VOLLEYBALL PHOTOGRAPHY Getting the Shot
One question we get asked a lot: How can I take better volleyball pictures? To steer you in the right direction, we asked one of the best volleyball photographers in the world, Peter Brouillet, to share a few of his secrets.
By Peter Brouillet • Photos:Wally Nell
COURTSIDE CLICKING: You can employ a smaller lens to shoot like a pro when sitting next to the court.
least for an hour or so. What I mean is, most people who shoot volleyball pictures are either parents trying to capture images of their kids or kids trying to capture images of their friends. And parents and friends get easily distracted. They watch, they talk, they cheer, they go to the snack bar.
T
My point: If you want to get good shots, you’ve got to be all in. So here’s a good compromise. Split your time 50-50 between shooting and cheering. When you’re cheering, cheer. When you’re shooting, shoot. Keep them separate. Here are eight tips that I think will help you take better pictures:
1. REMEMBER, CAMERAS DON’T HAVE RING TONES I’m sure you get my point. You can’t get a good volleyball action shot with your phone, so don’t try. Yes, you’ll have to spend a little money on a camera, but if you want to get nice volleyball photos, it’s worth it. Use the phone for what it does best – making calls, texting, checking emails and listening to music.
38 | VOLLEYBALLUSA • Digital Issue at
usavolleyball.org/mag
he fi rst thing you need to do to be a better volleyball photographer is to actually become a photographer – at
2. LIGHTING IS KEY A lot of gyms are poorly lit, but your camera will help you. Unlike the days when photographers shot with fi lm, the newest digital cameras can lighten images with their higher ISO settings – 1600 and up. The higher the ISO is set, the more sensi- tive the image sensor is to low-light situa- tions, and this is important because you need to shoot at a fast shutter speed (at least 1/500 of a second) to get a good action shot. The technology that allows for high ISO settings has changed dramatically in the last fi ve years. Years back, a high ISO setting would often produce images that were grainy – or, in digital photography jargon, “noisy.” These days, even modestly priced digital cameras can compensate for poor lighting with a high ISO setting without comprising the quality of the picture.
3. DON’T GO BROKE BUYING YOUR EQUIPMENT You don’t need a lot of fancy, exotic or ex- pensive photography gear to shoot volleyball. You can get very nice photos using reasonably priced lenses ranging from wide angle (28 mm
to 50 mm) to telephoto (200 mm). The professional photographer’s lens of choice would be a 70-200 mm f2.8 zoom lens. A lot of professional photographers use the really long telephotos, but those are for huge gyms, arenas or stadiums where you’re usually shooting from a higher level or from a great distance – or both.
4. SHOOT FROM ABOVE WITH LONGER LENSES, COURTSIDE WITH SHORTER LENSES
If you do have a 300 mm lens or larger, you can shoot up high from the stands or a balcony. This gives you a good vantage point to get an overview of the court without having to worry about players in front of you or a cluttered background. With a smaller lens, do whatever you can to position yourself on the side of the court and as close as possible. Shooting directly from the back is very diffi cult – with six players in front of you, it’s like shooting through a pick- et fence. You’ll almost always have a blocker in the way of your hitter. From the side, the angle is much better for photos – especially good for capturing setters.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78