Take Me Out To The Ball Game…

Nothing symbolizes summer quite like a baseball game. I’m not a huge sports fan, but there’s just something special about sitting with friends in a stadium full of cheering fans, eating hot dogs and staring at the perfectly manicured green outfield, that brings joy to the heart.

Since I live in close proximity to the Reading Phillies, I try to take in at least one game each season; and when I go, my camera goes with me! The size of the stadium allows for great images to be captured even from the stands. I love the challenge of photographing something that is not my norm. Doing so can only help to improve your overall photographic skills.

Over the years I’ve developed a relationship with the R Phillies front office, and am able to get a press pass to photograph from most anywhere around the stadium. One of my favorite places to shoot from is along the first and third base lines. You get a great view of the action in the infield, and good angle for most action in the outfield, as well.

As a result of the challenge and fun I have while photographing the games, I also like to schedule a photography workshop there at least once each season. We actually have an event coming up this Saturday (July 1st), which I am very much looking forward to. To make the night even more of a fun and challenging photographic opportunity, I always choose a large fireworks night. Photographing fireworks uses a whole different skillset, which makes for a greater learning opportunity for my participants. As of the time I am writing this, there is still one spot open to join us. If interested, check out the listing under “Events”!

Here are a few of my top tips for capturing the game!

Bring a lens in the range of 70-200mm. Even lenses in the 300-400mm range will be useful for filling the frame with the action. The faster the lens (wider the aperture the lens opens up to) the better your images will be as the light gets low. An aperture of f/2.8 is great as it will provide shallow depth of field and eliminate background distractions. It you don’t have a super-fast lens, not a problem. Use whatever you have!

Use Shutter Priority. Sports photography is all about capturing the motion, so being able to quickly dial in your shutter speed is best bet.

Use a fast enough shutter speed to freeze the action. I/800th sec is probably the slowest you should go. This will enable you to mostly freeze the motion of the pitcher and the swing of the bat, as well as capture runners in action.

Set your camera to Auto white balance. Most stadium lights are daylight balanced, but some may still give a warm cast to your images.

Set your ISO to Auto ISO. That way the camera will automatically raise the ISO when the light levels start getting low.

Use Continuous Focus. This allows the camera to continuously focus on the action. Make sure that you have obtained focus on your subject before you being firing the shutter. In continuous focus, your camera will take pictures whether your subject is in focus or not.

Set the camera’s Drive Mode to Continuous. This will allow you to hold the shutter button down and keep firing away to capture the full series of action. If you just try to capture a single shot at the precise moment of great action-you will likely miss it every time.

Anticipate the Action. Knowing where the play will likely be will help you to not miss the action. Ex. If a runner is on first, and there is one or no outs, the play will be at second. Bases loaded, less than two outs, play will be at home. Knowing those things, I set up a composition where I hope the play will be, allowing enough room for a player to run in and out of the frame.

Set Your Focus Point Manually. The camera will rarely get it right on its own. I place the focus point on the runner, or batter or pitcher. Once they are in focus, I can just keep shooting the entire series of action. I have missed more great plays than I care to mention, because the camera focused on the billboard in the outfield, and not the player in action-or never acquired focus at all. The image below is one of those images that breaks my heart to have missed☹️

Capture The Full Story. Flags flying. Fans cheering or reaching for a foul ball. Hot dog vendors. Dancing mascots. The entire stadium surrounded by the sunset’s glow. (you’ll probably need a wider angle lens for some of those suggestions. Or, you could always use your phone for a few quick shots.

Last but not least, enjoy the game! Don’t get so caught up in trying to capture great images, that you miss the joy of the event.

Bonus Tips… Do yourself a favor-don’t get so worried about sitting for a few minutes in traffic, that you race out before a fireworks show. I often head down to the stadium to just photograph the fireworks from the outside, and am always amazed at how many people leave before the fireworks. That’s my favorite part! As I stand there with my tripod set up and camera pointing up to the sky, people look at me like I’m waiting to photograph aliens. 🙄

If I missed anything, feel free to share your tips in the comments below!

Thanks for reading!