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Football gives photographers chance to solve tough problems M
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12 • Communication: Journalism Education Today
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said noting that he tries to have at least three photographers covering important games, one to cover sideline action, one on the visitor’s side to cover action on the field and one or two on the home side to cover action on the field as well as reactions of the home team. LIM IT T h e p h oto gr a LIN E pher(s) covering the home side of the field, YerE N I by said, “capture L IT M LI emotional shots such as yelling, discussing, groaning in pain and arguments with the STAY OUT OF THE TEAM coaches, etc.” AND COACHING AREA In terms of documenting the The NCAA has no regulations restricting game, such shots can be as importhe location of media personnel except that tant as any action shot. they must be outside the limit lines and may not be inside the team area or choaching Jim Weber, a photography gradarea. According to Ted Breidenthal of the uate at Syracuse University, said he NCAA, “As long as photogs stay outside moves around the field trying to the limitlines and away from the team/ coaching area, I don’t think you should be find the best location to cover the concerned about where they stand.” Phoaction. tographers should work with local athletic “I constantly move up and down directors to get policies for where they can the sidelines trying to stay as close stand, before the game. lighting as the home field.” to the action as possible. Depending on what I’m after, I’ll either place KNOW WHO AND WHERE myself 5-10 yards behind the line of Steve Dilla, a senior at Southside scrimmage or 5-10 yards in front. I High School in Fort Smith, Arkan- rarely set right on the line because sas, said it’s also useful to know the the jumble of bodies is too difficult players and coaches involved. to shoot through.” For example, he said with a notso-subtle sense of humor, “coaches CHOICE OF LENS are usually good for a quote or two Of course, Weber also said he after the game, but, more impor- likes to use an expensive 300mm tantly, if you want access to prac- or 400mm f/2.8 lens. “Once I shot tices, the locker room, the bench at nighttime high school soccer with a a game, etc. you need to ‘give your 600mm f/4.” But he acknowledges, local coach a hug’ – often.” “that kind of glass is hard for most Capturing that intensity also people to get a hold of. means staying alert for potential “The best bet is to shoot the pictures wherever they occur. fastest available, mid-distance “Football requires a lot of ‘moni- telephone (135mm - 200mm). toring’ – scanning the area within Sometimes you have to sacrifice your lens to find good shots,” Yerby distance for speed. Nothing over f/4 20
Shooting football is
J
ust in case you were confused, according to the National Collegiate Athletic Association, football “shall be played between two teams of no more than 11 players each, on a rectangular f ield and with an inflated ball having the shape of a prolate spheroid.” From there, things get more complicated, especially for photographers who must battle lowlight conditions, fast action, emotional players, fans, coaches and officials and a myriad of weather conditions. In spite of these conditions, indeed, perhaps because of them, shooting football can be a tremendous learning experience for budding photographers. But it’s not easy. “To a fan, a football game is just a battle of the helmets f ighting for their school pride. To me, as a photographer, it is hard to find that particular shot that tells the intensity of the game,” said David Yerby, a recent graduate of Fairview High School in Camden, Ark. To get that intensity on film, Jonathan Dwyer, a photographer for the Texarkana Gazette, said, means being prepared by learning the game and having the proper equipment. “If I haven’t shot a particular team or at a particular stadium before,” Dwyer said, “I like to spend some time watching things before I start shooting.” Yerby, a freshman at the Rochester Institute of Technology said, “It is necessary to take pictures of every home game and half of the away games to get a wide variety of shots,” Yerby said. “Some away fields might have twice as good
Fall 1998
TIGHT CROPPING
To get these football pictures, John Moore, a photographer for the Associated Press in Mexico, used a long lens such as a 300mm f/2.8 which served not only to allow for tight cropping in the camera but for low depth-of-field which blurs the background making the players stand out more. He used a fast shutter speed such as 1/500th or 1/1000th of a second to stop the action. Photographers must use films that are very sensitive to light, films with higher ISO numbers, to be able to use such fast shutter speeds, especially at nighttime games. Kodak TMax 3200 is an ideal black-and-white film for nighttime games. Almost any film with an ISO rating of around 400 will work daytime games.
SIDELIGHT
Especially in daytime games, pay close attention to the direction of the light and use that to your advantage. Photo by John Moore.
BEHIND THE SCENES
Don’t forget to take pictures of the trainers and coaches to help document the year. Photo by David Yerby.
Fall 1998
Communication: Journalism Education Today • 13
“We’re primarily concerned about safety,” Ted Breidenthal, NCAA staff liaison with the Football Rules Committee, said. “Players play near the boundary of the f ield. If you have people sitting there, people get injured.”
REALLY LOW LIGHT
Most small schools aren’t equipped with bright light. This means photographers must use extremely fast films or supplement the available light with flash – or sometimes both. The key is focusing carefully, using low depth of field to isolate the subjects and fast shutter speeds to stop the action. Photo by Andrew Loehman.
A LITTLE BLUR
Photographers should use fast shutter speeds (1/250 or faster) to stop action. However, a little blur can add to the sense of movement. One way to do this is to use a flash with a slow shutter speed such as 1/60. The bright light from the flash stops the action and the blur registers on the film from the available light. Always leave room in the photo for the action to move into. Photo by David Yerby.
will work under most high school lights.” In contrast, Dilla said, “I don’t like long lenses for football.” “Long lenses give you little to no depth of field. I personally would rather have a good zoom lens (70210mm) with a hood to protect you from (the glare of) those nasty stadium lights.” A shorter lens also helps photographers overcome what Dilla said were two of the hardest things to teach a new photographer how to overcome shyness and how to break out of their comfort zone. “No one can be a good photographer if they can’t step out of their zone into someone else’s and get really close,” he said. “Second, most everyone is shy when it comes to stepping out in front of a couple hundred of their peers. If you sit
14 • Communication: Journalism Education Today
in the stands, you get great pics. The only problem is that these pics will only be great if all you’re using them for is your family scrap book. If you are shooting for a publication, you need to get down and get close.” Then he cited a motto he shares with his fellow staff photographers that is particularly pertinent to covering football games, “if you can’t smell them, you’re not close enough.” But being close enough, to the National Collegiate Athletic Association, means something entirely different that what it might mean to a new photographer with a 50mm lens who has been told to “fill the frame.” According to NCAA rules, photographers must stay outside the limit lines, outside the team area and outside the coaching area.
CHOICE OF FILM Even if photographers are close enough, they can’t get much without appropriate film. And like the variety of equipment sports photographers use, different types of film can work depending on the lens and lighting conditions. For nighttime games, photographers shooting available light (no flash) with a fast (f/2.8 lens) most often use film with an ISO rating of 800, 1600 or 3200. “I’ve shot in some real dungeons and with Kodak TMax 3200 I’ve always come back with a picture,” Weber said. He said some photographers choose to use a flash on camera with a slower film. The short duration of the flash serves to stop the action but only works when the action is nearby and can make the scene look unnatural. “It’s ugly,” he said. “Players seem to float in a void of black. The light is characterless and you get weird bulletproof shadows. I’d rather have golfball-sized grain than flash on camera light.” For color, Weber shoots Fuji 800, also a favorite of Dwyer who said he pushes it one stop to 1600 and uses a 300mm f/2.8 lens. “I still get good color with the benefits of a relatively fast shutter speed.” Regardless of the equipment, film or lighting conditions, all three photographers agreed that it’s important to be knowledgeable about the game and to be constantly alert. “Be patient,” said Dilla. “Your first game will probably come out being really blurry or the light will give you bad glares. But stick with it. Above all, learn from your mistakes.” And most importantly, Weber said, “don’t turn off your brain when you pick up your camera.”
Fall 1998