Strike one! Strike two! Strike three!Baseball! America's Pastime, and a sport growing in popularity throughout
world, where
Boys of Summer slug it out. A baseball game is
perfect way to spend a lazy summer afternoon, plus it provides opportunities to take photos that last a lifetime.
While many claim
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
photos they desire. Baseballs fly quickly when hit or thrown, and timing
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
following advice:
1) First, make sure you are allowed to bring your digital camera to
baseball game. Some ballparks have no restrictions, others on
zoom length, some on using flash, and some may not allow you into
baseball game at all with your camera!
2) Change your camera settings to take
quickest photographs possible while still providing plenty of light for
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
quicker
shutter speed,
less light enters
camera to take
picture. Thus, you'll need to compromise picture speed and
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
rules and nuances of
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
game! A three and a half hour game can put a tremendous strain on even
most power-miserly camera, and more often than not you will have to switch out power or memory in
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,
swing of a bat, or a forced out, don't get angry! More often than not, new opportunities will arise for great photographs.