I have my f/ as high as I can to make sure most is able to be sharp. I tried just solely center focus but often the person wasn't perfectly in the middle, I tried using the joystick to use the focus square but the game is too fast to keep up with that. now I have center focus again but I also turned on face and eye detection, however I often look the players in the back, and if I get their face its usually blocked by the net and so it doesn't detect the face or eye. and I also use the thing where I can stick the focus on to the subject and it track the subject but getting it off and on takes too much time for how fast the game moves. Im just having a damn hard time getting the right pictures with the right people in focus
Volleyball can be really tough in that respect. I always use a single point, but depending on my location and what I'm shooting I will move it around. You should check out my other volleyball video. I give a lot more info on why Im doing what Im doing. Also take a look at my how to get sharp images video. Might be helpful!
Thanks for the real life video. As the former Sporting KC team photographer that video is 100% accurate of what I'm thinking during the game. I especially love that you use the R5 and 1Dx II the same way I do - kind of scary actually. My 1Dx II is just so natural and after cropping/editing the pics are identical to the R5. The only thing different I do is I moved to my 300 from the 400 because when I looked back at all of my pics that sold, the vast majority were in the closest 1/3 of the field and in the box. With the R5 I can still crop down for full field shots.
Hi! I just discovered your videos. C's fan here and an amateur filmmaker as well. Can you do a video explaining the Basketball Code Replacement spreadsheet at 3:00?
i want to get into this line of work but i have no idea where to start like which degree to get, how to apply to become a photographer for an mls team and things of that nature. Any advice would be greatly appreciated
It is very confusing. Instead of me writing a bunch of text I suggest watching my other video about getting credentials to games. Should be helpful. No photography degree necessary. My degree is in economics. haha
Have you ever experienced that on night games? Once in while I shoot the runner and I can get soft and sharp on one run? Never thought about waves at evening to night gsmes?
I'm sure it could happen. Heat waves are all about the turf being much hotter than the air above it. The changes in temperature cause the light to bend/refract. So maybe early evening the turf is still hot and the air cools down quicker it might happen.
I shoot for a Division I Power 5 college volleyball team and I fully agree with Paul's recommendations. He's one of the first people I've seen on RU-vid to recommend focusing on an attacker's legs under the net. That really works because, usually, the thighs will be in the same plane as the face on an attack. One additional thing I would recommend is shooting warm-ups. You have more freedom to move around the court before actual play starts. During warmups, you can ask the referees if you can shoot from the referee stand and usually they will say yes. Also, you can get really low. One of my favorite shots is to put my camera on a Platypod on the floor aiming up to get really dynamic shots of attackers in the air. Thanks, Paul - great info.
Thanks for the kudos! Shooting warms ups can be very valuable. I normally don't only because my schools don't use the photos that much, but you can for sure get great images then as well!
Honestly never tried it before. But might have to next time. AP has always worked for me in the past so I havnt had the need to try something different.
I have! Mainly on pulls since you know exactly when they will happen, but have tried a few in game. There are some example way back on my insta. But tough to find. haha
Good question. For sure you can photograph volleyball with that lens. You'll probably want to stay in the middle of the court instead of the end lines though.
