How to shoot… Winning sports shots!

Last year, we were gearing up for a super summer of sport, with the delayed Euro 2020 football championships, Wimbledon tennis and the Tokyo Olympics all crammed into the space of a glorious couple of months. With large sporting events having been delayed by the global pandemic, spectators were back in the stadiums and sport was once again on everyone’s minds.

After a fallow year of photographing events almost completely devoid of supporters, I couldn’t wait to capture the great sporting moments and the thrilling atmosphere of the crowds that follow them once again.

This year promises to be just as spectacular, with events such as the FIFA World Cup, Rugby League World Cup and the Tour de France on the horizon. There is always plenty to look forward to for any pro sports photographer.

With the D6, it’s important to compose scenes in-camera, as there’s less leeway for cropping

The path to becoming a sports photographer isn’t easy. On a professional level, it demands fast telephoto lenses and top-end cameras, neither of which come cheap. And getting accreditation to shoot at professional games is a chicken-and-egg situation where you need a proven track record to get access to shoot and, realistically, you need to be working for a sports photo agency or a newspaper to get the gig in the first place.

But it’s not impossible and starting off small, perhaps by covering your local amateur team or smaller sporting events, can lead to bigger and better things. Hopefully, this advice will stand you in good stead, no matter what level or discipline of sport you want to shoot.

Start with what you are most comfortable with and where you can get closest to the action. If that’s your kid’s school team, then you will be near to the action and, of course, all the emotion of sport. Don’t just stand at the side of the pitch to shoot at head height; get down on your knees or lie down on the ground to get a range of different angles. If you have a spare camera body and wide-angle lens, equip it with a remote trigger and set it up just behind the goal or the finishing line, so you can capture action-packed point-of-view shots.

Contrary to common belief, a lot of the best shots aren’t taken at big events, as access is harder. Low-level events are better