I have been out and about taking photos of different local schools during this baseball/softball season. I send the photos to the teams via Twitter for them to use for their social medias. They love the publicity, and i love building my portfolio. Your videos have been helping a ton. I started a digital portfolio with Squarespace
This video hits the points. My recommendations for the cheapest / best value startup: (1) Nikon D7500 - $700 used - fast, internal focus motor, good high ISO performance, extra reach on tele lens - the bad is that it isn't full frame (2) Nikkor 80-400 f4.5-5.6D IF-ED VR - $400 used - this has more reach and is sharper than the newer 70-300 group of lenses. it is good for field sports (soccer, football, baseball, etc..) (3) Nikkor 80-200 f/2.8D IF-ED Two Touch - $350 used - this will can be used for some night and indoor sports. It does not zoom much for outdoor sports, but is usable. (4) A wider angle lens such as a kit lens 18-100mm dx (crop sensor) or similar - $100 used. This is for non-action shots. Or you can spend more and get a faster 24-70mm f2.8 full frame lens used for about $300 if you go Tamron. (5) Topaz AI Denoise - $80. (6) lightroom classic subscription (7) a second camera body (8) a faster telephoto such as Nikon AF-S 300mm f2.8 D ED - $1000 used - better subject separation and better low light performance. Can also use a teleconverter. If you start with 1,(2 or 3),4,5,6 you are going to be in for $1400 an will be able to do a decent job of day and night sports (but at night you may be shooting at iso 20,000 - thus the Topaz denoise)
Great video, Jack! I wish it was around when I was first getting started, it would have saved me a lot of time trying to figure this stuff out on my own.
I have recently found your videos. I have been shooting sports since around 2009. Started out just covering family high school games. Today I am working for a local newspaper as well as Senior Staff Photographer for a semi pro football team. I love your videos because you can always learn new tips and techniques. Recently learned about back button focusing, what a game changer. Thanks for the videos, look forward to more.
hey jack im a beginner photographer I just found your videos and wanted to say that they have been very helpful in helping me get better. My question for you is for the business side how much should I be charging people for a product that's still being built up.
Which kind of goes to my question. Are we talking action photos, sports portraits, or team and individual? All of those have different price points, procedures, and marketing requirements. If you’re just talking game action, I hear people starting around $45 per player per game and go up from there. At that rate, you try to get multiple players per event.
Hey Jack, I really enjoy watching and learning from your videos. I have tried to follow your suggestions regarding sports photography, and feel that I have gotten better. I did tryout for MaxPreps, but was turned down. So over the next year I will continue to watch your videos and practice your suggestions. Thank you for you no nonsense videos, no fluff, just great stuff.
Really good video. I seem to ALWAYS have some type of relation on the local high school football team, and I volunteer my time and get right down there with the team and have fun with them. Currently using a D750 and Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 G2. I give my pics to the kids and on occasion, get a few good ones. I enjoy watching videos such as yours, in hopes of getting a little better each time. This video is the first I've watched of yours, and will be checking out your other videos.......you really have a great presentation and command of the subject. Thank you for taking the time to upload your wisdom.
I’m using the a6000 with the 55-210 lens. I just got the approval to start taking photos at a local school for Friday night games on the sideline🏈. Do you have any tips? The field I’ll be at has very good lighting as well.
I just started taking photos about three months now manily birds, but my niece is playing youth softball now. i have canon sl2 (200d) i also have the canon 70-200mm f2.8 ii and canon 400mm f5.6 for my lens. I wana upgrade my camera would a canon r8 or get a camera with dual card slots like a r7 or r6mkii? Your videos already have gave me a different view on taking the photos at the game. I know you use nikon gear i just have canon already. Thanks for your tips and insight
Thank you all the advice. I am a parent who is now shooting for multiples sports of my daughters' teams and your advice has been helpful in getting better pictures. Right now I just shoot and post pictures to the team's Facebook pages or just do a data dump of pictures to a file share program (like Google Drive). I do it all for free because my daughters play for those teams. But now word is getting out of my abilities and I am being asked to shoot other sports teams. I feel if I do those, I need to start charging them (either a flat rate or by individual pictures) I was wondering if you can do a video talking about distribution of your final photos. How do you supply your customers with your pictures? How to prevent people from "stealing" pictures from you Do you use a 3rd party to print any pictures a family otmr team may want? Any File sharing sites to use or avoid? Thank you again
I could be wrong, but could you get away with an f/4 lens of you can pan well and lower the shutter speed? I usually shoot wildlife and it’s almost always low light. I’ve talked to some folks who though it was much harder to nail the focus at 2.8 for sports as well.
You’re going to start to get more motion blur in your subject. And the depth of field difference between f2.8 and f4 is negligible when using long telephotos. For sports, 1/1000 is really the optimal starting point. I’m not a wildlife photographer, but I know with small birds and their rapid wing movements, you need much higher than 1/1000 shutter speed. So, can you get away with an f4 lens? Yes. But eventually you’re going to be wishing you had something faster.
@@JackBeasleyMedia I mean it depends on the look you’re going for. Sometimes getting the body sharp and the wings having motion blur is an artistic choice. I’ve shot small birds as slow as 1/200 sec. I think at the end of the day it depends on how much noise you’re comfortable with. I don’t get paid to do this and I’m okay with some noise if it means I’m capturing the action. I know Franz Lanting shot some pretty famous high noise shots and nobody cares lol. Love your channel though. I’ve got some vintage Nikon glass I received after my father in law passed to include a 300mm f/4 I’m wanting to try out for various scenarios such as sports and wildlife. Just need to get a body as I’m a Sony shooter.
Hi Jack, I just found your channel, it's very, very informative. I'm looking for some advice, hope you can help. In my area there is a college homecoming game this Weekend and a new hockey team playing it's first game in November. How do I approach them and what to offer to photograph their games? Thanks for any suggestions.
When shooting at night. Even though the light is controlled in the environment that you are shooting in (picture a field with floodlights). In your experience, what would a rough number of ISO be if you were shooting with high shutter speed and an apature of around 2.8 - 4.5? I love sports and have completed a photography course so i love how you provide so much information and detail into your videos for us amatures! 💪
There’s a risk of reduced sharpness when adding teleconverters - especially with cheaper lenses and longer teleconverters. If you’re going to do it, I recommend having a quality lens that opens to f2.8 and the teleconverter in the 1.4x range.
Great videos Jack. Thank you. I'm new to sports photography. I guess I fall into the parent taking photos of his 8-yr old son playing baseball. I have a Nikon D750, and know the camera pretty well. I recently purchased a 70-200mm f2.8 Nikon lens, so i'm pretty excited about that. I'll be mostly shooting during the day, and the field size isn't 'regulation' baseball, he's 8. So my question is will that lens handle what I need it to do (ie capturing him up close)? Since I will be shooting mostly in the day, I have plans on adding a 200-500mm f5.6 Nikon lens, but need to wait on that a little. Thank you for the videos, I'm learning a lot. Mark.
On those small fields, you should be fine at home, first base, and third base. I’d see if you can get into the dugout so you don’t have to shoot through the fence
The camera has a limited ISO range, so anything indoors or at night will be a problem. However, if you stick to daylight games, it’s perfectly acceptable as a starter sports camera.
You can catch a lot of the action around the basket with something in the 85mm range. A 70-200/f2.8 would be ideal. You also need a camera capable of producing decent images up to ISO 10,000. I always recommend full-frame cameras, if you can afford it.
I got a cannon eos rebel T6. How good of a camera do you think that is Bc I bought it to take pictures of my girlfriend Bc she’s a dancer and she has competitions or she’s on the sideline during games. Do you believe that is a good camera for that?
I haven't used the camera myself, but reading the specs, it appears to be just fine for daylight sports. It tops out at ISO 6400 (native) so it may struggle in low light situations.
In my experience, it depends on the lens and the teleconverter. In general, they retain sharpness on primes better than zooms and shorter converters tend to be sharper than longer ones. In your case, I’d start with a Tamron 1.4x and see how that works out for you.
I'm going to level with you. $600 will only get you into a very basic, crop frame camera - and that's probably used. That may or may not come with a kit lens capable of reaching out onto a field of play. Cameras in that price range are the Nikon Z50 and the Canon M50. Both take perfectly fine photos, but they don't have the fastest autofocus or frame rates. And, you're going to have to go beyond your budget to get lenses in the 200mm to 300mm range. Having said all that, they are perfectly capable as starter cameras. Like I've said, start with what you've got and go from there!
Hi Jack, this is a great video and it left me with a question, how do you find the right mentor. I have spoken to a few different people and never really found someone that was right for me. Do you have any tips on finding a great mentor?
I have to tell you, it's tough sometimes. The mentors I've had in the past didn't always know they were mentoring me - it wasn't a formal mentoring relationship. I learned from watching them work or having them critique my work. One way is to get in with some sort of company that does sports photography - even as a freelancer or as part time. Watch how they operate and approach a given situation. Sometimes you'll learn what NOT to do. I have to tell you, getting on with MaxPreps really pushed my sports photography to the next level. They pride themselves on quality images and they aren't afraid to email or call if your galleries aren't making the cut - usually with some advice on fixing the problem. Plus, there are another 20 or so MP photogs in my area and we talk regularly. I've learned a lot that way.
Hello Jack I started taking pictures of sports, baseball, and I’m using for day games a Nikon Z5 and Z6 with the Tamron 150-600 what would you recommend for night games since this lens is only f5 to start or f6.3 zoomed. Thanks in advance. Your videos are really instructional
Hey Santiago, I don't recommend that lens at night. With a f5 or f6.3, you're going to be hitting some very high ISOs and the quality of the photos will be poor.
@@santiagogonzalez8647 Honestly, you'll need something that goes to f2.8. I recommend buying used - either a 300mm or longer prime, or perhaps the Sigma 120-300/2.8 (haven't used but sounds good).
Love your video. I’m just getting started in sports photography, but been doing photography for a while. My goal is to become a professional football photographer…can I use u as a mentor?
Do you think photography school/ classes are beneficial or necessary? Or do you think putting that money into equipment and just learning as you go works better?
If you’re completely new at photography, I would imagine a community college course on basic photography and editing would be very helpful. Otherwise, you could go the self-taught route, although it may take longer.
@@JackBeasleyMedia that makes sense. Do you think there will be instances in someone’s journey into sports photography that having a degree will open more opportunities for them or do you think it’s really based on the skills they have vs. what a resume says.
@@hannahgarcia885 I got my first photojournalism internship based on my portfolio. I got my first photojournalism job based on my portfolio. I've obtained every client or contracted photography job based on my portfolio. None of them really cared about where I went to school or what my GPA was. Having said that, it was my photojournalism education that gave me the basic skills to produce those first portfolios. It's talent (and continued learning) that takes you from there. I'm always striving to learn something new in photography and then apply it in the field.
I’ve seen great sports photogs come from both art and journalism photography backgrounds. Either route will serve you well if this is your ultimate goal. There are times I wish I had more of an art background. But, journalism pushes you into sports shooting as a normal activity - it’s a standard assignment at any newspaper.
@@JackBeasleyMedia thank you so much for taking the time to respond. That is really great advice. I am so passionate about this field and so ready to dive it but i feel so lost at the same time. I have no idea what to do first but talking to some who has already done it is very encouraging. I think I will start taking a few classes this summer. Thank you you again!
More pixels don't gather more light. What on earth are you talking about?? The amount of light coming in will be determined by the lens aperture. You can fit a trillion pixels on the sensor if you want, it won't create more light. A crop sensor camera has the advantage of giving you more reach at same lens focal length. This helps save a lot of money because focal length and fast aperture are $$$$. So saying not to get a crop sensor camera for sports is just ignorant. Crop sensors work best for sports and wildlife, where reach is needed.
I misspoke but left it in. What I was trying to get across was that there was a wider area of sensor, which was recording light. However, this whole idea of a crop sensor giving more "reach" is a fallacy. Putting my FX cameras into DX mode only crops in on the sensor, giving the perception of a zoomed-in effect. I can get the same effect by cropping in, in post. But, the more you crop in, the greater chance you have for the image to degrade, especially at high ISOs. Are DX cameras and lenses cheaper? Yes. But if you want to advance in the genre, eventually, you are switching to FX cameras and lenses - for many reasons.
@@JackBeasleyMedia The area of the cropped sensor and the full frame senor cropped to that exact same area, both will record the same amount of light. All that extra light outside of that area on a full frame sensor is simply discarded on a crop sensor, because it’s not needed. The amount of light is still exactly the same between the 2 sensors when comparing same area. Identical exposure settings on a crop and full frame sensor will look exactly the same exposure wise. The full frame is not going to look any brighter. The crop sensor giving more “reach” is not a fallacy. This reach comes from having more megapixels on the sensor when extrapolated to full frame. So the 21mp cropped sensor is really a 46mp full frame sensor cropped to 21mp. Unless a full frame sensor is also 46mp or higher, the 21mp cropped sensor will give you more reach. With Canon the difference is even bigger, since they have the R7 which is a 32mp crop of a 82mp full frame sensor. Compare that to a 24mp full frame sensor, and you get 1.86x extra reach! Pretty much a 2x tele without the negatives of a 2x tele.
@@vitaminb4869OMG. Can we drop the "more light" thing? As I stated before, I misspoke in the video but didn't correct it. I'll say this - if you think you're getting something more by using a crop frame - go for it. But as I will remind you, there is a reason why professional, top-of-the-line cameras and lenses, aimed at the sports photography market, are all full-frame.
Not sure how anyone other than a successful pro is going to justify paying $12000 for a 400mm f2.8 lens. Even used you are looking at $8000+ for that lens. You need to sell an awful lot of photos at $10 a pop or Sessions at $200 per athlete to pay for that lens.
Agreed, it took me years to get to that level, including selling and trading in other lenses to get there - and that was for an old, used, $4000 4002/8.
