Fantastic Article on How to Photograph Football

Jim Begley sent me a link to an article on Gizmodo that was one of the best articles on shooting football I’ve read.

The article was written by Rod Mar, a Seattle-based photographer working with the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks. First, he’s a really fantastic sports photographer, but beyond that, he’s a great writer and teacher as well, and his article has great examples and great insights.

So, definitely read the article first (here’s the link), but after you do, if you’re into this stuff you’ve got to check out his Seahawks photo blog, called “Eye on the Hawks.” I absolutely loved his images, and how he shares off field moments and images you don’t normally get to see. Very well done, and definitely worth checking out. Thanks Jim for sending this my way. :)

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  1. Good stuff! His pictures are more photojournalistic in a way, and i liked it a lot. I like when people show something that you normally dont see, it doesn´t really matter what the subject is, if it is a sport, event or a happening of some sort or whatever it might be. I like stuff that has a more documentary feel to it.
    It´s all a matter of taste of course, but I think that those kind of pictures tend to show something more than just the typical picture of football, hockey, motorsport, golf, curling, wedding, portrait, landscape or whatever it is that the photographer is trying to show.

  2. But he didn’t mention the 2 piece monopod, nor did his photo of the ref shows the rear angle, nor did he mention focusing in on the background crowd. How can we be expected to improve unless these advanced topics are covered?

  3. Great article that probably applies to other sports as well!

    Although unrelated to photographing football, but also on Gizmodo, is this article which I’m sure is also of use and interest to you and your readers http://gizmodo.com/5745720/you-can-now-photograph-government-buildings-without-being-shot. Work your way through the links and you can find a link to the document from the Federal Protective Service. Probably doesn’t apply to tripods though ;)

  4. Thanks Scott and your welcome. I spend the day with Matt and the Kelby Training Live group in Covington… Hugh crowd and they all did a great job. Matt is a natural and a very talented photoshop guy, you should be proud of all of them.

  5. That was a great article. I was struck by how many of the tips could apply to event photography of all kinds, even weddings. I’ve gotta admit that the image of a grizzled wedding album editor growling “Two faces and a bouquet kid” just doesn’t carry the same weight though.

  6. Great article, and I’m learning tons about shooting sports in preparation for when my kids are older. I’m also getting involved in some local sports.. but one technique I haven’t seen you really discuss (other than some negative examples involving player collisions) Is how to really handle multiple bodies and mono-pod while you’re shooting. I just imagine letting my body on a mono-pod drop for a wide shot with my other body and the pod snapping up to jab some poor guy in the eye nearby. Love to see an article about the logistics of managing 2+ bodies on the move at an event.

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