The application of photography (Sports photography)

Introduction

In this post i will be discussing applications in photography. I will be researching and analysing forms of sports photography and explaining different aspects,photographers and techniques involved in this area of photography.

Notable sports photographers

Some notable photographers in this application would be people such as Bob Martin,Dave Black or Tom Jenkins. i am going to discuss each of these sports photographers. I am also going to explain each of their view points revolving the application.

Bob Martin

Bob martin is one of the most critically acclaimed photographers in the application of sports photography. Since the year 1998 he has done coverage of every single Olympic game. He has also won the British sports photographer of the year award three times. Bob Martin has covered a vast amount of various sports and he states that 'it takes an awful lot of patience'. This is due to waiting around to get the perfect shot and not only that but the physical aspects. He states that it can be tiring especially in sports such as golf which involves following the athletes for long distances. Martin also mentions how this application can be very unpredictable. This is due to the lack of movement because of having to stay within distance of the athletes. However, you still need to photograph the event without getting in the way. The equipment used in Bob Martin's work is essential for succeeding in this application. Bob Martian uses a range of tele-photo and super tele-photo lenses to get a photo regardless of distance. Finally, the photographer feel thats this application is an ever-changing industry and you need to adapt to continue to receive clients and stay in a job.

Dave Black

Dave black is another notable photographer in this application of photography. He has been a freelance photographer for over 30 years shooting in numerous applications. However his main focus is sports photography. During his work in this sector Dave Black has photographed for publications such as Time,Sports Illustrated and news-week. His personal opinion on the application is that 'I love to make pictures that draw the audience in for a closer look' Unlike Bob Martian, Dave black incorporates more creative features in his work to create a more captivating photo. One of the main techniques he uses is something that is called 'Creative lighting'. this is the act of using various lighting to create a more captivating piece or change the perspective. He does this in various ways such as using large sports strobe lights or of camera speed lights. The photographer believes this produces a more 'artistic[' feel making the image much more interesting. He feels that light is the greatest influence in any application in photography. You can see this through many of his photos which incorporate this creative lighting technique.

Tom Jenkins

Tom Jenkins is a famous British sports photographer who works for The guardian newspaper. Although, he has also worked for a variety of sports magazines and other newspapers. Just like Bob Martin and Dave Black he is seen as a professional in his field. This can be seen through the vast amount of iconic awards he has won within the photography industry. He is arguably one of the best photographers in his application stated by many critics.He uses the usual equipment such as telephoto lens and a DSLR camera. Although he doesn't have a distinctive style or technique like Dave Black he is renown for capturing extraordinary moments. He likes to portray the emotions and physical strain through his sports photos. This can be seen in the photo below which he took at the Olympics  As you can see he captured it at the right moment to show the intensity of the event.

An example of Dave Black using creative light techniques

What is sports photography ?

 Sports photography is a genre of photography which covers every sport. This could range from team sports such as football,rugby and tennis or urban sports such as skateboarding,parkour and free running. This sort of photography mainly applies to photojournalism. For example a sports photographer may be hired to take photos for a sports magazine. The main purpose of this application is to cover specific events in sports. These can range from massive events to smaller ones. Regardless, most photos are used for editorial purposes in magazines and newspapers. Many sports journalists will hire a freelance sports photographer to take images of the event which they are covering.

Equipment/techniques used

Sports photographers normally use what is called a DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex camera). When taking images in sports photography a high shutter speed is normally used (8 fps or faster). The shutter speed controls the amount of time the light is exposed to the sensor inside of the camera. This means that with a high shutter speed moving objects will appear still when the photo is taken. Therefore this is very effective in sports photography due to the fact that sports normally involve fast moving objects. for example you would need a high shutter speed in order to photograph a basket ball player or a rally car driver.

Example of a photo take at high shutter speed

Example of a photo taken at a low shutter speed

As you can see from the images the photo with the high shutter speed is more crisp and still. This sort of speed would be used if you wouldn't want to see the motion of the image. However, If you want to the the motion blur of the object you would use a low shutter speed as shown in the second image.

Sports photographers normally use a wide aperture (normally around about 2.8.) This creates a more shallow depth of field resulting in a softer background. This can be effective as it isolates the subject matter due to the fact that the background is out of focus. This can be especially effective in motion as the moving object is emphasized due to the shallow depth of field.

History

The first person believed to have begun the application of sports photography was the 1800's photographer Eedward James Muybridge. He was asked by Leland Stanford to take photos of the movement of his horses. Eedward agreed and took the images by placing around various cameras activated by threads. This is the first ever recorded information of the application. This took place in San Fransisco in 1872. And so began the history of sports photography...

Sports photography first began is the 1800's with people taking photos of sports events such as boxing. An example of this early type of sports photography would be the image on the right. This was taken of the Johnson and Jefferson boxing match in the 1800's. This photo would have taken over six hours to fully develop and most probably will have been featured in a newspaper. 


Shortly after this era leading into the 1930's and 1950's sports photography and photography in general was gaining popularity. This application of photography was especially popular in America. Mainly in places like Chicago were huge baseball games were held. Photos of the games were taken and also the players were photographed for commercial use such as baseball cards. A famous sports photographer in this era was George Burke. He was the official photographer fro the baseball team Chicago cubs.

Upon entering the 1960's and 1970's the technology for cameras had increased substantially. One of the biggest breakthrough was the invention of the fast telephoto lens. This was a very high tech piece of kit as it not only improved photos but it allowed photographer more freedom in altering perspective. This was very impressive in this era as you could take photos from a distance of 70 yards and them still come out clear. Not to mention the fact that photos had also developed colour by this point. A famous sports photographer in this era would be Alan Greth. He was a pioneer in the world of skateboard photography. His work is what began events such as the 'X Games'.

In the modern day a DSLR camera is used for sports photography. A notable sports photographer in the present  day would be bob martin. He is critically acclaimed in the world of sports photography. Taking photos for company  such as Sports Illustrated,Time,Life Magazine and many more. Practically all of is work is for publications such as these magazines. He also did some work for the 2012 London Olympics.

Pros and cons

In the sports photography industry there are many pro's although they are also many cons. I will begin with the pros. First of all if you are an avid fan of sports than this application would be enjoyable to work with. Also not only is it a steady paid job but many sports photographers go into photojournalism  This means you may take pictures for sports magazines such as 'NFL'. Another pro would be the fact that there is a lot of sport happening in the world daily. This means you will never be short for somewhere to shoot.

Some of the cons may include the fact that sports photography is quite fasted based. This means that it may be difficult to take images due to the pace of the subject. Also many sports are done in various climates such as winter sports  A photographer may find it hard to adjust to conditions such as snow rain or lightning. Finally it is a very expensive application due to the lens's that need to be bought such as. This could cause financial issues.

Digital vs. plate camera technology

Digital and plate cameras are the main types of cameras in the industry  However due to the modern age digital cameras are most used now. Plate cameras are very rarely used in the industry nowadays as the are dated and the process for developing a picture takes longer. Unlike plate cameras digital cameras save the images straight to the device and can be uploaded to a computer. This means the process is quicker and the images can be manipulated through the use of computer software  Many people find digital cameras far more efficient in sports photography. This is because with a plate camera you need to detach and reattach lens's to get different types of shots. This was a very tedious tasks and there wasn't much time for the changeover of lenses. However with the release of the digital camera photography in all application has become much easier. However, just like plate cameras digital cameras also have there setbacks. For example due to the nature of the technology it is possible that data can become corrupted. Therefore, all the work you have done on that camera in that session would be lost. Unlike plate cameras which are not digital therefore you can develop the photo there and then. Another disadvantage would be the fact that digital cameras run on a battery and during long photo shoots can run out quickly. This is why it is handy to bring a spare battery or charger with you when using a digital camera.