This is a guest post from the fabulous Gray Tham, an award winning accredited children’s photographer (and mama to three!). Gray is the talent behind Simply Gray Photography .Throughout her professional photographer career, she has photographed hundreds of children and families in Melbourne, Australia and throughout the United States from her sometimes-home base of New York.
Today she shares with us her tips for youth sports photography!
Capturing Youth Sport Photos
My career as a Sideline Mother With a Camera (SMWAC – I made that one up, like it?) started in Australia with Aussie Rules Football. During those years, my youth sport photography captured all the handballs, kicking and marking. Then we moved to New York and the footy oval was replaced by a baseball diamond. I started capturing batting, boys on the bench, pitching, and let’s face it, a lot of waiting and the occasional home run.
Most recently, my four year old ballerina has decided she no longer wanted to be on the sidelines watching her brothers and has joined the world of little leaguers in T-Ball. Our kids grow up so quickly… the cuteness coming from seeing kids picking daisies in the outfield, or catching a ball for the other team, won’t last long!
I’m happy to share my ten top tips to capture a youth sport photos like a pro!
1. Watch your backgrounds
As Lou always says (clear the clutter), always remember your background when framing the photo. When shooting youth sport photography, I try to avoid figures and objects that could distract from my subject as much as I can. When your little players are in the outfield, try to angle yourself so you see mostly the field, and avoid the parking lot, other parents, garbage bins, etc.
This past game I actually stood up on the team bench to get an angle that avoided the parking lot. I am sure the other parents thought I was crazy, but they sure enjoyed the results!
Shutter speed 1/2500, Aperture f 2.8, ISO 200, Lens: 70-200mm f/2.8L
2. When all else fails, work with your backgrounds
Let’s face it, we don’t have much control over our site when shooting youth sport photography at our kid’s games. We can walk around the field to avoid the garbage bins and parked cars… sometimes I can even be found on the other team’s side when the light and vantage point is better! But beyond that, there is only so much we can do.
To compensate, I tend to shoot wide open – keep my aperture wide (low f-stop number) and rely on our friend ‘depth of field’ to blur out my backgrounds and make my little athletes pop. You will notice that in this article most images are shot with an aperture of f/2.8. That is the widest aperture I can go with my zoom lens, and it works a treat.
Shutter 1/2500, Aperture f/2.8, ISO 200, Lens 70-200mm f/2.8L
Note: The expression in this photo was not one to miss. To decrease the distraction of the background, another good tip is to turn your pictures into black and white. This helps maintain the focus on the expression of your child.
Shutter speed 1/2000, Aperture f 2.8, ISO 200, Lens 70-200mm f/2.8L
Note: I shot this image through a screen fence, and the fence behind was a horrid and distracting red, so I converted this shot to black and white which removed the distraction, and as a bonus it gave me a nice screened affect.
3. Get up close
Get in close! It can be hard to get a close up of your child during a game, so that’s another reason why my 70-200mm is my favourite for youth sport photography. It allows me to crop out lots of the distractions and just focus on my child. If I want to capture the entire field for effect, I then use my 24-70mm or 50mm lens. I love shooting with my primes, but the versatility of the zooms for kid sports usually wins out for me.
Up close: 70-200mm f/2.8L at 200mm
Wide angle: 24-70mm f/2.8L at 24mm
4. Overcast days are your friend
The best light to take a photo of the youth playing sport is when it’s overcast. The clouds act as a giant softbox and give you beautiful soft, and even lighting, and help you avoid the strong shadows on their faces.
5. Don’t miss the action shot
You don’t want to miss the action shots by having an out of focus, blurry athlete. Motion blur is the number one problem I hear from beginner photographers, and parents on the sidelines who are trying to shoot youth sport photography. To decrease or eliminate motion blur you need a fast shutter speed. The faster they’re moving, the faster the shutter speed you’ll need to freeze the motion.
I recommend at the very least a shutter speed of 1/250 when kids are standing still or moving very slowly. When they’re on the move, ideally a shutter speed of minimum 1/1000 will give you sharp images.
My images in this post range from 1/800 to 1/6400 with ISO settings of around 200-400. To ensure I can use a fast shutter speed I would not hesitate to boost my ISO. I’d rather have grain than blur!
Shutter speed 1/1250, Aperture f/2.8, ISO 200, Lens 70-200mm f/2.8L
Related: How to Take Fast Action Photos
6. The team shot
A great way to get a youth group sport photography shot is during the time when the team is lined up for the Pledge of Allegiance, or the National Anthem. In baseball, I love to capture the players right after the National Anthem when they shout “Play Ball” and throw up their hats. These are great shots to offer as a gift to the coaches at the end of the season, and to the other parents. Yes, I am also the School’s Team Mom this year so I have to think of these things!
Remember your fast shutter speed when taking that shot!
Shutter speed 1/800, Aperture f 3.2, ISO 200, Lens 70-200mm f/2.8L
7. Capturing the sportsmanship
Every mom loves to know that their child has good sportsmanship. Another favorite moment of mine to capture is the end of the game line up. I love the “good game” handshakes.
Shutter speed 1/1600, Aperture f/2.8, ISO 200, Lens 70-200mm f/2.8L
8. Capture interaction and emotion
I love to capture the interaction between teammates and even better, the interaction between the coach and the athletes, in my youth sport photography. These are the small, but high quality moments that make playing sports so special for our kids, and us as parents.
Shutter speed 1/2000, Aperture f 2.8, ISO 200, Lens 70-200mm f/2.8L
Likewise don’t forget to capture all the emotions on the field … the joy, the disappointment and all the proud moments. All these emotions make up what it means to play sports as a kid and they are all worth capturing.
Shutter speed 1/2000, Aperture f 2.8, ISO 200, Lens 70-200mm f/2.8L
9. The wait
Don’t forget the bench shot. When not on the field, that is where they are. I love watching their little feet dangle above the ground. It won’t be like this for much longer.
Shutter speed 1/4000, Aperture f 2.8, ISO 200 Lens 70-200 f/2.8L
10. Keep shooting
Take many shots, more than you need. Keep shooting, you never know when you are going to get that amazing expression, especially as they run to first base or kick a goal!
Keep your camera ready for those special moments you don’t want to miss. And finally, watch out for fly balls and bats. It can be a dangerous pastime trying to document our kid’s sport days!
Oh yes, one more thing to remember when shooting youth sport photography… don’t forget your camera and memory card!
Join my new workshop and learn How to Shoot Pro-Quality Photos With Your DSLR… and it’s totally FREE to join!Register here…
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