The Hardest Photography?!
February 26, 2018So what is it?! 1:1 macro of jumping spiders? Controlling crowds at weddings? Astro?! Portraits?!
Nope! They all have their own difficulties and challenges to overcome, but sports photography takes the cake when it comes to difficulty. Learning to track birds in flight with a long telephoto lens is one thing, but tracking a player on a field dodging and weaving through opponents is another!
Getting *the* shot with good framing and timing is not only down to great photography techniques, but deep understanding and knowledge of the subject you’re shooting - It’s about predicting what might happen. Especially in faster paced games like ice hockey, this can be a fraction of a second between capturing a winning shot and when it’s the men’s 100M Olympic finals, you better make sure you’re well drilled!
Those big super tele lenses are also definitely not the easiest to manage. I’ve had a fair amount of experience shooting wildlife with super telephoto primes, but when it came to sports - it’s another beast! Critical framing is a lot more challenging.
I haven’t shot much sports, but every time I’m reminded of the challenges that sports photographers face. Be it the rain, low light, fast turn around or just the nature of sports. So, the next time you see photos from the big games, have a new appreciation for the difficulty in getting those shots. I urge everyone to try some day, even if it’s just with a 70-200.
Head down to your local ice rink, playing fields, basketball court and take some snaps - you might find a new favourite style of photography and it’s always good to learn new skills