Shooting Sports

We have all been fascinated by an incredible action shot taken at a sporting event and published in Sports Illustrated or ESPN magazine. When looking at those pictures it is important to note that a different skill set is required when photographing sports as compared to lanscape or portrait work. To be a successful sports photographer one must have an understanding of a variety of sports and how they are played, the right equipment, and patience.
The first step toward success in shooting sports comes through knowledge of ones target sport. As photographer for Eastern Athletics, I have had to learn about each sport that I shoot so that I can anticipate where the action will be on the playing feild and what angle I should shoot at to catch the peek of the action. Every sport is different and some are harder to shoot than others, but each one is unique. It may be helpful to watch 4 or 5 games just to pick up the rules and and how the game is played.

Secondly, the right equipment is essential to capture quality photos. Fast digital SLR's are the only way to go. A point and shoot camera may outside on a sunny day, but otherwise your very limited, especially indoors. Its important to look at FPS(Frames Per Second) when buying a camera, if you intend to use it for sports. I've used the Canon 5D, which shoots at 3 fps, as well as with a Canon 40D, shooting at 7 fps and Canon 1d MarkIII, which shoots at 10 fps. Either of the last two have been the most productive for me. ISO speed is also an important feature if one is shooting indoor sports with bad lighting.

Timing and location are the key points to consider once the first two goals have been achieved. Location is important because you generally want the action to be coming at you and always have the face of an athlete showing, if possible. In basketball the place to be in right beneath the basket. Lacrosse is one of the harder sports to shoot and requires both a sideline spot and one behind the goal to the left or right 5 yards. Football, the main spot is in the endzone or ten yard line. As you time your shot, it is important to anticipate the action occuring. Press the shutter have way down to focus on the action every time the ball moves to a new location or player. Take a series of shots to capture that action packed moment. One shot before it happens, one shot during and one shot after. This way you'll never miss that perfect action shot.
Emotion is also an important element in any photo and sports is no different. After a goal/point/score, look to the benches and players on the field for celebration shots. As you start shooting sports it is important to take as many pictures as possible, you can never have enough options to choose from and your selection will be far better from 1,000 photos than it would be from 100.
Happy Shooting!

-Dave

Its all a Matter of Perspective

"Always take your shots from below 3 feet or above 7 feet to give yourself a different perspective on the world." That advice was given to me in high school from a successful friend of mine in the business. Anyone could be standing with their camera on a beach, watching a sunset, and thinking to themselves, "This photography thing can't be that hard... all I have to do is find a cool sky and push a button." In some sense that's not too far off, yet the real skill shows itself before the shot is ever taken. Five percent of stunning photographs have to do with luck and the other ninety-five percent comes from careful planning on behalf of the photographer. Everything from positioning, timing, exposure settings and creativity come from the brain of the artist. Getting that lucky shot can happen to anyone, but a great photographer improves his chances of getting that shot over and over again through his strategic planning.

One of the key aspects of planning comes in the form of Perspective. What angle will I use to capture the shot? How low or high can I get to change the way my subject will appear in the frame? ect.. These questions are important because they help the photographer decide how to best show his subject in a way no one else could imagine. The following video on aerial filming from helicoptors should be a good example of how an exaggerated perspective can change the effectiveness of a shot.

The majority of people take pictures that are from the perspective of between 4 and 7 feet tall, sense that is the height of most humans. Consequently, everyone sees the world from this perspective. Most early films from hollywood were shot from eye level and probably would be considered visually boring compared to today's standard film. I find it very important to go below 3 feet and above 7 feet whenever I am trying to come up with an aw inspiring shot, precisely because the world just looks different from that angle. This may not apply to all forms of photography, but it is a rule that has yeilded great success for me. Keep it in the back of your head as you go on your next photo assignment and experiment with it. The sky may be the limit, but never limit your creativity by staying within the 4-7 foot veiwpoint.



These shot are from the Lava Canyons created by the volcanic eruption of Mt. Saint Helens in the state of Washington. Two pictures, two perspectives, same waterfall.

Happy Shooting-
DC

Silhouette

A silhouette is one way to creatively represent ones subject matter. Through back lighting, a silhouette places the focus of the photo on the shape of your subject as opposed to highlighting its intricate details. The effect can be achieved with any light source, but the most common source is the sun, typically at sunrise or sunset. Silhouette photographers must have great timing and perfect exposure settings.

The shot below was taken in New Jersey, on Bunker Hill Golf Course. I went out early in the morning to catch some sunrise shots and saw this tree at the top of a hill on the 9th fairway. I moved down the hill to make sure the sun was completely behind it and then utilized the Rule of Thirds by placing the tree on the left side of the shot.

This shot of a sailboat on the Jersey shore was taken in a simmilar fashion by going low enough that the sun was stuck behind the boat.

Hidding the light source behind the subject is not the only way to compose a silhouette, as my next two shots will illustrate. The shot on the dock shows that you can focus your exposure on the sun and thus create a dark silhouette of your subjcet in the middle of the day. Here the pylons are the subject.
One of my favorite photos that shows this technique is one shot by Lex Linghorn and it can be found here. Try to emulate these shots and come up with your own creative silhouette photos.

Happy Shooting-
DC

Rule of Thirds

There are several aspects of photography that are vital to improving ones photography skills and these factors can distinguish a professional from an amature. The Rule of Thirds is, arguably, the most important photography rule that an aspiring artist will learn in his or her career. Understood and followed by photographers around the world, the Rule of Thirds will elevate your pictures from a mondane photo to an astheticly pleasing and ballanced visual representation of what your eyes see.

The Rule of Thirds states that the main subject of interest in a picture should not be right at the middle of the picture, but should be positioned at two third postion. More specifically, divide a frame into tic tac to style grid, then position the main object at one of the thirds intersection. Basically, this rule removes that terrible habbit of point-and-shoot amatures who position their subject smack dab in the middle of their frame.

The following shot by HuHu Lin is an illustration of the Rule of Thirds, because it places the tree(subject) at the intersection of the "tic-tac-toe" lines (not in the middle of the frame) and the horizon is also at the two-thirds line. You can check out the rest of his portfolio here.

In landscape photography the Rule of Thirds applies to horizons just as it would apply to the poissitioning of a face in a portrait. The horizon line should be at one of the two-thirds lines, not directly in the middle of the picture. While placing it in the middle wil be fine for a memories book of your vacation, it will remain a simple snapshot. So while your composing your next sunset picture, either show more sky or more land/water, but try not to split the difference. :-)

The above shot was taken of a road near my house. Even though the subject is rather simple, a road, the angle at which I took the shot places the horizon closer to the two thirds line, instead of the middle of the photo. Apply this rule as you go out on your next photography venture and see if it yeilds a more stunning collection of photos.

It is true that every rule is meant to be broken and this one is no exception. There are award-winning shots that do not follow this rule, but in general it is only those who have mastered the rule that have the freedom to break it and still produce stunning work.

Happy shooting-
DC

Profile of a Photographer

Greetings clients, fans and fellow bloggers. My name is David Christenson, owner of Christenson Photography, and I figured I would start this blog as a way to pass on some of the tips & tricks that I have learned over my years as a photographer. I have been seriously taking pictures for 5 years now, but those five years have been packed with many unique experiences and photographic opportunities. In the past, I have used both Nikon and Canon equipment, but I tend to prefer Canon because of their reliability and high-end performance camera models. Currently, I shoot with the Canon 40D and Canon 5D. Both cameras are outdated by a year or two but they maintain solid performance. My subjects, as of late, tend to be college students because of my work for clients such as: Eastern University's Communications and Athletics Departments.

Stay tuned... soon I will be covvering the "rule of thirds" and showing you how you can take a bland photo like the one on the left side of the picture and tranform it into the right side of the picture or the final product.- Happy Shooting

DC