Positioning
Every type of action event has certain shots that are standard, or familiar. In baseball, it's the moment the ball and bat connect, or when a player tags an opponent out as they're sliding into a base. Scout out the best places for these shots for whatever type of event you're covering. In becoming acquainted with the participants, as you take shots of them preparing, you can ask them where the best place to get good shots would be.

Indoor events present problems with lighting that you won't encounter with outdoor events. In many instances you'll need to compensate for the different types of lighting that are used in stadiums, gymnasiums, and swimming pools. This can be quite simple if shooting digital by creating a custom White Balance profile.

Take a picture of a sheet of white paper, taking up two-thirds of the frame with the paper. Then use this image as a source to create the custom White Balance profile. For film, it can be a bit more difficult to compensate for fluorescent, halogen, tungsten, and the various vapor lighting sources. In most cases, you can get filters and light-specific film for the various types of light.

In some instances, you'll need a long lens to get that great shot. Obviously, you can't be on the field between the pitcher and batter to get that shot of the bat striking the ball, so position yourself on the other side of the outfield fence or wall with a long lens. In some cases, the lens itself may need a tripod if it's large enough. Or, you could steady it on a seat back, or the top of the fence or wall. Techniques like this allow you to be right in the middle of the action without actually interfering. This is where it's nice to have two cameras, one with a standard lens, and one with a longer lens for these long shots.

Getting action shots with some digital and compact film cameras is just going be impossible. The lower end "pocket" type cameras just can't freeze motion due to their slow shutter speed, or the length of time it takes for the processor to capture the image. Keep this in mind if you're expecting to get Sports Illustrated-quality images.

The picture in Figure E, showing members of the DICE team congratulating and conferring after a race, is one that would have benefited from using a longer lens.

FIGURE E


A longer lens would have put me in the middle of this group of racers without actually interfering. Roll over picture for a larger image.

Sometimes you'll want to get shots of the same thing from two different angles. This is where an assistant comes in handy, or with luck, you can get multiple angle shots of the same thing from two different events. Figure F shows the start of a race, two different races actually, from two different angles.

FIGURE F


Different perspectives show the start of a race. Roll over picture for a larger image.

Although it's tempting to show images of accidents and injuries, and let's face it, they do make good pictures, as DICE coach Donnie Miller told me, you have to be careful about how the image is presented. It may have the effect of portraying the sport as dangerous, thus making people shy away from it, or be reticent to participate. (How's that Donnie?)