Tips on How to Photograph Baseball

Spring and time for the games to begin, hot dogs and Baseballs, an all American pass time. Here are a few tips on how to photograph the action.  TIP: If you are shooting from well up in the stands, you need the longest length lens you can get. Good telephoto lenses though, are not only expensive, they are bulky, unwieldy and heavy. Some can weigh three or more pounds and easily cost upwards of $1000. Not to mention that they can be a problem to use in a tightly-packed stadium. Otherwise, shoot wider angle scenes including the crowds and fans. Don’t forget idle players, expressions and the bullpen, depending on your stadium position. From your section railing you can shoot closer to the action. From any shooting height, the best positions are views of home plate, first base and third base. The majority of the intense action in baseball occurs at these three positions. I’d be leery of behind-the-plate shooting positions though. Color temperature settings and white balance are not usually a problem unless you’re shooting a night game.

TIP: Try to get a position along the stands railing as low and close to the field as you can. Anticipate the action and focus on one zone, say third base or home plate to capture the action there instead of trying to “cover” the whole field. You’re often just “wasting your time” trying to shoot action that is simply too far away to get good images. Use the widest aperture you can and  use a fast shutter speed to help “stop” as much motion as practical. If you shoot at your highest resolution setting too, it will help some when you crop dead space out of your finished sports action images.

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