I made the same mistake in two straight high school football games. Both times, a player came across the goal line toward me, and both times I was still on my longest lens. The result was a frame too tight to use. This is the second part of my high school football photography series, where I compare the plan I made before the season with what actually happened on the sideline.
Watch it here, then keep reading for the short version.
If you missed the first part, start with the gear, positions, and challenges I planned for.
At my first game of the season, I had the 300mm f/2.8 on my main camera with a 1.4x teleconverter. A teleconverter sits between the lens and the camera and multiplies the focal length, so that setup works out to about 420mm. A second camera with a 70-200mm hung on my right hip, an arm's length away.
At 420mm, a player far down the field fills the frame. Distractions disappear, and the player becomes the hero of the image. I fell in love with that look.
The trouble starts when the play comes to you. The offense was close to the end zone, and I had a hunch I should grab the 70-200. I didn't. The runner leaped across the goal line toward me, and I ended up with a frame that cut him off and left no context at all. It should have been a gallery image.
I told myself I'd do better. Then the second game happened. Same lens, same trap. My instinct said switch, and I didn't.
Part of it was rust. My anticipation, knowing where a play is headed before it gets there, was off that first night, and only repetition fixes that. The bigger issue was getting attached to a tool because it was working, even after it stopped being the right one for the moment.
You can crop a photo tighter. You can't uncrop it.
If I'd shot that touchdown on the 70-200, I could have cropped in later and still had a strong image. There's no way to bring back the parts of the player and the end zone that never made it into the frame. So when in doubt, go a little wider. Loose framing can be fixed in the edit. Too tight can't.
You don't need a 300mm to fall into this. If your longest lens is a kit zoom, the same trap is waiting at the long end. Zoomed all the way in feels great until the play runs right at you.
Before the season, I said I start ten to fifteen feet ahead of the line of scrimmage, not on it. I still ended up on the line more than once.
Right on the line, the players face each other, not you. You can still catch an offensive lineman backing up in pass protection or moving toward you on a run play. But you're better off starting ahead of the line, or a few feet behind it if the quarterback opens up toward your side when he throws.
My real confession from that first game: I followed the ball. There's only one, and it goes to a handful of players, usually the quarterback, a receiver, or a running back. That leaves out everyone whose work never comes with the ball in their hands.
I went back and counted. Out of roughly 90 images from that game, about 80 were in-game action. Leave out the celebrations and players running off the field, and I had about six images of an offensive or defensive lineman in action. Six. Everything else was someone catching, running with, or throwing the ball.
I didn't feel like I was following the ball. The numbers say I was. That's why it's worth going back through your images after a game. Pick your keepers, and also look for your habits.
Some of these are affiliate links. If you buy through them I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only list gear I actually use.
When you shoot football, do you mostly follow the ball, or do you make a point of covering linemen and defenders too? If you have tips for catching defenders making tackles, I'd really like to hear them. Those are some of the hardest shots for me to get.
Leave it in the comments on the video. I read all of them.
Next episode, I'm talking about stadium lights, including a setting I told you to turn on and then forgot to turn on myself.
Get out there and make beautiful images.