Try to focus on action photography, which is when you’re capturing pictures of objects in motion. [2] X Research source
About 65% of sports photographers have a bachelor’s degree. Don’t worry if you don’t have a degree since some employers might only consider your photography portfolio and experience behind a camera.
Your portfolio is the most important part when employers are looking for new photographers. Make sure you only post your best pictures to showcase your skills.
If you’re still in college, talk to career services to see if they have any potential internships you can try. Sports photography can be a pretty competitive field, so see if you can find a position in journalism or editing when you start out. That way, you can still take photos on the side and build your connections.
Look at other photographs of the sports so you can see what actions and plays you should take photos of. Take some classes or play the sports you’re interested in recreationally if you want to get first-hand experience of how players react.
A lot of sports photographers say, “If you see the action in your viewfinder, then you’ve lost it,” which means that it will be too late to get the most exciting picture.
For example, if you’re photographing a high school football game, you may try to capture a picture of the quarterback celebrating a touchdown with their parents cheering in the background.
If you have a child enrolled in the school, you’re more likely to take pictures for them. Taking pictures for a school might not be a paid position, but you may still be able to sell some of your photos to publications.
This is usually only for high school or college games, but that’s a great place to start if you don’t have a lot of experience.
Some passes are given out on a game-to-game basis, but you may get hired to cover the entire season if the company is impressed with your portfolio. Instead of payment, some smaller companies may offer a byline, which is crediting your name on the photo. If they offer this, ask to include a link to your portfolio site or social media page so other potential employers can contact you.
Most sports photographers need to provide and maintain their own equipment, which can be pretty expensive when you’re starting off, so make sure you budget for those expenses. You’ll have to cover your own benefits and insurances if you work and sell your photos freelance. If you’re hired by a team or publication, they may offer those benefits along with your salary.
There isn’t a “correct” brand of camera for sports photography, so choose whatever you’re the most comfortable using. Panasonic, Nikon, and Kodak all make great and versatile cameras you can use.
Burst mode might be listed as “continuous mode” on some cameras.
Get a nice camera bag to keep all of your gear safe and in one place.
Auto-focus doesn’t work very well in low light settings, so you may have to manually focus your images if it’s dark or if your camera can’t find focus on your subject. If you can, re-assign the auto-focus function to a button on the back of your camera rather than the shutter button. That way, you won’t have to refocus as much as you adjust your composition.
Taking a lot of photos will fill up your memory card fast, so try to only take pictures in short bursts so you can save some room.
Always bring extra memory cards so you don’t run out of space while you’re taking pictures at an event.
If you set your shutter speed any slower, then anything that’s moving in your picture might look blurry.
Blurred backgrounds look great during high-speed sports, such as cycling or hockey. It’s always better to get a wide shot of the photo rather than zooming in all the way with your lens since zoomed pictures let less light through the lens. You can always crop your images smaller when you’re editing them.
