Sorry just had a look at your blog and see that you mean Ice Hockey!

Same applies but I would also add that you will need a fast lens. What does that mean? Well you need a lens with an aperture of F2.8 or faster, F1.8 would be great. And yes I know it’s a puck not a ball

Enjoy

R

Firstly it goes without saying that you need to know your sport. It’s not enough just to know the basics. You need to look at a sport differently. Go and watch a game without your camera and look for pictures. Watch how the game flows, try and anticipate what will happen to the ball. Who will it be passed to, how will they react. Look for key moments that define a game. A tackle, a shot on goal, a celebration……Use this knowledge next time you shoot a game to anticipate a picture.

With regard to your camera I guess the most important thing is to have the correct shutter speed. That ball is moving pretty fast and, to stop it and freeze the players mid action you will need the fastest shutter speed you can use. Start with a really high speed, say 1000th of a second, and see what results you get. This should freeze everything and give you sharp images but they will look a bit static. As you get better images try and reduce the shutter speed so that there is a bit of movement in the background and the picture is not so static.

Your focus mode must be on servo. This means that the camera should be focussed wherever you point the lens. As you move the lens then the focus will follow the action. If you leave focus on one shot and then move it the image will not be in focus. As the field is quite small you don’t need to go for really long lenses. I would suggest that all you need is a 70 to 200mm lens.

Get to know which part of the field is the best for you to shoot in and concentrate on action in that part of the field. Please don’t think that as it is digital you can always crop. The same old rule applies. fill the frame. Use as much of your negative as possible.

Get out there and practice, shoot as much as you can but be critical, don’t just make do with an image. If it is not good work out why and then improve.

Remember if you see the action through the lens then you have missed the shot.

Hope it helps…..Let me know.

R

Well there is if you offer the right service to the right people. Take a look around you next time you are at an event. How many photographers are there? Who are they working for? Can you compete with them?

Ask yourself… Who is my customer? Why am I here? Can I make more / some money somewhere else? If all your answers lead you back to where you are then you are in the right place. If not, you need to define your customer base and then approach them. You have to ask yourself some pretty tough questions. Look at the work being produced. Is your work up to standard? Is it better? Is there a gap in the market that you can fill?

Define your market, offer a quality service that is needed. Make a business plan then stick to it.

R

It really depends on what type of sports photography you want to do. If you only dream of the big events and pro sports then you need the gear before you even try to get in. If you approach an agency with the wrong equipment then they will not even look at you. And yes you can tell. You may have a few great images with a basic camera BUT the key to it all is consistency. They need to know that they can rely on you to produce results from every game. Basic equipment is as follows: I use Canon so this is biased but there are obviously Nikon equivalents EOS 1D Mk2 now (3), 70 to 200mm F2.8, 24 to 70 F2.8, 16 to 35mm F2.8, Flash Gun, 400mm F2.8 or a minimum of 300mm F2.8 Laptop and portable connectivity, photoshop and another program like Fotostation or Photomechanic. Fast CF cards as you will have to wire at half time etc. You should really have two bodies but you can get by with one.

Got to run I have a shoot this afternoon. Will add more later

Hope it helps

Cheers

Ron

Cheers
Shaun