Sports Photos--Good to Great

What separates a good sports photo from a great sports photo? Often it is peak action. Capturing the moment at the top of a basketball player's jump is nearly always a better picture than halfway back down. A batter's swing the moment it contacts the ball, a soccer ball the instant a foot boots it; these peak action moments are compelling and take news photos from good to great. As a bonus when an athlete jumps straight up they stop for an instant right at the apex of the flight. That moment can be shot with chrystal clarity thanks to this law of physics.

A few other notes on great sports photos:

• Ball sports photos should include the ball.
• Use your press access to get shots that those in the stands can't get.
• Emotion, effort, concentration, action these are the components of a great photo.
• Shoot a lot of shots. Its not the age of Tri-X any longer.
• Time outs are for the players not for photographers. Great shots are often taken when emotions are running high during a stop in the on field action.

Get that "Sport Illustrated" action look in your sports photos.

Welcome to the first edition of Allen's Tuesday Tips.

Spring sports time is nearly here. To stop action and get the "Sports Illustrated" look of sharp action and a soft background follow these steps:

1. Set camera exposure mode to "A" for Aperture Priority (We'll talk about what that means in a future tip) See picture above. Your knob may vary.
   
2. Set your ISO to 800 (higher for night games, and another item we'll talk about later)
   
3. Set your aperture or f-stop to the lowest setting.
   
   These 3 steps will cause your camera to automatically choose the fastest available shutter speed and stop the action.