Faces

Friday night football is finally in full gear and I can't be any happier. When shooting football, most people struggle with getting close to the action, exposing properly (without blurriness), and capturing moments that generally happen many times a game (like the quarterback rolling out for a pass). I can say these things because I also struggled heavily with these issues at one point or the other when I was starting. 

It's taken awhile but now those items come naturally which allows me to focus on capture unique images instead of hoping a unique image happens. A major focus for me this football season is faces. Capturing emotion that lasts an instant is a tough thing to do. Football poses an even greater challenge with the helmet. The helmet narrows your window of opportunity while making it difficult to expose properly. When shooting, try shooting as tight at you can. One tip that a newspaper photographer gave me when I started was zoom in to the max of the lens and then put tape on your zoom control. You may get less images but in time you will get more impactful moments. Moments that you don't see day in and day out. If you get in tight enough, you may be able to truly see the emotion and conflict in the game. That will help you tell the story whether they won or lost.