Monday, November 7, 2011

Shooting a sports assignment

This was the first assignment that I felt very comfortable with. I have been shooting sports for three years, but only teams my son was on. I didn’t realize the difference this makes. I choose to photograph the Girls U14 Eastwood v/s Lake soccer game. This was a tournament game where the winner would move on to State Championships.
 
I arrived early and found out the game was delayed by one hour. I used the delay time to familiarize myself with both teams. I introduced myself to both coaches, and the referees. I got the rosters for each team so that I could correctly identify players. I also inquired about strong players. The person who gave me the most information was actually the referee, James Sewar. I was surprised that a referee would know the teams so well. He knew which players were strong and which ones he would keep an eye on.
As I began taking pictures I realized that it was very different than photographing my son’s soccer games.  I  didn’t know the strong players by their faces I knew their number. I also didn’t know who was where when they were running toward me. The game was a little disappointing because it was a very unemotional game.  Everyone was just very stone faced and polite!  
Another obstacle I encountered was lighting. There was only one side of the field that was not shooting into direct sunlight. The good thing about a soccer game is that they change sides at half time. This gave me the opportunity to shoot both teams coming for a goal.