It all started when…
Confession time.
I’m not a professional photographer.
I realize some of you came here tonight expecting to hear from a “real, full-time pro,” but I’m not. I will remind you all that this is a free presentation and you get coffee and doughnuts so I hope you are not too disappointed.
When I’m not holding a camera, I am, among other things, the CEO of an art museum. To the extent that my sports pictures are any good at all is largely a function of the fact that I value composition and the visual impact - the overall artistic impact - of the image more than technical prowess behind it. I’m not a pixel peeper, to use the common parlance.
I am often hired by local, state and national news organizations - as well as college and pro teams - to not only capture news and action images, but to do so in an unusual or artistic way. That’s my differentiating characteristic, if I have any at all. I like to delude myself into thinking that it is my eye - not my decidedly limited brainpower or technical skills - that differentiate me. I’ve covered all of the major American and English sports from Pee Wee through Pro (and many of the minor ones as well). My pictures have been on magazine covers, billboards and even the sports cards of a few Hall of Fame athletes. So I’m not a full-time pro, but I’ve clicked the shutter a few times over the years and got a few good, lucky shots. If I can do it, you certainly can too.
I’ll take questions throughout the presentation - so please chime in. But I’m not the right person to ask about photography as a business. Many years ago I chose to disengage my “artistic pursuits,” from any financial considerations. I still charge for my work but I donate the money to local non-profits. That said, I’m not completely averse to compensation. I usually request a free hot dog and Diet Coke from the concession stand at any sporting event I cover. It’s just part of the deal. So unless you are interested in being paid in warm, bunned, processed meats and caffeinated beverages, I’m the wrong guy to ask.
Today we will talk primarily about development of an approach and personal style that you can apply to sport photography. People underestimate the value of an artistic signature. When you look at a Picasso painting, you know immediately it’s by Picasso. Or an Ansel Adams photograph. Or a Bob Dylan song. Your goal is to reach a point where people know one of your pictures when they see it. That seems like a lofty goal. But it is the one you should strive for, and it’s probably not as hard as you think. We all have a different way of looking at the world. No two people will arrange a room exactly the same way as someone else. No one would pick the same color paint for the walls. We don’t all drive black cars. We make fashion choices. Your style will shine forth in the decisions you make in the viewfinder.
This is a topic that could span days. But because you all have lives, I’m going to limit this talk to five concepts and about 50 minutes. These are the ones you should focus on first. Maybe at some point I will develop another presentation on the next five. But I promise - with a money back guarantee on this completely free presentation - that applying these concepts will immediately transform your pictures and help you develop your signature style. You will notice that I use the word “concept” rather than “rule.” This is the art world, folks, and thus we have no rules. Only suggestions.
1) A Comprehensive Background Check: Feel free to repeat these words out loud: The single most impactful thing I can do to improve my pictures is to choose the right background. If you remember one thing from this presentation, let it be this: choose your background first and let the subject enter your frame. Most people do the opposite. And most people are wrong. You do not take a picture. Your job is to make a picture. That’s a very different thing, indeed.
You must retrain yourself to, “work backwards.” This simply means that the background is the first choice in your composition. This is a great habit for all photographers in all genres to adopt. It is one of the key markers that separates the advanced photographer from the beginner.
It may be a helpful mental exercise to think of yourself as a movie director who happens to use a still camera. You are responsible for choosing the set in which the actors — well, in this case, the runners — will perform and interact. It would be artistic malpractice for a movie director not to choose the set with tremendous care as it has such a profound bearing on the overall look and impact of the finished product. As a photographer, you are responsible for everything in your frame. No excuses.
Now, raise your right hand and repeat after me: “: I (fill in your name) will strive mightily to never take another sports picture that shows in the background a car, an orange Gatorade jug, a disinterested person on a cell phone, a fence, a porta-potty, a bus, or a power line.”
Just move!
Or simply shift your camera angle. I have been doing this for years and I have yet to run across a photographer whose shoes have literally been nailed to the ground. But based on reviewing hundreds of galleries, you would often think that is the case. Most bad sports photos are just lazy photos. Move!
You may be familiar with the American painter Edward Hopper. His most famous painting is Nighthawks (At the Diner). Nighthawks, like many of Hopper’s works, is set in the city. But look closely. You won’t see many (or any) power lines, phone booths, lamp posts, newspaper boxes, or other distracting evidence of modernity. Hopper draws your attention to the subject and the composition by minimizing these distractions. Aspire to that level of control in your work.
We can step out of the art museum now and back onto the course, but you get the point. This is where photography is about more than just pushing a button. It’s about having an idea of the impression and mood you want to create and capture and striving hard in the pursuit.
There are two reasons to have a long lens when shooting field sports like football, soccer, or even baseball. The first is that you want to get close to the action. That’s fine and I think that goes without saying. The second, however, in my book, is even more important, compositionally. If you are able to get very tight on the athlete, you completely eliminate the background issue. If you are working with a stadium or field where the backgrounds are truly atrocious - and they are out there - shoot as tight as you can, and get rid of the background entirely. You will notice that I consciously used the word working with the stadium or field. You need to. Analyze what you have to work with. We do it every morning in front of the mirror. “This is what I’ve got to work with, what can I do with it to make it look good?”
One last thing when it comes to backgrounds for those among you who use zoom lenses. If you are not incredibly careful, they will make you lazy. Not maybe make you lazy. They will. I often review galleries where I can tell someone has been stranding in the same location for a hours. They twist their wrist to move the lens barrel rather than use their muscles to move with the action. Fight it. Move. I don’t think I’ve ever stayed in the same position at a sporting event for more than 10 minutes — and that would be a lot,
2) The Athlete as Hero: The most important piece of equipment you will buy this year for sports photography has nothing to do with cameras. It’s $5. Go to the Goodwill shop. Take out your five dollar bill. And buy an old pair of pants. A pair that you don’t mind getting dirty because you will be throwing them out at the end of the year. They will be unsalvageable if you are doing your job well. I am often more dirty than the athletes by the end of an outdoor game.
I can immediately tell experienced sports photographers from beginners by the way they stand — or should I say, the way they don’t stand. You should rarely shoot standing up. Kneel — or at least crouch. Doing so radically changes your angle of view and the runner will appear larger and altogether more heroic in the frame. Try it. You’ll immediately notice a vast difference. Also by shooting “up” you will eliminate a tremendous amount of background clutter. Cars, fences, and other distractions will magically disappear.
Don’t buy it? Look at the end zone of an NFL game. 99.9% of photographers are kneeling. The other 0.1% are heading to the bathroom. Professional sports photographers kneel not because they are nice people, deeply committed to improving the view of fans behind them. They just know what it takes to make a good picture. It’s best practice in the profession for a reason.
So go get some ratty clothes and play in the dirt where you belong. That’s your job. If you want to be fashionable and look cool — something clearly out of the question for me — well, you might want to reconsider your interest in sports photography.
3) Settings & Gearish: As you are at a photography class, I assume that you know how to use your DSLR and have an understanding of the exposure triangle. My suggestion is that you shoot most sports in Shutter Priority (S)* and set your shutter speed to 1/1,000th. This speed will freeze 99% of action . Make sure your focus is set for “continuous,” (C), not single-shot (S). Go into your settings menu and turn on Auto-ISO. I find myself moving around a lot and I’m far more interested in making a good composition than adjusting my ISO every time a cloud bank obscures the sun for seven seconds. With today’s cameras if you are shooting outside, frankly ISO is a non-issue. I would not have said that ten or fifteen years ago but camera sensor technology has improved tremendously. Auto ISO is your friend.
Make sure your camera is also set to “burst” or “continuous” mode. Set this to the highest speed possible on your camera. This will produce a rapid, machine gun-like sound when you press the shutter button. This will help you make several frames of the athlete as they enter your background.
Finally, set your focus to a “single-point.” In this setting, you the photographer — not the camera — determine which areas in the frame will be in focus.
I should emphasize that everyone has their own settings recipe. At a certain level of proficiency, it becomes an aspect of personal style and approach. There are plenty of great photographers who would cringe at my suggestion of shooting in Shutter priority. I think it’s a good place to start. It has worked for a lot of students that I have taught.
There’s no need for us to discuss the technical aspects of equipment here. And frankly, you could spend a lifetime watching YouTube videos that discuss photography gear at frighteningly obsessive levels of detail. You may find that interesting. I don’t. Frankly, any camera with an interchangeable lens that is capable of shooting at six frames per second or higher will work for cross-country photography. Ideally, you should have a lens that has a focal reach of at least 200MM. If you’ve got that, you are good to go. You have the basics.
But, as is the case with most things in life from toothbrushes to computers, there is a good-better-best hierarchy. Camera gear is no different. No one reading this should run out and buy photography equipment in the “best” category. That’s something you grow into, and frankly, it’s very expensive. But I would strongly suggest that you consider using gear in the “better” category. Take it from an old man who has been at this for years; do not waste precious years of your life chopping wood with a dull axe thinking, “Someday, when I get better, I’ll get better gear.” Use the right gear for the job now. Do it while your athletes are young and you will get a far better return on your investment. You’ll make better pictures and you will enjoy photography more. I promise you won’t regret it.
When it comes to sports photography equipment, the lens is generally more important than the camera. Any name brand (Nikon, Canon, Sony, Fuji etc...) interchangeable lens camera made in the past decade is capable of rendering beautiful images in the right hands. It is the lens that is truly the differentiating, and in some cases, limiting factor. I will save you a lot of keystrokes and YouTube searches. You are going to hear the same thing over and over again from the sports photography pundits: get (buy, borrow, or rent) a 70-200MM f2.8 lens. This is a sensational and highly flexible lens that can be used to great effect for cross country and almost every other sport. It is the nucleus of any sports photography gear bag. It is a relatively expensive lens, ranging in price (new) from $1,500-$2,750 depending on the brand. But you have options. You can buy a used one at 50-75% of the original price. Or you can rent one for about $100 a week.
You may hear some photography gurus claim that, “gear doesn’t really matter.” Well, the fact that they are gurus means that they have a kit containing the optimal cameras and lenses for their particular specialty. So in fact gear doesn’t matter much to them anymore. You are correct to be dubious about such claims. Good gear absolutely helps. But how much? Let’s look at it this way. If you took an average photographer and gave them great gear or a great photographer and gave them average gear, who will make the better pictures? I’ll place my bet on the great photographer every time. All other things being equal, professional-quality gear will help improve your keeper rate and produce sharper, cleaner frames. Like everything in life, you get what you pay for. But better gear will not help you compose, read the light, intuit, anticipate, problem-solve, and all of the intangible factors that put a tangible distance between good and great shooters. The magic happens when you put great tools in the hands of a great photographer.
Strive to improve your core photography skills. The rest will take care of itself. I promise.
4) A Lot Closer and A Little Fuzzier: Back in the film days the Kodak camera came with a little guide on taking good pictures and they included the line, “If you think you are close enough to your subject, you probably aren’t.” Get uncomfortably close. Uncomfortable, you say? Sorry, remember you bought the camera and wanted to do this. Well, then do it right. Get in there. You can’t be a matador unless you are willing to get close to the bull. and want to make good pictures!
Getting uncomfortably close is - like managing backgrounds - one of the most impactful things you can do to transform your pictures.
I have never understood why there are people with cameras - team photographers, no less - on the sideline during warmups. You are either with the team or not. Be bold. Ask. With high school sports, 95% of coaches will have no problem with you on the field during warm-ups as long as you are safe, well-mannered and church-mouse quiet.
As your style develops this will change and you are free to make artistic decisions, but I will challenge you. For the next 5 games, fill 80-90% of the frame. No cropping allowed! This will reduce that background to next-to-nothing, helping you with the background issues noted above. It will teach you to be bold. And your pictures will pop and improve. I promise. You will lose some pictures because you have cuts of limbs or it’s just too close for focus. No problem. We are going for the home run. We are not bunting. You must challenge yourself to get better.
A note of caution to anyone who thinks that “likes” and “great pics,” remarks in the comments indicate that your pictures are good. Don’t pat yourself on the back. Frankly, other parents are just happy you are there. They want to motivate you to spend thousands of dollars on gear and stand out in the rain and snow to get pictures of their kids. You need to hold yourself to a very high personal standard. We all start out with a camera at a game wanting to document an event. Then we want to get a little better. Then we want to get good. Then we get a little competitive. That’s a great impulse.
This presentation was not designed to address specific techniques. But in my years of teaching, I get the same question every presentation, “How do I blur my backgrounds?” Let’s address it here. It is, after all, an important and valuable skill. I’m sure my description here will make the optical engineers among you roll your eyes but I’ll try to keep it simple. If you want to go deeper, well, Google is your friend. First, set your lens aperture to the lowest number. All other things being equal, the lower the number, the more blur it will create. Unfortunately, the lower the number, the higher the cost of the lens. Generally, with the exception of super-long telephoto primes, high-grade professional lenses are f2.8 and lower (f2.0, f1.8, f1.4). At these levels, you can get great “blur” — or Bokeh, which is the correct technical term. Most lenses owned by hobbyists are f4, f5.6, and f6.3. You can still get blur with these lenses, but you won’t get that truly soft “melted” effect. The higher the number, the less blur.
Next - and this is the important part - you need to get as close as you can to your subject with your background as far away as possible. This is something you can and should practice in your backyard. It won’t take you long to get a feel for it and it will forever change the way you make pictures.
5) Editing & Posting Pictures: Digital photography has made capturing pictures easier than ever. But capturing is just the first step. Almost all digital images need to be processed and ultimately must be delivered to the intended audience. One noted Sports Illustrated photographer noted, “I don’t have to spend time in the darkroom developing pictures anymore, but I spend just as much time - or more - in front of the computer tweaking them.” Frankly, image editing and sharing are each huge subjects and I can not do them justice here. There are countless sites and videos dedicated to these activities. My intention here is to point you in the right general direction and you can dig in as deeply as needed on either or both topics.
In terms of editing, I’ll make it short. If you enjoy photography and intend to make it a part of your life, learn how to use Adobe Lightroom. It is the tool of choice for the majority of sports photographers. There is a learning curve and a subscription cost but it is the industry standard and has added some remarkable capabilities in recent years. There are alternatives - just like there are alternatives to Coca-Cola and Oreo cookies. But go for the original. Photoshop is great (and also an Adobe product) but Lightroom is specifically designed for photographers. You can certainly edit images in Photoshop but the core audience for that software is the graphic design community.
(Mike Kolleth is the President & CEO of The Saginaw Art Museum and the historic Temple Theatre. He assumed these roles after a thirty-five-year career as a senior executive at the The Dow Chemical Company. He retired as director of strategy for Dow North America and global director of corporate brand, advertising and digital communications. He is a Michigan native and holds degrees from Oxford University, (England), Cambridge University (England) and Michigan State University. He serves on various boards and lives in Saginaw, Michigan with his wife and two children. )