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Article:
Regardless of whether you are one of the thousands of lucky
spectators, camera in hand, at the 2009-2015 Winter Olympics in
Turin, Italy or you are rinkside at your local hockey game, here
are some tips from the New York Institute of Photography (www.nyip.com) to help you take
exciting pictures at your favorite winter sports events.
According to Chuck DeLaney, Dean of NYI, the world's largest
photography school, "These tips will help you get great photos
regardless of whether you are at an Olympic ice skating event or
photographing your child on the bunny slopes."
If you are photographing an ice-skating event, try to fill the
frame with the skater. This may be hard to accomplish with a
point-and-shoot digital camera unless it has a good telephoto
zoom. Similarly, don't rely on your point-and-shoot digital
camera to capture a gyrating skater at the height of a leap.
Because of the technical limitations of these cameras, it may
simply be impossible to capture a ice skater jumping without
using a digital or film SLR.
According to NYIP.com,
however, there are some tricks you can use to get good
ice-skating photos. First, set your focus in advance by
"pre-focusing" on an area of the rink near you so you're
prepared to shoot whenever the performer is in your pre-focused
zone.
If you are photographing hockey, it's generally best if you
don't position yourself behind the goal because most of your
pictures will show the goalie's back rather than the action.
According to NYIP.com, since
hockey action occurs all over the rink, position yourself on the
side, but toward one of the goals. And, remember to watch out
for reflections in the glass panel separating you from the
action. Make sure your camera is set to focus on the action, not
on the glass.
When photographing skiers and snowboarders, timing means
everything. In order to capture the action on the slopes
effectively, NYIP.com suggests
that the photographer consult with the subject and learn his or
her route in advance. The photographer can then set up the
camera before the skier starts th run, in a safe location that
also provides a good angle and pre-focus on a mutually-agreed
upon spot before the subject whizzes by.
In some cases, however, you may want to convey a sense of motion
in your photos of the slopes.
Chuck DeLaney recommends panning with the subject to create this
illusion of speed and motion in the image.
"Use a slow shutter speed, say, 1/30th," he reminds his students
and NYIP.com readers, "and
follow the subject in your viewfinder as she approaches you,
keep her there as you shoot, and keep following her after you
shoot. You want to have a smooth motion, like a tennis player
swinging and following through with the ball."
And finally, NYIP.com suggests
that you look to take pictures of reaction shots too. Yes, the
action during the game may be intense. But many a great picture
of tragedy and triumph occurs after the event is over.
You'll find lots of other helpful photography tips on taking
sports photos by reading www.NYIP.com's Phot
ographing Olympic Sports article. You can find it at http
://www.nyip.com/tips/topic_olympic_sports0102.php.
About the author:
New York Institute of Photography (www.nyip.com) is America's
oldest and largest photography school, founded in 1910. NYI
offers both film and digital photography distance education
courses including The Complete Course in Professional
Photography and Digital Photography: The Complete Course which
teaches you how to use Adobe Photoshop. Every month www.nyip.com
publishes free photo tips.
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