Home Run Baseball Photography Tips

Strike one! Strike two! Strike three!

Baseball! America's Pastime, and a sport growing in popularity throughout the world, where the Boys of Summer slug it out. A baseball game is the perfect way to spend a lazy summer afternoon, plus it provides opportunities to take photos that last a lifetime.

While many claim the sport of baseball is a slow-paced affair, when action does occur, it can happen very swiftly, almost too fast for an unskilled photographer to shoot the photos they desire. Baseballs fly quickly when hit or thrown, and timing the action for when to take a digital photograph requires split-second reflexes. Thus, before you plan on taking photos at a baseball game, you may wish to read the following advice:

1) First, make sure you are allowed to bring your digital camera to the baseball game. Some ballparks have no restrictions, others on the zoom length, some on using flash, and some may not allow you into the baseball game at all with your camera!

2) Change your camera settings to take the quickest photographs possible while still providing plenty of light for the photograph. You'll need to read your camera's manual on how to change these settings; for example, consider saving photos as JPG instead of RAW to take photos faster.

Just remember that the quicker the shutter speed, the less light enters the camera to take the picture. Thus, you'll need to compromise picture speed and the amount of light to take great photos. That is why baseball games work well with photography - many games are played on sunny days or in well-lit domes or stadiums that allow you to take crisp, high-action photos.

3) Before going to a big league ballpark, make sure you know the rules and nuances of the game. Practice taking photos at a minor-league, college, or high school baseball game. The stakes aren't quite as high if you miss a shot, and taking your camera to a game will give you more insight into when action occurs and when players just stand around.

4) Have extra batteries and digital camera memory handy and practice switching both out quickly before the game! A three and a half hour game can put a tremendous strain on even the most power-miserly camera, and more often than not you will have to switch out power or memory in the middle of an inning.

5) Don't worry if you miss a shot! Unless you have tons of digital camera memory, you may not be able to continuously shoot photograph after photograph. If you miss a key pitch, the swing of a bat, or a forced out, don't get angry! More often than not, new opportunities will arise for great photographs.

6) Study the lineup first. Know who are the key players and those who barely know how to swing a bat. Likewise, learn who has loose hands in the outfield and who is likely to win a Gold Glove. Focus your attention on the stars as they most likely will make the best photographs, but don't be so drawn to celebrity that you miss a role player making a crucial steal or diving catch that wins the game for their team!

7) When the opening lineup starts, look at the dugout. If you're rooting for the home team, the beginning of the game is a great time to get player photographs as they are running out onto the field. If not, take photographs during the middle of the inning. If you don't get the perfect photo, delete bad photographs during lull times and try later during the game.

8) To take a picture of a swinging batter that will last a lifetime, do the following:

*) Preparation is the key. First, before the game, know how to operate your digital camera. Practice focusing the camera and quickly deleting unused photos - sometimes you can delete an unwanted photo before it is completely saved to the camera's memory.

*) Before the pitch, focus your viewfinder on the batter's box and try not to cut out any of the batter's body. Zoom in as appropriate, but remember the more you zoom in, the slower the potential shutter speed needed to take a clear photo.

*) Anticipate shutter lag. Lock your focus before the pitch; this usually is done by pressing the shutter button down half-way.

*) Time it... time it... then as soon as the ball is about to hit the bat, press down fully on the shutter button.

*) If the pitch is a strike or the swing is not one to be remembered, cancel the save so your picture is not written to memory. This way, you can save room for other photos.

9) Look around for photo opportunities not directly related to the action. Take a photograph of the grounds crew cleaning the bases and raking the dirt between innings. Get a few shots of the crowd. Take a picture of the scoreboard. Look at the surrounding area. If you want to remember the full experience of a baseball game years from now, you should take advantage of one of the best features of a digital camera - the ability to take lots and lots of photographs - and shoot photographs showcasing the FULL baseball experience.

10) Take a break during the game! You came to the baseball game to enjoy the spectacle, not just to take pictures, right? Designate a few innings as photo-free time where you just sit back, munch on a hot dog, drink a soda, and soak in the environment.

Remember to study your digital camera manual first and practice, practice, practice! Follow these ten tips and you'll be on your way to taking "home run" baseball photographs in no time.

Copyright 2005 Andrew Malek.

Andrew Malek is the owner of the MalekTips computer and technology help site at http://malektips.com/. Want more great tips on buying and using digital cameras? Visit http://malektips.com/camera/ for more free digital photography advice.

---

Sepia Toned Prints from Your Colour or Black and White Photos ? 5 Minute Digital Fix

Quite often I will have clients bring in old photographs of their "elder" relatives that were taken before colour photography was around.This generally means that the photos... Read More

Removing Cracks and Creases when Restoring Old Photos ? 5 Minute Digital Fix

A common problem with old photos is that they often have un-desirable cracks and creases.These can be removed quite easily using the Clone, Healing and Patch tools... Read More

How to Create a Great Video - a Simple Guide on How to Shoot Home Movies with a Camcorder

So you have bought a camcorder and have shot some footage, but truthfully you don't much like the results. Maybe I can help. My advice is based... Read More

Start Up a Travel Photography Business

Too many people have the idea that being paid to take photographs of exotic places is the ideal job. It may take years of effort to be... Read More

Inspired Vision

A picture is worth a thousand words, so goes a Chinese proverb. A picture of a smiling child always brings a smile to our face and a... Read More

Freelance Photography: How to Begin Your Career

Photography is a vast world. There are many different types of photography and many different kinds of people that enjoy it. It's a hobby that be relatively... Read More

Modeling Portfolio Webites

In the age of home phones and 8x10's we all wondered how anyone could ever afford to get into the modeling industry. Even after you invest a... Read More

Creating Personalized Photo Calendars

About Personalized Photo Calendars:Photo Calendars are 12-month, wall-hanging calendars that you can create using your own digital photos and captions. As you customize your own photo calendar,... Read More

Photography Poses ? The Missing Ingredient

You've read all the "best digital camera" articles, got the best price on your first digital camera, and even glanced at its owner's manual. Are you itching... Read More

Fuji Digital Cameras

Fuji digital cameras entered the market in the late 90's. Started in Japan in 1934, Fuji has always tried to stay ahead of the pack. The history... Read More

Choosing The Right Digital Camera

Let's get something straight right out of the box. If you're looking to buy a new digital camera, you don't really have to be an expert in... Read More

A Guide to Underwater Cameras

There are two types of underwater camera systems: an ""amphibious"" camera, which is a self-contained waterproof system, and an SLR land camera with waterproof housing. Amphibious systems... Read More

Digital Camera Metering

Looking at the most intricate details of the digital camera as a technologically advanced device a lot of functions come into play. Such s a point is... Read More

Passionate Organizing: How To Create A System To Organise Your Digital And Traditional Photos

Digital photography promises much. Store your photographs on your computer, print them when you want, email them to friends and family ? share them to your heart's... Read More

Light and Depth of Field

With such a fantastic device as the digital camera for the recreation of magic in arts, a lot of care needs to be taken so as to... Read More

A Guide to Disposable Digital Cameras

Disposable Cameras (also called single-use cameras) first came on the market as film cameras. You would take the entire camera back where you bought it and they... Read More

Canadas Digital Cameras, Digital Camcorders and Cheap Memory Cards Canada

Digital SLR Camera or Digital single-lens reflex (SLR) camera is an ideal camera for professionals and amateur photographers. They usually having interchangeable lenses and are known for... Read More

Types of Digital Cameras

If you are in the market to purchase a digital camera, you have surely seen several different types of cameras. It isnt exactly clear what the differences... Read More

Where Do Great Ideas Come From?

At a Photo Club meeting I attended recently, the President made a comment on another meeting he had attended, where someone in the audience asked the presenter... Read More

Picture Framing for Photographers - Part 2

There are two sources for obtaining the moulding for making a frame. You can firstly start with a straight piece of timber, and using a home routing... Read More

Black and White is Beautiful

Think about Laurel and Hardy for a moment, or Charlie Chaplin, and even Harold Lloyd. All true examples of early cinema genius. Today's DVDs offer the opportunity... Read More

Digital Camera Printers

The digital camera is not meant only for capturing images and storing them on the computer memory disks. The real effect comes from the hard copy of... Read More

Photographing Kids

Kids grow up so quickly and while we are often left with countless memories, most parents have only a drawer packed with school photos, blurry holiday snaps... Read More

Photography Contest - a fun and rewarding experience

Do you like to take photos? Are you always standing by with your camera waiting for that moment that is meant to be captured on camera? You... Read More

Is your Digital Camera Compatible With Your Computer?

So you recently bought a digital camera or perhaps your thinking about it. And perhaps you may be wondering how many pictures will your computer hold? First... Read More

Getting Your Photos Ready for Sharing

One of the main reasons people buy digital cameras is so they can share their photos with others. Even if you are just going to print your... Read More