Sometimes I never know which sports photographs are going to catch someone’s eye. I believe there are certain specific qualities that need to be present in a good photo. My sports photography goals aim to capture the special moments in a game, tell the game story, and bring the game to the fans in a unique and captivating way. I also am a photojournalist, so Photoshopping the heck out of an image is not ethical. I try very hard to capture quality photographs in camera. If I don’t, then I just missed that special moment.
Nevertheless, there are artistic images to be captured during a game. Sports photography is an art even though we are tied to telling the story with photographs in an accurate and non-manipulated way. I enjoy this challenge immensely!
I never arrange photographs by staging players, balls, or equipment. Instead, I capture what I see on the field exactly as it is during a game. The photojournalist in me requires this standard. Portraits are something different entirely and there is definitely a unique art in that type of sports photography.
I prefer the challenge of reporting the game in photographs, capturing the story and essence of each game. There are many similarities in games, but each and every game unfolds in a different way. I feel my job is to capture each game story with my camera to help tell the story of each specific game. An example of one similarity is the scoreboard. Every game unfolds on the scoreboard, so each game has a scoreboard, However, the numbers are different as the game’s scoring unfolds. Each field has a different scoreboard, too. Photographing the scoreboard tells a unique aspect of each game.
I hold myself to a high standard of sports photography. In fact, I take my motivation from a baseball concept: the perfect game. A perfect game in baseball is a rare feat, but one which every pitcher dreams of completing! A perfect games consists of no hits, no runs, no walks, no hit batters, and no errors. In short, it is perfect! So in my sports photography I aim for a perfect game, too. To me, a perfect sports photography game includes capturing every action shot of all the key plays during a game in perfect focus, telling the story of the game as it unfolds, capturing the emotions of the players both winners and losers, recording the coaches interaction with the players and their reactions with umpires, showing the fans’ as they cheer, and meet all my deadlines for the game. These high standards drive and motivate me to do my very best in sports photography. It is a challenge I enjoy with all my heart!
Well, today I had the opportunity to put my new Nikon D5 through a real test. I photographed the Millersville v. ESU baseball game for the university today. The sky was partly so I did have to keep adjust some of the camera settings and I am still learning the new camera, too.
