How to Make the Most of Sports Photography

Usually, professional sport photographers use highly sophisticated equipment including digital SLR cameras with very long lenses to catch the action up close. In order to get best sports photography shots, they often use different camera angles. Even if you don't have top equipment or know all the techniques of commercial advertising sport photography, there is no reason to get discouraged.
You can still take awesome pictures of the sport you like, be it basketball, triathlon, National Basketball League or body building. Learning the skills and techniques of professional athlete photography makes it possible for you to get some fantastic shots.
Here are some basic concepts of sports photography that can help you make the most of your camera.

1. Know the sport
this is the first step of taking good shots. Once you have a general idea about the sport, try to know as much as you can about the players, place and other aspects of the game. Commercial athlete photography requires knowledge of all these factors before you can know where to focus the camera and how quickly. Shooting a bodybuilding event is much more relaxed than shooting a basketball game.

2. Know the lighting
if you're learning commercial advertising athlete photography, it is important to know the lighting. If you're shooting outdoors, close the aperture down and use a high shutter speed to capture the action. On the other hand, the lighting is not so good in case of indoor games. This will tend to distort colors and show more shadows on faces. While learning sports photography for indoor professional sports, open the aperture so that the filed turns shallower. As a result, you will be able to make the subject stand out against the background and take clearer pictures.

3. Speed of action
Sports like basketball are very fast paced. For commercial advertising sport photography, you will need a lens that is focused on the action at all times. The idea is to take lots of pictures and not worry about the focal length too much. Check whether your camera batteries are fresh and exchange them during breaks in the game.

4. Using the Flash
You may think that sports photography is the best field for using a flash but this notion may not always prove to be right. A lot of times, flashes distract the professional athletes. While learning commercial advertising athlete photography, set your camera to a 1600 or 3200 ISO and the aperture to 2.8 or 3.2.

Following these tips is imperative for aspirants of sports photography. In fact, the most important thing is to practice shooting commercial athlete photography. It takes many blurry or badly composed shots before you can get a good professional sport picture. No matter how much time or effort it takes, professional athlete shots can make or break the memories of the game in people's minds.

Nowadays, many photographers use photo editing software for improving the clarity and composition of sports photography shots. If you are unhappy with any of the pictures you have taken, try using such software to make the most of them. Still, an originally well shot picture has far more impact that lasts for a long time.

About the Author

Mike Greaves is a self-made entrepreneur, a well known travel consultant and internet marketer. Over the years he has traveled across the world and has numerous writings credited to his name in many renowned publications. His areas of writing include travel experiences including reviews of spas and resorts and he has also gained expertise in area of basketball, body building and sports photography.