The Blog

Tamron 70-180mm f/2.8 A Great Sports Lens

Tamron 70-180mm f/2.8 A Great Sports Lens

Hey there photography enthusiasts! Today, we're talking about one of the hottest lenses on the market right now - the Tamron 70-180mm f/2.8 Di III VXD. And trust me, this lens is anything but boring! Let's start with the star of the show - the f/2.8 maximum aperture....

You Don’t Have To Push The Shutter Button

You Don’t Have To Push The Shutter Button

That's right. Contrary to most of the photographers out there, you can choose not to push your shutter button. Too often, when I am shooting games, I will hear other photographers snapping photos like crazy. Then, there is me....

How to Use the ExpoDisc

How to Use the ExpoDisc

Setting your white balance is a debatable subject. Some photographers think setting a custom white balance is the best approach and others feel a grey card is the preferred method and others believe using the camera Auto White Balance is the way to go. Then there is...

Preventing Heat Waves From Ruining Your Photos

Preventing Heat Waves From Ruining Your Photos

Have you ever shot football, soccer, rugby, etc. outside?  It's not too tough to do and I am sure you remembered to get as low as possible in order to make the athletes look larger than life.  Then, you get back and import your photos for post processing and noticed...

Can the Sony a6000 Handle Sports Photography?

Can the Sony a6000 Handle Sports Photography?

The Sony α6000, at the time of this writing is about 4.5 years old.  Why would I test a camera that is considered old by today's standards? There are aspiring sports photographers who have a basic camera/lens setup that is adequate for taking photos but are...

7 Tips for Photographing Indoor Swimming

7 Tips for Photographing Indoor Swimming

Swim meets are something I wished I could shoot more.  They are a beehive of activity, often times crowded and you have to pay attention.  You could easily take a wrong step and end up in the pool with your equipment in tow.  The last meet I shot not only had water...

Photographing Softball From Behind Home Plate

Photographing Softball From Behind Home Plate

Here are a few thoughts I have about shooting from behind home plate.  These work for both softball and baseball. When shooting from behind home plate, which has a fence that protects us common folk from injury, you place the end of your lens as close to the fence as...

Lens Hoods – Two Reasons You Need One

Lens Hoods – Two Reasons You Need One

When you purchased a lens, it probably came with a lens hood.  If it didn't, it is a good idea to get one that is made for your lens.  They come in many shapes and sizes such as Petal, used for prime lenses, and Cylindrical, used mostly with telephoto lenses. Yes,...

Why Are My Photos Blurry?

Why Are My Photos Blurry?

You are at a sporting event and have taken several hundred photos.  Now, you know not all of them are going to be keepers but, you expect to see some amazing shots.  Because, after all, you are an amazing sports photographer. You import your photos into your favorite...

One-on-One Mentoring

One-on-One Mentoring

Reading articles and watching hours of video is a great way to begin your journey into sports photography but sometimes you need a real person to help guide you.  And, family and friends, though they mean well, are not the best resources when it comes to critiques of...

How I Captured This Great Capitol City Classic Photo

How I Captured This Great Capitol City Classic Photo

The Event This shot was taken at the Capitol City Classic high school basketball tournament held in Salem, OR.  I have been shooting this event since it began a few years ago.  I like to shoot this event because of the high caliber of athletes involved.  Most of the...

Beginner Tips for Football Photography

Beginner Tips for Football Photography

When it comes to sports photography, football is one of my favorite sports to shoot.  I get to be outside and I really enjoy the atmosphere.  A quick warning, In this article I may be using football language.  So, if you don't know football very well, just fake the...

Using Sports Photography Portfolios for Your Benefit

Using Sports Photography Portfolios for Your Benefit

When you enter the exciting world of sports photography, you will be tempted to look at professional portfolios and you will give into that temptation.  In fact you will probably be directed by well meaning individuals to check out certain professional sports...

Three Quick Tips for Tack Sharp Photos

Three Quick Tips for Tack Sharp Photos

So, you're shooting night time football, and when you import your images into your favorite post processing software, you find that many times your subject may be in focus but your photos are not sharp.  You even installed a plugin that confirms that your focus point...

Don’t Remove Your Camera’s Memory Card

Don’t Remove Your Camera’s Memory Card

It should be a no brainer but sometimes we still need friendly reminders.  Today's reminder is pretty simple and straight forward. Don’t remove your memory card from your camera when data is being written to the card. If you removed your card during the process of...

Sports Photography Mentoring With Tashi

Sports Photography Mentoring With Tashi

I met Tashi at the Salem, Oregon State Capital for our intro to sports photography mentoring session.  A state capital sounds like a strange place to provide sports photography mentoring but not when the surrounding streets are taken over by one of the largest 3-on-3...

Photographing Summer Baseball

Photographing Summer Baseball

Summer leagues are a great way to stay in shooting shape when schools are out on break.  Even small cities have some type of summer league but bigger cities afford even more opportunities.  It's also a great way to step away from the computer and get outside and...

Best Settings for Sports Photography – Beginner Tips

Best Settings for Sports Photography – Beginner Tips

Best Settings Ok, truth be told, there are no best or even perfect settings for sports photography.  The reason for this is that as sports photographers, we shoot in many different lighting conditions.  One day we are outside shooting soccer in bright sun and the next...

State Athletic Associations

State Athletic Associations

Here is the contact info for many of the state athletic associations. (Updated July 2019) Alabama High School Athletic Association (AHSAA, 1924) Alaska School Activities Association (ASAA, 1956) Arizona Interscholastic Association, Inc. (AIA, 1925) Arkansas Activities...

Constructing Exposure – What Is Exposure?

Constructing Exposure – What Is Exposure?

Exposure is the amount of light a digital camera's sensor captures when a photo is taken.  If you capture too much light, the results are a washed out photo or what is commonly referred to as overexposed.  If you capture too little light, the photo will be too dark or...

Constructing Exposure – ISO

Constructing Exposure – ISO

ISO stands for International Standards Organization.  It is a standardized scale for measuring film sensitivity to light.  Today, film has been replaced by digital image sensors but the concept is still the same. To understand ISO let’s go back a few years.  In the...

Constructing Exposure – Shutter Speed

Constructing Exposure – Shutter Speed

Like aperture, shutter speed also affects how much light hits the camera’s sensor.  It also does something else that as a sports photographer is pretty important. One of our goals as sports photographers is to freeze the action.  Whether it’s a volleyball spike or a...

Constructing Exposure – Aperture

Constructing Exposure – Aperture

Basically, aperture is the opening within the lens that light travels through to reach the camera’s sensor.  When I go to shoot, I usually start by adjusting my aperture first.  I do this because aperture not only affects the amount of light hitting the camera’s...

Taking Sports Photos With the Nexus 5x Phone

Taking Sports Photos With the Nexus 5x Phone

Shooting sports with your cell phone, yeah right.  Maybe, if you are shooting static shots, but not action shots.  Cell phones just can’t adjust quick enough for the action that takes place in sports.  I am not going to say much more.  Instead, check out my attempt to...

Getting Started – My Story

Getting Started – My Story

Everyone loves a story.  So, let me start by sharing my story about my journey into sports photography.  I will try to keep it short and to the point but, no promises. It was the early 2000’s and I was approached by an Arizona radio station and asked if I would be...

What You Need To Get Started

What You Need To Get Started

First, a desire and passion.  You can purchase gear at anytime and at many places.  Desire and passion are things you can only find inside yourself.  Without those, photography is just another day job. Next, equipment.  Obviously it’s tough to be a photographer...

How to Use Your Sports Press Pass

How to Use Your Sports Press Pass

Once you get a press pass what’s next? This is an easy and not so easy question to answer.  Yes, it would make sense that you go to games and do your thing.  However, not all press passes are made equal. First, congratulations for acquiring some sort of credential...

3 Tips to Get Sports Photography Credentials

3 Tips to Get Sports Photography Credentials

“Do I need a press pass?” is one of the top questions I get asked followed by, “If I do, how do I get one?” Pro level access is out of reach of beginning photographers unless, you are associated with a major media player or know someone in high places.  Even small...

3 Reasons It’s OK to Chimp in Sports Photography

3 Reasons It’s OK to Chimp in Sports Photography

If you have been a photographer for more than a few weeks, you have probably heard the term “chimping”.  The label is used to describe a photographer who constantly checks their LCD screen after every shot.  Click, chimp, click, chimp, click click click, chimp chimp...

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