Getting a good sports photograph requires timing, a high shutter speed and a lot of planning.
Photographer David Bergman teamed up with Adorama TV to explain that before you take a shot you need to work out your composition. One of the key considerations when taking sports photos is removing backgrounds or foregrounds that distract from the subject. It doesn’t matter if you’re shooting major league baseball or your kids having fun playing T-Ball at the park, you always need to be conscious of not just the subject.
A key example of this is netting or fences (especially when shooting baseball games). While our brain can choose to ignore they are there when we are watching through them, our cameras aren’t that clever just yet. So they don’t show up in your photos you need to be within a few inches of them with a wide aperture (f/2-5 depending on your lens).
The background of the photographs are just as important. By having a low aperture your background will blur anyway but if there are colourful signs or branding around the field or event then you need to be aware where they are. The last thing you want is your perfect shot ruined by a logo or branding.
What is the one thing you wish you’d know about sports photography before you started shooting? Let us know in the comments down below or on Facebook.