Equipment You’ll need a camera that has a continuous shutter motor. This allows the camera to take multiple photos (or frames) per second as long as the shutter button is depressed. The ability to take multiple frames per second is crucial in capturing the climax in the action. A shutter speed of at least 1/500th of a second is required to freeze movement. You also need to have a lens or zoom range that is at least 200mm to allow you to get close to the action. If you can’t zoom in, you won’t be able to isolate any of your subjects.
Composition One of the things that separates amateur sports photography from professional sports photography is the ability to properly compose an image. The first thing you want to think about is where you are shooting from. For any sport, being able to get on the same level as the players can dramatically improve your images. Shooting from the same level will allow you to capture players’ faces, emotions, and actions better - the absolute key to a great photo.
Background The next thing you should consider is your background. You want to find a background that doesn’t have random cars, people, fences, etc. When you arrive at the event, take the time to walk around and find a spot that is clean, clutter free, and has the least distracting background. Examples of clean backgrounds include woods, sky, empty fields, or if you are shooting from above the field, the field itself can provide a clean background. However, sometimes complex backgrounds like fans in the stands can add interest to an image. Just make sure your viewers aren’t distracted by it. A way to insure this is to create a shallow depth of field by setting your DSLR from Beachcamera.com to a large aperture mode.
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