Sports Photography How To

One the most fun things I’ve ever done was to photograph the 24 Hours of Le Mans car race in France. Of course, I was shooting it as an amateur with very limited access to the track, the cars, and the pits. And I did go back to the hotel to catch a little sleep at one point. (But it was still fun nonetheless and I got some great shots.)

Today’s camera gear is faster than ever and much of it is tailor-made for capturing any sort of motion or movement. So then why do so many photographers struggle to shoot compelling images of action, adventure, and energy? Part of it has to do with timing and part of it has to do with composition. Your camera and lens can only do so much and there’s more to a great action shot than simply capturing the moment and making sure it’s in focus. 

That’s Carlos Correa, Houston Astros shortstop, in February, 2016, on a secluded beach on the south coast of Puerto Rico, training for the upcoming season. He’d been named American League Rookie of the Year for 2015, but no achievement was going to make this driven professional let up in his efforts to stay ahead of the game.

Of course sports photographer Eric Bakke can capture the peak action moments. He’s team photographer for the Denver Broncos, shoots X Games for ESPN, and contributes sports images to newspapers, magazines, and organizations. Here, though, we want to talk about his pursuit of a different kind of sports image, one that most often pictures a single athlete and aims for art over action.

David Bergman is a top sports photographer, and in this two-minute tutorial he demonstrates how to convey motion in action photos by “panning” with your camera. The technique involves moving the camera at the same speed as your subject, with the goal of keeping the subject sharp while creating a blurred effect in the background. 

Action, colorful uniforms, human drama and predictable photo opps—baseball and photography go together like hot dogs and beer. 

Josh Katz is a young photographer with great skills and an ability to teach them to others. In this tutorial he provides eight steps for adding impact to action photos with a simple camera panning technique.