Ten Tips For Better Basketball Photos

Nine years ago I made a version of this post for the blog. I had not been making basketball photos for very long, but I had studied a bit to come up with the list. Back then that list was more for me than anyone else. Now I have photographed a lot more basketball over those nine years so this list is much easier to come up with. I didn’t need to research. In fact I came up with far more than ten tips. Instead of throwing out ten tips to get down to ten for this list I decided to break this post up into two parts. This list of tips will be more for the beginner with the list coming next week a little more advanced. I am by no means the best basketball photographer out there. I have learned things the hard way over the years though so I can pass those tips on to you. Okay enough talking lets get into the list.

Get To The Venue Early

There are many reasons to get to the venue early. One of them is to get yourself warmed up. Especially early in the season basketball is a fast sport with a motion unlike any other. Most of the fall sports that you will cover has a more linear motion. Basketball is a sport where the action will suddenly rise. The best way to get used to that motion is to photograph it. When I first started making photos the people in the media room would give me a hard time when I went out to photograph warm ups. For a while I quit. I quickly realized that they really didn’t care what I did. They just didn’t want to go out there, and they didn’t want anyone to make a photo that they didn’t make. Getting to the venue early also has some other perks as far as seating in the media room goes. If you want to good media room food you have to get to the venue early to make sure you can get some.

Try To Tell A Story

For years I have come up with what I call themes for games. The theme gives me a starting point to tell the story of the day. While game action is a big part of the story you also have other things around gameday that help do that. You have the fans, cheerleaders, and sometimes the venue itself. Especially late in the season when the grind kicks in I can start to lose focus of this and just make game photos. Telling the story of the day makes for a much better gallery.

Know The Teams, Milestones, And Routines

This one encompasses a lot of things. Knowing your team is a luxury for most people. If you are always at a different site or with a different team this can be hard. If you photograph the same team over and over though you start to learn things about them and how they get ready for the game. You learn how they celebrate as well so you know where to be for those. For the photo above I was lucky enough to be around that Purdue team for the season. I knew that Tre would grab his jump rope during pregame and move in a set pattern. I worked the photo for a couple of games until I made the photo above. Knowing his routine helped me make the photo. Another example is at the game the night this post goes live. If Zach Edey scores 22 points he will break into the top five all time in Purdue scoring. Knowing that going into the game helps me keep track of that stat so that I can key on him when he is close to getting to that milestone.

Avoid The Refs

This is a hard one. There is no exact way to avoid the refs. Refs getting into your photos is just something that will happen. Depending on your situation you can minimize their impact on your take though. If you can sit where you want I always choose a spot closest to the basket. The refs will move quickly through there so that they are not in between the players and stanchion. If you can get out wide that can also be a good spot. If you have the means a remote camera set up away from your spot is another good way to make sure that you have coverage all of the time. No matter what though you will have a ref in your way during the game. The best that you can do is to limit their impact on your night.

Have The Ball Near The Hand For Dribbling

This is one that may just be my personal preference. When I first started I thought that the flat ball on the floor was a great shot. What I was quickly told was that it was not. You want to show that the player has control of the ball. By photographing it near the hand you show that control.

Go Wider For Big Moments

When I was younger the most iconic game photos of Michael Jordan would often be a little wider. They would tell the story of Mike hitting the game winning shot. I always liked those wider photos that told more of a story. A great tight action shot can be killer, but a wide shot like the one above can tell a lot about the game in a single photo.

Capture The Emotion

My favorite part about making sports photos is finding the emotion. That means staying on the player after the play a little longer to capture that emotion. You can check if you made the photo later. Stay in the lens and follow the play until it is over.

Don’t Forget The Bench! 

This sort of goes along with the last point. Players may be on the bench, but they can still be part of the gallery. Part of my routine late in games is to pan over to the bench after a big play. Those photos can really add to the gallery.

Gain The Trust Of The Players 

From day one this has been a goal of mine. When the players know that you have their best interests in mind they will open up to you more. You have to let them know that you will not show them in a bad light. That trust extends to the places that the public cannot see. If you want to keep getting access to the players only places in the stadium then you need to let everyone know that you are looking out for them. The behind the scenes photos are the most fun to make, and you get there by gaining the trust of everyone.

Stay Late

You got to the stadium early and photographed the game. You might want to rush back to the media room to start editing your photos. On this day I had gotten to the game far too early and scouted this spot out. I made a photo of Caitlin Clark that I liked here pregame, but after everything was said and done I made this photo of her long after the game ended heading back to the locker room. It was my favorite photo of the day, and also my last. There are things that happen after the game that can help tell the story of the night as well.

Bonus Tip: Have Fun!

This is an amazing thing that we get to do. We are capturing moments and preserving history, but that doesn’t mean that it is life or death. I have a lot of fun doing what I do. I take it very seriously, but I don’t take myself too seriously if you get what I am saying. Go out there, relax and have some fun.