A typical on-location setup. When the Santa Ana Winds are not howling here in Southern California, the umbrella on a lightstand is a quick way to get some soft light. The rest of the time I have to carry a sandbag just in case. My White Lightning flash is powered by a portable battery on the bottom right of the picture. The flash is triggered by a radio slave so there’s one less wire to trip over.
Exactly how much photo equipment do you need?
You’ve heard it time and time again. It’s not the gear but how the person uses it that matters most.
If there were ever a downside to being a former newspaper photographer, it would be the loss of access privileges now that I’m Joe Schmo, freelancer.
If you’re at all interested in sports photographer, you should know that without “access,†your chances of getting good pictures isn’t very good.
Access means you have some sort of credential that allows you to walk around designated areas. Concert photographers know the value of the venerable “Backstage Pass.†Continue reading Sports Photography–Swimming→
Baseball was not my favorite sport to cover. Bases can be loaded inning after inning and no one scores. Then out-of-the-blue, all hell breaks loose and a collision at home plate occurs. Thankfully I wasn’t asleep here. Picture taken with a Nikon F4 triggered by a foot pedal. 180 f2.8 lens prefocused at home plate. Fujichrome 100 1/2000 @ f2.8 . Angels Stadium, Anaheim.
So let’s assume you’re in and you’ve gotten the nod to shoot your first sports assignment.
Sorry, those professional baseball, basketball and Big 10 college football games will be covered by the staff photographers because they’ll appear on the cover of the section.
Don’t despair, as you get better, you’ll get to the front page of the Sports section. If you have a really good picture, it may run on the front page, but  let’s not get ahead of ourselves yet. Continue reading Freelancing for Newspapers–Part 3→
Photo tips from a creative Southern California photographer
