Sport and Action Photography: Planning the shot

A lot of photographers shy away from shooting action or sports images because they say they don’t have the equipment needed to make great action photographs. In some respects this is true. Great action images can take a lot of skill and good equipment to produce, but this shouldn’t be a barrier keeping new photographers, or the occasional action shooter, from trying their hand.

Photography should be an enjoyable and memorable activity and nothing could be more so than spending the afternoon shooting a local village football match, or the kids on the carousel on Brighton beach. And to capture great images from these activities you will need some of the skills of the action photographer. In fact, I believe that shooting action or sports events will help develop a range of skills that might be missed if the photographer avoided the area. Timing, thinking ahead, seeing and working seamlessly with your equipment are all skills that can be learnt while ‘having a go’ at shooting action or sports images.

It's All in the Timing!
Timing is crucial. It’s the photographer’s job to look and anticipate where and how the action is going to unfold, and then be ready to capture it. In a sports context the area where the action will be is fairly predictable, bounded by sidelines, and governed by the norms and rules of the game. In football, for instance, you know, or rather hope, that there will be some action around the goalmouth. The pitch and the game’s structure itself, dictate this.

If timing is the key, then how does a new photographer develop great photographic timing? Simple – practice, practice, practice!

Pre-Planning
If possible, it is worth checking out the location beforehand. Look to see where the best vantage points are, and assess how far you will be from the action. A rough rule of thumb is that for each 10 metres you are from your subject you will need 100mm of lens length if your subject is to fill a standard vertical 35mm frame. In practice this means that if you are shooting a football match and you are 30-40 metres from the penalty area, a 300-400mm lens should give you full-frame shots.

In sports like cricket, photographers will often use lenses of 600mm with ‘doublers’ attached, giving an effective lens length of 1200mm. Being close enough is only part of the equation when choosing your shooting spot. Watch out for distracting backgrounds. It’s true that some of the distraction of the crowd in the background can be minimised by using a shallow depth of field, but it is best to have as clear a background as possible. This will help to make your subject stand out.

Expect the Worst
From the weather, that is. This doesn’t mean you need to be laden down with all manner of wet weather gear. A ‘pac-a-mac’ and a couple of plastic bags will see you and your valuable equipment through most wet-weather conditions.