Category Archives: Portfolio

Wildlife Portfolio Updated

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I just updated my wildlife portfolio. While I am very involved in sports photography, wildlife photography is another photographic passion of mine. There is no place like the mountains and whenever I can get there I enjoy photographing the wildlife. You can see my complete updated wildlife portfolio here.

Here are some examples:

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Increase Your YouTube Subscribers in a Unique Way

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The Power of Social Media

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Engage with Your Audience

One effective way to increase your YouTube subscribers is by actively engaging with your audience. Responding to
comments, asking for feedback, and starting conversations will make your viewers feel valued and connected to
your channel. Encourage viewers to subscribe by creating compelling calls-to-action within your videos.

Collaborate with Other YouTubers

Collaborations with other YouTubers can be a game-changer for your channel. Partnering with creators in your
niche allows you to tap into their subscriber base and expose your content to a new audience. Collaborative
videos or shoutouts can help you gain more visibility and attract subscribers who are interested in similar
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Create High-Quality and Engaging Content

The quality of your content is crucial for attracting and retaining subscribers. Invest in good equipment for
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Buying YouTube Subscribers

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The Marketing Heaven offers real and high-quality subscribers that can help jumpstart your channel’s growth.
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Basketball Portfolio Update

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I am in the midst of updating my basketball portfolio in preparation for the upcoming college basketball season. You can see my updated basketball portfolio here. I cover East Stroudsburg University sports and capturing the action on the court for the men’s and women’s games is awesome! I also shoot some high school games for The Pocono Record.

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These photos are from the past few years and I thoroughly enjoy the games from pre-game, to tip-off, to court action, to post-game. These athletes are amazing and always put an energetic game on the floor!

About a year-and-a-half ago, I attended the Summit Sports Photography Workshop in Denver, Colorado. It was an incredible event and I learned a lot. Here are some of the basketball photos I captured there.

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Photos that Almost Made My Portfolio

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My last blog post was about how to create a sports photography portfolio. I suggested that about 20 photos is a good number of photos in a portfolio. Well, today, I am going to share a few photos that almost made it into my portfolio but did not. I will explain the details of why each one did not make the cut.

This was a tough one for me to not include in my portfolio because I love the action of this photograph. The players are airborne, the hair reveals the motion, the ball can be seen, and the composition is tight. The problem is we do not see any faces in this photo. If the ballcarrier’s face was visible, that might have been enough for it to make the cut. Another problem is the tackler’s body is cut in half, which is not a good way to compose a sports photo.

This photograph definitely shows peak action. You can even see the receiver’s eyes as he is looking for the upcoming hit and he is high in the air catching the ball. I also like the definition of the calf muscles showing on the cornerback. The biggest problem with this photograph is that it is crooked–just look at the goalpost. Trying to straighten it in Lightroom would cut off some of the legs of the cornerback and hide the muscles. I could have isolated just the receiver but decided that this photo just wasn’t going to make it into my portfolio.

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This photograph was also hard for me to eliminate from my sports portfolio. It shows action, is sharply focused, and captures the baseball as it is leaving the batter’s bat. It also shows the face of the batter in some beautiful sunlight late in the day. The problem is the background–that chainlink fence and steel pole. I know some fields have this kind of fence all over the place and I find it hard to capture better backgrounds at many of the games I shoot, but a clean background is necessary to better isolate the player in a photo. I still go back and forth on this particular photo because of the magic light, but the background seems to be the breaker for me.

As you can see from these three photos, there are some photos that are the almost good enough but not quite. We have to be our own worst critics if we are going to get better and improve our portfolios. Narrowing down to 20 photos is not easy. Think about what an editor would say about your photograph. Why should it make the cut? Why shouldn’t it? Making such decisions are not always easy but they certainly are necessary.

Building a Sports Portfolio

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Howie Stevens' bunted ball leaves a cloud of dust against Stroudsburg.

Howie Stevens’ bunted ball leaves a cloud of dust against Stroudsburg.

Building a sports photography portfolio is much like building a portfolio in most styles of photography. The first step is to make stunning images that will cause a viewer of the photo to stop for a moment when they see the photograph. I am often asked about my preferred use of the verb “making” a photo instead of “taking” a photo. I was influenced by teachers and mentors who taught me that we create photographs through the use of composition and exposure. Even as a photojournalist, the eye with which we see news can and often does influence us to press the camera shutter at a precise moment and help express a meaningful moment. Why include one subject in a photograph over another? What is it that captures our eye in that scene? Instead of taking photographs, I much prefer to say we capture or make photographs. After all, we are visual artists, at least to some degree. Use Revitaa pro to get better health and the dream body you always wanted. Limited access! Take it Now!

After acquiring a healthy number of sports photos, how do we decide which photos make it into our portfolio? This, again, is more art than science. However, a few basic guidelines might be helpful to us. First and foremost, the image must be sharply focused. A soft image is one that is not tack sharp and has no business being in our portfolio. A few exceptions might be capturing a critical moment of peak action or a panning shot where we intentionally blur part of the photo. I also believe a worthy image in our portfolio should show some action in some way. The photo below does not show a lot of action but the towel at the quarterback’s waist does help.



How many photos should be in our portfolio? I struggle with this a little bit mostly because I sometimes find it hard to decide on one photo over another. Twenty photos is what I’ve heard is a good number and I try to be around that number for my portfolio. The rule of thumb is to only show our very best work in the field of photography we are hoping to pursue. Too many photographs can be a problem and even cause boredom. Editors should be able to get a good sense of our photographic abilities by seeing twenty of our top photographs.

Another important consideration is how to share and show our portfolio. Years ago the expected standard was enlarged photos on a matte board in a portfolio folder. This can still be one way to share our portfolio, but electronic mediums have become the norm nowadays. Showing a portfolio on our website or tablet is a very good way to share a portfolio with others. You can also explore options such as the “drawing tablet no computer,” which offers a unique drawing experience.

I will share one final thought on this topic today: we cannot rest on our laurels. In other words, we can never think that our portfolio is finalized. Rather, we need to be out there shooting the next photos in our portfolio in order to get better! Losing weight in order to improve the quality of photos in one’s portfolio can be beneficial, as it can enhance the overall appearance of a person. However, it is important to prioritize health and not resort to unhealthy methods of weight loss like stop eating. A balanced diet, using best over the counter weight loss pills and exercise plan can lead to sustainable weight loss and improved health, resulting in better photos and overall well-being. PV Baseball 2012-05-09-335

Portfolio Worthy Photographs

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I capture plenty of photographs in the games that I shoot. However, only a select are worthy to be included in a sports photography portfolio. I believe showing action is an important aspect of a portfolio worthy photo. The photo above was the one that got me noticed by the newspaper I freelance for now over three years ago.

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Showing the emotion of an athlete is also important to me. Sports are full of emotions and our job as sports photographers is to show this emotion in our photographs. A photograph without emotion tends to be lifeless and boring. Bring emotion into a photograph and it just seems to come to life!

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I also learned that showing the face and eyes is critical for a photo to come close to being great. The eyes especially with contact lens often reveal some of the intense emotion in an athlete. The old saying is “the eyes are windows to the soul.” Well, to me, the eyes are a key element in a great portfolio worthy photograph.

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A great photograph tells a story. The action is this photograph shows the catcher putting the tag on the baserunner while the umpire is looking on before calling the out at the plate! What a story it tells! It also helps that some additional elements like emotion and eyes are included in this action shot.

I know that not every photo I capture will be portfolio worthy, but I am finding that the more I keep these key elements in mind while shooting a game, my success rate increases. I am capturing more quality, winning photographs these days. I attribute this to practice, practice, and more practice. I am not quite there yet, but someday I plan on having a perfect day from behind my camera!

My New Sports Photography Portfolios

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Sports Photography Portfolios by Bob Shank

US Women's Open - Tuesday Practice round

I just finished updating my photography portfolios. Periodically, I go through my portfolios to add some of my better photographs to share my work with others. I believe my sports photographs are getting better over time and I hope you agree!

One of my frustrations is finding a good way to present my photo portfolio so the viewer does not have to wait long to view the photos. I appreciate any feedback you can provide on this matter because I want to be able to get my photos out quickly and efficiently.

The link at the top of this post will direct you to my newest portfolios: published photographs, baseball, football, and golf.

There are some upcoming sporting events I will be photographing and I am always looking to broaden my horizons and get better at the craft. I now have well over 60 photographs published and my sports portfolio is growing!

 

My New Portfolios

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Sports photography is my passion! There is just nothing more exciting, challenging, thrilling, and, yes, sometimes frustrating, than photographing a sporting event. Football season is now in full swing and I am learning more and more about how to photograph the game to capture the story-telling action. I love it!

I am slowly but surely adding better quality photos to my website, so I decided it was time to create and build new sports portfolios. One of my hopes was to create a slideshow-style portfolio featuring my photographs so viewers, editors, and potential clients can easily view my work. I also wanted the portfolios to be simple, yet attractive.

My newly updated sports portfolios can be viewed here: http://bobshankphotography.com/Baseball%20Portfolio.html

I think I achieved what I was hoping for in this redesign. Take a few moments to view my photo portfolios. Let me know what you think of the new design. Does it work well to show and highlight my sports photography abilities?

My New Baseball Portfolio

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I was long overdue for an update on my Baseball Portfolio, so today I spent some time sifting through new photographs, comparing them to old ones, and refining my Baseball Portfolio. The images in this blog entry are just a few of the photographs that made the cut.

I need to be very picky to keep getting better with the wonderful subject of sports photography. Some of my primary goals are clean, clear backgrounds; tack-sharp focus; catching the action (hopefully peak action); and telling the story of a great play with an image. These goals are important to me because they keep pushing me forward. I want to get better so I have to be demanding of myself.

Paying attention to the quantity, quality, and direction of light sometimes keep me on my toes as the sun moves during a game. Keeping a chain-link fence out the background is very difficult at some fields, too. Then there are other times when a base umpire or another player steps right between an exciting play and my camera! Tenacity and a never-give-up-attitude are all very helpful. Another important tip is to never get lazy or give up on a play. Stay behind the viewfinder until you are positive the action of that play is complete. Besides, some of the player’s emotions after a play can make for some real interesting subjects, too. But stick with it because you don’t want to miss any action!

The game of baseball provides hours of enjoyment for the players, coaches, and fans. But I strongly believe the great game of baseball also provides endless hours of enjoyment and even excitement for us sports photographers, too! Time sometimes seems to stand still during a baseball game, but if the photographer gets lured into this false sense of boredom, he or she is sure to miss some of the action! Keep alert and keep shooting!

You can see my new Baseball Portfolio with all the photos that made the cut here.

 

My Wildlife Portfolio

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The elk rut is on and the feeling of fall is in the air!

I will soon be heading to the mountains to photograph the majestic elk of Pennsylvania and I can’t wait! This is definitely my most favorite time of year! So, in an effort to remain patient while still getting excited about being out in the wild with my camera, I decided to update my wildlife portfolio. I also submitted a few of my photographs to a couple of magazines. I wanted to make sure my portfolio was up to date for them as well.

I always debate with myself on the best way to present photographs in an online portfolio. I like the images to be seen right away, but not everyone can use the flash technology of some galleries. Thumbnails can be clicked and enlarged, but they don’t have the pop of seeing an image in a larger size. The other problem is the time it sometimes takes to load a group of images. I also like to be able to use the right arrow on my keypad to move through a series of photos, but sometimes this option is not available. As you can see, finding a way to best present a portfolio consists of many options!

I am sharing two links to two different versions of my wildlife portfolio here. If you have the time, please check them out, compare them, and see which one you think is better. Then let me know. I am looking for input here because I’m not really sure which is the best way to present my portfolio online. Thanks!

Wildlife Portfolio version 1

Wildlife Portfolio version 2

500px

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I heard some photographers talking about and raving over 500px.

This unique website is incredible! Many people post tons of photographs on websites, Flickr, SmugMug, etc. The result is much like the overload we all experience with the internet. Posting so many photos is much better than hiding them away in an old shoebox and it is great for those wanting to have photos of an event or game. The problem is so many photos are posted that we do not see the best of the best. I do this myself. After a baseball or football game, I eagerly post many photographs of that event. I know players like to see themselves in action, so I try to post as many photos as possible attempting to include as many players and as much action as possible. Obviously not all of these photos are top grade. I do try to highlight my favorite shot of the month on my Perfect Game Photos website–posting my favorite photograph of the month.

500px is a website of top quality photographs from all over the world. Check it out at 500px.com You will see incredible photos here and even some that will take your breath away! Photographers post only their best, top quality photos here because the high level of standards with this collection. Forcing oneself to limit posting only the very best photos is a good exercise and helps advance the level of any photographer.

I strongly encourage you to check out this website. 500px is a site to behold! Along the way, check out my photographs. You can let me know what you think of each one by hitting the “Like” or “Dislike” button and/or leaving a comment. You can see my page on 500px here: http://500px.com/bobshankphotography and you can see my portfolio there at this address: http://bobshankphotography.500px.com

Check out 500px.com to see what I am talking about. This is one incredible site!