How to Photograph Athletics

(All images copyright Michael Berkeley Photography - no reproduction without permission)

I often say that no two sports are the same to photograph and that each brings its own challenges.  Never is this more true than with athletics where there are many disciplines and every one is different!  Photographing track events is completely different from field events – and, within the field events, the long or high jump is different from the throwing disciplines (javelin, hammer, discus).

(Nikon D500; 70-200mm at 200mm; f/2.8; 1/4000th sec; ISO 125)

My experience of photographing athletics dates back to the summer of 2018 when I spent a very hot day at a match hosted by the City of Salisbury Athletics and Running Club (CoSARC).  The programme for the day was packed with both track and field events and, as I was keen to record every event, I was running (often literally) from place to place in order to make sure that I had images of all the Salisbury athletes.

As I needed to be able to cover so many bases, I had most of my camera kit with me.  I used both the bodies I had at the time – a Nikon D700 (full frame, 12MP, 5 frames per second) and a Nikon D500 (crop sensor, 21MP, 10 fps) – as well as a good range of Nikon lenses: 24-70mm f/2.8; 70-200mm f/2.8; and a 200-500mm f/5.6.

(Nikon D500; 200-500mm at 440mm; f/5.6; 1/3200th sec; ISO 2800)

In most instances, I kept the lenses wide open in order to make the depth of field as shallow as possible in order to blur the background. As it was an extremely bright day and with ISO settings on Auto, the shutter speeds had to be very fast, partly to freeze the action and partly to keep the ISO at the right levels.  The fastest shutter speed used was 1/6000th sec.

(Nikon D500; 70-200mm at 102mm; f/2.8; 1/5000th sec; ISO 200)

Athletics involves disciplines that are primarily individual in nature.  The jumpers, throwers and runners are effectively trying to beat their ‘personal best’ and in doing so they win or lose against their opponents on the day.  Only with the relays do you get more close to a team sport, with each runner relying the others to pass the baton.

The nature of athletics is that you know where the athlete is going to be and where they are going to be facing – which is not the case with many other sports.  This means that it should be relatively easy to ensure that their face is fully visible and recognisable in the pictures.

(Nikon D500; 70-200mm at 70mm; f/2.8; 1/2500th sec; ISO 110)

Certainly, at the level that I was photographing, the issue of distracting backgrounds was a significant problem.  In a stadium, with a big crowd, this might not have been the case.  In the photographs above, for instance, the javelin thrower has somebody wearing a bright yellow top behind her; and the high jumper has a container and a portacabin behind him.  In this latter case, a lower perspective might have worked so that the jumper was positioned against the trees above.

(Nikon D500; 70-200mm at 200mm; f/3.2; 1/5000th sec; ISO 320)

In the image of the long jumper, the other contestants milling around in the background may be considered distracting, but they also provide a good feel for the environment in which the competition was taking place, so they provide context.  In any event, I attempt the blur the background as much as possible by keeping the shutter almost wide open, thereby providing separation between the main subject and the background..

(Nikon D500; 70-200mm at 140mm; f/2.8; 1/4000th sec; ISO 400)

(Nikon D500; 70-200mm at 135mm; f/3.2; 1/3200th sec; ISO 500)

When selecting the images for this blog, I found that – on re-visiting the pictures – I often decided to crop more tightly on the athlete as a way of avoiding distractions in the background and of concentrating on the individual.  I did this, for example, with the shot putter and the runner above.

Also, I find it works to get as low as possible so that I am almost looking up at the person.  This makes them look more ‘heroic’ and impressive. I found that it was better to photograph long distance runners earlier in the race, when they were more full of energy – whereas, towards the end of the race, energy levels had dropped and the images did not portray the athletes in the best light.

(Nikon D500; 24-70mm at 70mm; f/3.2; 1/3200th sec; ISO 125)

In any sport, it is always tempting to relax when there is a lull in proceedings – but that is often when some of the best, informal shots are to be had.  One of my favourite images of the day was of an elder sister (who had just won the steeplechase) as she consoled her younger sister who had finished towards the back of the field in the same race.  The looks on their faces tells a real story.

(Nikon D500; 70-200mm at 200mm; f/2.8; 1/3200th sec; ISO 720)

The starting pistol being fired was a bit more quirky – and provided something a bit different… As the official was facing away from me, the eye is drawn to the pistol and the smoke because there is no competing point of interest.

It is quite difficult to tell the story of what is happening in a running race.  If you are, for instance photographing the 100m from head on, it is almost impossible to tell who is in the lead.  In the photo below, the expressions on the faces, as well as the baton in hand, explain that one runner has passed to another in the relay races.  It captures the relationship between the runners, but it doesn’t provide any information on how the team is getting on against their opponents. On the other hand, if somebody holds their arms aloft in triumph as they cross the finishing line, that will tell the story of who won … For a good example of this, see my blog on City Centre Cycling.

(Nikon D500; 70-200mm f2.8 - f2.8; 1/3200th sec; ISO 400)

All in all, the day at the athletics was demanding on me as a photographer, having to work out how to capture each discipline while under time pressure.  That made it one of the best days I have had with a camera and would strongly recommend it if you get the opportunity!

With special thanks to the City of Salisbury Athletics & Running Club.

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How to Photograph Golf

(All images copyright Michael Berkeley Photography - no reproduction without permission)

In my blog on How to Photograph Cricket, I said that cricket is the sport I know the best because I have played it the most.  Moreover, I have photographed over 50 days of cricket, so I have taken a lot of cricket images.

At the other end of the scale, I have never played golf and I have only photographed it once.  While I have photographed many international cricket players, my experience of golf has been taking informal images of three friends at a local club.  

(Nikon D500; 18-55mm at 18mm; f/3.5; 1/1600th sec; ISO 125)

While I did not ask them to pose for any particular shots, it was a very informal session and I stood (and knelt and lay!) in places that simply wouldn’t be allowed during an official event.   Also, professional golfers are likely to object to the sound of cameras during their swing, when distractions are extremely unwelcome.

Despite the fact that it was mid-August, my golf day was overcast, with a threat of rain at any moment.  I had not given my golfing friends any instructions and it was fortuitous that John arrived wearing a red shirt, but the grey shirt of one of the others (also called John) was less good photogenically.  So, not very colourful subjects on a not very colourful day, but fortunately the golf was good …

(Nikon D500; 200-500mm; f/5.6; 1/2000th sec; ISO 1100)

As this was my first time photographing on a golf course, there was inevitably a degree of trial and error.  I applied the same principles relating to camera settings set out in my blog on ‘Getting into Sport and Music Photography’, adapting them as required.

I used a Nikon D500 and just 2 lenses - a Nikon 18-55mm f3.5-f5.6 kit lens and a Nikon 200-500mm f5.6 lens. As the D500 has a crop sensor, the lenses were equivalent to a 27-82mm and a 300-750mm. This gave me a lot of options - from wide angle to long telephoto.

The aperture was set wide open (to reduce depth of field) and I chose shutter speeds faster than 1/1250sec to freeze the ball in flight. The ISO setting was ‘Auto’ and it was capped at 5000.

(Nikon D500; 18-55mm; f/3.5; 1/1600th sec; ISO 100)

I tried various angles on the golfers playing drives and approach shots.  A good stock image is where the golfer is at the end of their swing and they are looking down the fairway – so that you get a good view of their face.  Alternatively, if you shoot from behind the golfer, you can get the ball in the photo, although you are not going to get such a good view of the face (see image above).

Before I set out for the course, I had it in mind that I definitely wanted to capture the classic shot of the sand being kicked up when the ball is played out of a bunker.  Neither of the Johns played into a bunker during the round, but Wayne’s ball just seemed to be attracted by the sand.  He maintained that he was doing it on purpose so that I could get my photograph.  I wonder…  These shots called for a fast shutter speed to freeze the sand, and I made sure that the ball was in the frame, which was relatively easy as I was shooting on ‘continuous high’ mode.  

(Nikon D500; 18-55mm; f/4; 1/2000th sec; ISO 200)

For the image above, I was positioned higher than Wayne, with the result that I lost his feet and the sand does not stand out that well against the bunker and the grass behind.  The image below was taken with quite a wide angle lens, so I was crouching down in the sand to get the low perspective – and certainly closer than you would be able to get during a competitive match.  This perspective means that some of the sand stands out against the sky, which adds to the drama.

(Nikon D500; 18-55mm; f/3.5; 1/1600th sec; ISO 100)

It proved difficult to find a really good angle to photograph putting shots, because it is challenging to get the golfer’s face in the picture - see image below. 

(Nikon D500; 18-55mm; f/4.2; 1/1600th sec; ISO 110)

I tried to get as low as I could by kneeling on the green (again, don’t expect to be allowed to do this during a competition!).  The best result was where the putt was quite long and the golfer therefore looked up to see if the ball was going into the hole.

(Nikon D500; 18-55mm; f/5.6; 1/1600th sec; ISO 500)

In addition to taking stock images of the golfers driving from the tee, playing approach shots and putting, it was good fun taking action photos – trying to get something a bit different.  I loved the expressions of concentration and the shots of turf being kicked up when playing the ball on the fairway.  As with all sport photography, I was careful to watch out for anything distracting in the background and to make sure that the golfer’s face was sufficiently visible for them to be recognisable – and, of course, to get the ball in the picture.

(Nikon D500; 200-500mm; f/5.6; 1/2000th sec; ISO 1250)

(Nikon D500; 200-500mm; f/5.6; 1/2000th sec; ISO 180)

All in all, it was a very enjoyable morning taking photographs.  There was variety in the photos and it was fun trying to find the best locations from which to take the images. As always, I was looking out for some candid shots between the sporting action - such as John trying to locate his ball (below) …

(Nikon D500; 18-55mm at 55mm; f/5.6; 1/5000th sec; ISO 4500)

With special thanks to John, John and Wayne.

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How to Photograph Cricket

(All images copyright Michael Berkeley Photography - no reproduction without permission)

Cricket is the sport that I understand the best, having played a lot (although to no great standard) when I was younger.  I am a member of the MCC and I watch cricket at Lord’s whenever I can – and I have travelled overseas to watch Test Matches in Australia and Sri Lanka.

This is relevant because the better you understand a sport, the easier it is to anticipate what is going to happen and to select the right moment to take a photograph.  You will also know which images will make a player look good and which they might prefer you not to use.

(Nikon D500; 200-500mm at 500mm; f/5.6; 1/2500th sec; ISO 280)

In my blog on How to Photograph Football I commented that capturing good football images is both very easy and very difficult.  This is even more the case with cricket.  

You know where the bowler and batsman will be, so it is very easy to get good images of them.  But when you have a good shot of the bowler in action, they will do exactly the same thing each ball, so there is not much point in re-taking the same image again.

Dale Steyn (Nikon D500; 200-500mm; f5.6; 1/2000th sec; ISO 320)

There is much more variety with the batsman (or batter).  They may hit the ball to the boundary; or miss it; or be bowled.  The best angle to capture a batsman is often considered to be from behind mid-off (look it up on Google if you are not a cricketer!).  Because the players change ends after every over, the batsman alternates between facing you and having their back to you, so you will get a different angle on the play.

(Sony A9II; 200-600mm at 493mm; f/6.3; 1/100th sec; ISO 250)

As with other sports where the players wear helmets - particularly polo - it is often difficult to capture the batsman’s face because they will be looking down eat the ball and also a noonday sun will cast a strong shadow. The best images can therefore often be achieved at the end of the shot when the player is looking to see where the ball has gone and judging whether a run is on. While the ball will not be in the picture, it is much more important that the player is recognisable - see the picture of James Vince below.

(Nikon D500; 200-500mm; f5.6; 1/2500th sec; ISO 280)

When the batsman has hit the ball, however, it is much more difficult to work out where it is going to end up; to re-focus on that point; and to capture the action in a way that tells the story of what has happened.  The ball can move very quickly, so this takes practice … For the image below, I had to anticipate where the ball was going to land and then to re-focus on the fielder who was about the catch the ball.

(Sony A9II; 200-600mm at 600mm; f/6.3; 1/1000th sec; ISO 5000)

The biggest challenge with cricket is to capture the right moment.  The old adage goes that “If you see it, you’ve missed it”.  The problem is that, for example, when somebody is bowled, it takes time for your eyes to tell your brain that the bails have come off; for your brain then to tell your hands; and for your hands to tell the camera.  The moment has then passed.

The best way to guarantee that you capture somebody being bowled is to take a burst of 6-8 images – and to start before the ball reaches the batsman.  Inevitably this means that you take a lot of shots but, with digital, you can.  If nothing interesting happens, you can always delete the files while the bowler is heading back to their mark … The shot below, taken during the Hampshire Ladies v Middlesex Ladies match in June 2018 was the second of a burst of 7 shots of the final wicket to fall.

(Nikon D500; 200-500mm at 360mm; f5.6; 1/2000th sec; ISO 720)

As with many – if not all – team sports, there is a risk that one of the other players will get in the way just as you are about to take a photograph.  One of the ways around this for cricket is to photograph from the back of a stand (if there is one), so that you are looking down on the action.  In this way, the batsman or bowler can be isolated against the grass – one of my photographer colleagues describes this a capturing a ‘green and clean’ shot.

To my mind, however, images taken from this angle lose something of the atmosphere of the occasion.  This is a matter of preference and generally I like to be down lower.  I believe you get a better perspective on the players; it makes them look more ‘heroic’; you stand a better chance of seeing a batsman’s face under their helmet’s visor; and the crowd in the background brings the audience into play.  The 2 images above and below show Ryan Stevenson at an almost identical stage of his bowling action, one taken from ground level and the other from the top of the stand.  Which do you prefer?

I also feel that being lower down brings you closer into the action - it is less ‘sterile’ and it gives a better impression of actually being in the ground and part of the action. In the picture of Felix Organ being stumped by Ben Foakes in the image below, you can almost feel the emotions of the players.

(Sony A9II; 200-600mm at 600m; f/6.3; 1/1600th sec; ISO 200)

I covered the general principles relating to camera settings in my blog on Getting into Sport and Music Photography.  For cricket, I will shoot with the lens wide open for a shallow depth of field (to blur the crowd and the advertisements around the ground), and the shutter speed will need to be at least 1/1000th of a second to freeze the ball, which you will want to do in almost every case.  

I leave the ISO setting on automatic and will cap it to, say, 6400.  This is not a problem on a nice, sunny day, but can cause issues if it is a game being played under floodlights.  I will normally be using a long lens (previously a Nikon 200-500mm f/5.6 lens, and now a sony 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3) which is not as fast as the top sports photographers will use (and can afford!), so the ISO levels soon ramp up when the light is dim. Even so, the results are normally usable (see below).

(Sony A9II; 200-600mm at 600mm; f/6.3; 1/1000th sec; ISO 6400)

As with all sports, it is tempting to concentrate just on the action itself and to miss the interesting stories that unfold between the main action. Against this background, it is always important to do your homework before a match to find out who is playing for the first time or who is reaching some sort of milestone, so that you can ensure that you get a good photograph of them. And during a game, if somebody might be about to get 5 wickets or score a century, this is a sign to be prepared to capture the celebratory shot. Both these cases, the player is likely to look towards the pavilion to acknowledge the applause, so it is a good idea to be near the pavilion at this time.

Zak Crawley celebrates his century (Sony A9II; 200-600mm at 600mm; f/6.3; 1/1600 sec; ISO 160)

Cricket photography epitomises for me the reasons why I enjoy photographing sport.  It is a complex game, which ebbs and flows, with moments of high drama – and it’s completely unpredictable.  As the ball moves so quickly, there is a huge amount of luck being in the right place at the right time.  It requires a huge amount of patience and, f you miss the key shot for one reason or another, there is no point worrying about it – they won’t do it for you again – so you just have to move on and capture the next moment of excitement! 

With thanks to Hampshire County Cricket Club and the Utilita Bowl in Southampton.

To see more images, view the Cricket Gallery.

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