Do you fancy yourself a sports photographer?
I just play one in the newspaper, but I enjoy it.
I've been able to pick up some things from full-time photographers we've had here over the years. In fact, I still occasionally get in touch with Jon Britton or Andy Rullestad with questions.
And, we're fortunate at Shaw Newspapers that our chief information technology trainer was a newspaper photographer in his previous life. So, we're always hitting him up for advice when he visits from Illinois.
Anyway, for those of you who like to do some of that on your own, I picked up some useful information Thursday in a workshop held by the Iowa Newspaper Association. The INA brought in Des Moines Register photographer Doug Wells. His resume includes Olympic Games, bowl games, NCAA Tournament action, and just about every state meet you can imagine. He's soon to join the faculty at Grand View University.
Also attending were Patty Newton of the Diagonal Progress, Randall and Colleen Larimer of the Lenox and Bedford newspapers, and Corey Lindsey of the Leon Journal-Reporter.
Some of the tips are reinforcing things you already knew. Others may give you a new perspective. In any case, it's good to keep these things in mind:
• If possible, use equipment that doesn't have a shutter lag, and has a fast autofocus. Being able to set the ISO (light sensitivity setting) up to 1600 or above with a decent quality image allows a lot of available light shooting without a flash at night. That's always preferable, to avoid the artificial look of flash lighting. The Nikon D70 I use only goes to 1600, but a couple other cameras in the sports department go to 3200.
Daytime shooting allows for great quality images at ISO 200 or thereabouts.
If you shoot in the aperture preferred mode (A), and you pick the ISO number, the camera will assign a shutter speed based on the light. That gives you more control than shooting on automatic. However, with some point and shoot cameras, there's an icon portraying a person running. Dial to that mode and the camera will assign itself settings that will work for most sports.
• For lenses, the magic number is 2.8. That is the f-stop that is fast enough for low-light and indoor shooting, and creates a shallow depth of field to eliminate background distraction. At least get a 50 mm lens with a 2.8 or 2.0 f-stop, which is a lot cheaper than having a 2.8 on a 70-200 or 300 mm lens. That would give you a multipurpose lens for available light shooting.
Believe it or not, if you wait patiently for action to come to you, a 50 mm lens can work in sports situations such as under the basket in basketball, or matside at wrestling. For football, you'd just about have to have a play come toward you (but get out of the way, or you'll be run over like I was ... twice.)
I know in some cases those field areas are limited to media personnel, but there are exceptions. You can always ask.
• Use a 1G or 2G card for a lot of memory. Wells now uses a 4G card.
• For clear photographs, isolate your subject. Try to attain a shallow depth of field (low f-stop number). The image seems to pop out of the frame.
An f-11 or f-18 aperture setting includes too much background in focus. So, try using the aperture priority mode on your camera, instead of automatic or program, lock down to 2.8 or whatever your lens allows, and let the camera choose a shutter speed. It should be easily high enough to stop the action in good lighting conditions.
It's when those baseball games get into the third inning at Panther Field with the sun setting over the ridge behind us, that we run into trouble trying to use available light. Then, it's either indiscreet use of flash, or put away the equipment for the night.
• When you work with your photo in printing it or ordering it on a self-directed kiosk, crop in close to isolate the subject away from a busy background. You don't have to include the entire bodies of the participants. Zooming in on dramatic expression and portrayals of supreme effort makes a photograph, instead of just a picture.
Or, shoot from a different angle for a cleaner look and removal of distractions. I tried that at the state track meet on a front-page overhead shot of Creston's Nicole Hunter winning a preliminary race.
Another strategy can be to actually use the background. On a shot of upcoming work on North Cherry Street, I framed it so the bright orange "Road Work Ahead" sign was viewed at right to tell the story about the road on the left.
• Vary where you're shooting from. And, some of the best shots occur before or after the action. That's when you get interactions between people and emotion.
There has been controversy in the past on whether it's appropriate to photograph a competitor who is emotionally shattered after a defeat. To me, there's no better way to portray the magnitude of what these events mean to the participants, but you can show some discretion.
Sports editor Kyle Wilson and I agreed that we would try to use a zoom lens and not a short lens that would require us to be "up in their face" at such an emotional moment. That seems a little like the Paparazzi.
In fact, we've had athletes contact us and say they kept the picture to motivate them to do better the next year. Waking up and seeing that picture can spur an offseason of dedicated work.
• Another technique is intentional blurring with a slow shutter (15th of a second instead of 250th or 500th), or "panning" the subject moving across the field of vision while he/she stays in focus. The background becomes blurred to indicate swift movement. This works great in auto racing.
Now, go out and have fun with your camera!
•••
This is a big week for Creston native Chris Coen, the head golf course superintendent at Glen Oaks Country Club. The weather is favorable for a great Principal Charity Classic.
Coen told Rick Brown, Des Moines Register golf writer, that the course will have some of the best conditions it's ever had for the annual event. If the predicted thunderstorms dodge West Des Moines, he's expecting a score of 10 under par or better to win.
A convenient way to attend the tournament (today through Sunday) is to park at Jordan Creek Mall near Younkers and take the shuttle ride to the course.