Friday night football presents challenges for photographers, from the technical issues of shooting under the bright lights to the composition issues of finding fresh angles.
Here are some tips to jazz up your Friday night photos from GateHouse photographers Scott Heckel from The Repository in Canton, Ohio, and Fred Zwicky and Ron Johnson from the Peoria Journal Star in Illinois.
Look behind you (or how to find something different)
- Look behind you every once in a while; the best pictures are sometimes not on the field. Many times, the best pictures are before or after the game, Zwicky says.
- Think of ideas for photos you’ve never seen from a game, then go out and get them. Perhaps a coach you have a good relationship with will permit you in the locker room to document his pre-game address to the team.
- Don't be shy. Get out on the field for a pre-game coin toss and the captains’ meeting at midfield.
- Try shooting inside the tunnel for player introductions rather than photographing the same angle everyone inside the stadium already sees. Always look for different views of the obvious.
- Keep an eye out for more creative artistic possibilities that might produce results. Don't overlook repetition of shape and geometric formations where you can incorporate students, players, fans, cheerleaders or band members for positive results.
- Especially early in the season, watch the light. Sunsets and cross lighting as daytime turns to night often leads to photographic opportunities.
- Look for expressive cheerleaders and band members. Remember, it’s their night to shine, too. Don't limit your picture search to players and coaches. Possibilities exist everywhere.
- Although no one likes to shoot in the rain, snow, baking heat or when a swarm of bugs overtakes the field, watch to see how it affects the game and how players, coaches and fans react to it. Extreme weather often produces compelling imagery.
- Tell the story of the game.
Make your camera work for you
- Alternate lenses, says Heckel. “It is easy to put on a long lens and leave it on for the entire night. Challenge yourself to use a wide angle and fill the frame with a strong foreground, middle and background,” he says.
- Johnson agrees on using both long and wide lenses. “Shoot tight and wide. Bring the long glass, a 300/f.2.8 lens and a wide-angle lens along. High school action on the field is usually farther away from you than you think, so use the big glass, shoot wide open at 2.8 and go with the fastest shutter that you can. Also, bring the wide angle so you can turn and get those emotions and color on the sidelines with a wide angle.”
- White balance really counts; use a custom WB. Fluorescent WB often will fix funky night stadium color.
- You've got to stop action anyway you can; shoot high ISO, add fill-flash and use fast lenses. If the shutter speed drops below 250th, most of your images will be unusable.
- If you use fill-flash, gel the flash head to match the field lights. A fluorescent gel most times does the job really well.
- If you use a flash for high school football under the lights and get red-eye, try placing clamping your flash on your monopod below the level of the camera and attach your flash. Use an external battery or nicads for faster recycle times. Under-power the light output slightly on the flash so you don’t over-light the action with the flash unit.
- A common setting for a dark stadium is ISO 3200, 250th @ F2.8, fluorescent WB, along with an off-camera strobe at -1 exposure compensation with a green gel over it.
Remember this:
Bring some portable rain gear. Don't worry about those expensive raincoats for cameras. Sometimes a trash bag and a couple of rubber bands work fine. Too many times photographers get caught in the elements, and rain and Friday night football seem to go hand-in-hand much too often. Being prepared can be the difference between a good night and a bad one.
Have a question for our photographers? Send it to jhodges@gatehousemedia.com, and we'll see if we can find the answer.
Friday night football presents challenges for photographers, from the technical issues of shooting under the bright lights to the composition issues of finding fresh angles.
Here are some tips to jazz up your Friday night photos from GateHouse photographers Scott Heckel from The Repository in Canton, Ohio, and Fred Zwicky and Ron Johnson from the Peoria Journal Star in Illinois.
Look behind you (or how to find something different)
- Look behind you every once in a while; the best pictures are sometimes not on the field. Many times, the best pictures are before or after the game, Zwicky says.
- Think of ideas for photos you’ve never seen from a game, then go out and get them. Perhaps a coach you have a good relationship with will permit you in the locker room to document his pre-game address to the team.
- Don't be shy. Get out on the field for a pre-game coin toss and the captains’ meeting at midfield.
- Try shooting inside the tunnel for player introductions rather than photographing the same angle everyone inside the stadium already sees. Always look for different views of the obvious.
- Keep an eye out for more creative artistic possibilities that might produce results. Don't overlook repetition of shape and geometric formations where you can incorporate students, players, fans, cheerleaders or band members for positive results.
- Especially early in the season, watch the light. Sunsets and cross lighting as daytime turns to night often leads to photographic opportunities.
- Look for expressive cheerleaders and band members. Remember, it’s their night to shine, too. Don't limit your picture search to players and coaches. Possibilities exist everywhere.
- Although no one likes to shoot in the rain, snow, baking heat or when a swarm of bugs overtakes the field, watch to see how it affects the game and how players, coaches and fans react to it. Extreme weather often produces compelling imagery.
- Tell the story of the game.
Make your camera work for you
- Alternate lenses, says Heckel. “It is easy to put on a long lens and leave it on for the entire night. Challenge yourself to use a wide angle and fill the frame with a strong foreground, middle and background,” he says.
- Johnson agrees on using both long and wide lenses. “Shoot tight and wide. Bring the long glass, a 300/f.2.8 lens and a wide-angle lens along. High school action on the field is usually farther away from you than you think, so use the big glass, shoot wide open at 2.8 and go with the fastest shutter that you can. Also, bring the wide angle so you can turn and get those emotions and color on the sidelines with a wide angle.”
- White balance really counts; use a custom WB. Fluorescent WB often will fix funky night stadium color.
- You've got to stop action anyway you can; shoot high ISO, add fill-flash and use fast lenses. If the shutter speed drops below 250th, most of your images will be unusable.
- If you use fill-flash, gel the flash head to match the field lights. A fluorescent gel most times does the job really well.
- If you use a flash for high school football under the lights and get red-eye, try placing clamping your flash on your monopod below the level of the camera and attach your flash. Use an external battery or nicads for faster recycle times. Under-power the light output slightly on the flash so you don’t over-light the action with the flash unit.
- A common setting for a dark stadium is ISO 3200, 250th @ F2.8, fluorescent WB, along with an off-camera strobe at -1 exposure compensation with a green gel over it.
Remember this:
Bring some portable rain gear. Don't worry about those expensive raincoats for cameras. Sometimes a trash bag and a couple of rubber bands work fine. Too many times photographers get caught in the elements, and rain and Friday night football seem to go hand-in-hand much too often. Being prepared can be the difference between a good night and a bad one.
Have a question for our photographers? Send it to jhodges@gatehousemedia.com, and we'll see if we can find the answer.
