TOMMY WILLIAMS / L’Observateur / March 20, 1999

“Baseball, hot-dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet!” Or is it “baseball, apple pie, hot dogs and Chevrolet?” Well, regardless of how you say it, baseball season is here.

Don’t ever believe that newspaper photographers are any different from any other photographers As the seasonal sports activities change, we too go through short periods of adjustment to accommodate for different types of photographic settings, such as football, soccer, basketball and baseball. Eventhough you may not notice, it takes time to make the transition from one sport to another.

Although each baseball field and team are different, there are a few basic photographic steps that always seem to remain constant throughout every baseball season. The correct film speed, camera position and lens selectionare the most important factors in getting a good or great baseball photo.

Fast film is a must. You’ll need 400 ASA film or higher to stop the action toget sharp, crisp photos. Besides the fast action of baseball, there are twoother reasons why you need fast film: some baseball games run late into to evening and you’ll be shooting longer lenses (70-210 or longer). Flashphotography is not usually allowed during late evening baseball games, and longer focal length lenses demand faster shutter speeds to avoid camera vibrations.

At this point, the camera position I’m speaking of, is your position around the baseball field. Baseball doesn’t always offer up a great deal of great cameralocations, so do your homework and ask the coaches about the limitations.

Normally you can get to the outside corner of either dugout. If your lens fitsand if the links are large enough, you can shoot directly through the fence from behind home plate. Each different camera position allows you to coveronly certain areas of the baseball field. Tip: If your camera position puts thesun behind the player, add +1 1/2 to 2 stop EV correction to your camera’s exposure meter to compensate for back light conditions.

Zoom lenses 70 to 210 mm or longer are almost a must for baseball. If youdon’t have a long lens, a photo of someone pitching a baseball 30 yards away looks like just another photo of someone pitching a baseball 30 yards. Longerfocal length lenses allow you to fill the frame with the subject and get in closer to the action. Tip: Pre-focus on an area and wait for the action to moveinto the camera frame, such as the pitcher, catcher or third baseman. It takesa little time to get the feeling of it, but you’ll learn where the play is heading.

Baseball is a fast sport and photo opportunities occur in a flash of a second, so don’t get disappointed if you feel your missing out on all the great shots.

There’s a great deal of luck involved in sports photography. You just got to bethere at the right moment.Back to Top

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