Sports photography requires anticipation and a visual foundation for success.
Sports photography is an exciting and exhilarating specialty. Understanding sports, anticipating peak action and being proficient in the functions of photographic equipment are several essential elements a sports photographer must posses. Although a formal education is not necessary to succeed at sports photography, having a background in photojournalism will help the photographer achieve his career goals with a well-rounded foundation of visual communication.
Education
Sports photographers are not required to have a formal educational training to excel at their craft. A well-rounded background in photojournalism is highly recommended, for photojournalism touches on sports photography but also gives a solid foundation in the technical aspects of photography, working with subjects and covering a variety of subjects and situations that will arise for a sports photographer.
For example, photojournalism emphasizes storytelling through images, and a sports photographer might be assigned to shoot a photo essay about the local high school's basketball team and its community service programs off the field. Community colleges and traditional universities offer certificates and degrees in photojournalism and visual communications.
Technical Photographic Training
A sports photographer must be proficient with his equipment and be able to function quickly under pressure while documenting a sporting event. He must understand the specific technical steps to capturing an image in a camera and be able to execute this action without thinking about the camera functionality.
The camera settings and how they capture an image should be second nature and understanding the relationship between shutter speed, aperture, ISO--or film speed--and exposure should be understood without having to analyze the actual camera settings in relation to the situation being photographed.
Equipment Training
As with the technical side of photography, the sports photographer's equipment should be understood on a level that is second nature. The photographer must know adjust each camera setting without thinking about the location of the setting, and he must understand how his lens will capture the scene and when he needs to switch lenses to adjust to the fluctuating action in his viewfinder.
Sports photography equipment is heavy, with long lenses and fast cameras weighing many pounds, so knowing the best way to carry the equipment while covering a sports event and being able to move quickly are also imperative to the success of the photographer.
Software Training
Understanding the complex professional photo editing software is also a necessity for the sports photographer. Tutorials specific to the program, classes, workshops and many hours of trial and error will help the photographer gain a strong editing knowledge base.
Many sports photographers will need to transmit images from the site of the event to their editor during or directly after the event, so understanding image transmission and having fast editing skills is a necessity.
Sports Background
A sports photographer must understand the sports he documents. He might spend many hours watching sports, both in person and on TV when preparing to document an event.
Having a background in athletics is not necessary but will give the sports photographer an edge. Understanding the elements of anticipation in sports will help the photographer stay one step ahead of the action and capture the essential peak moment.
