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6. And finally, be prepared for the unexpected.
While it’s great to be able to follow all five of the prior Commandments, they’re not a straitjacket they are photography tips. Be alert for the possibility of something that makes a good picture, even though it’s elsewhere on the field and you couldn’t possibly anticipate it. In the words of the Boy Scouts, “Be prepared.”
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5. Anticipate where the action will be.
We’ve just referred to the “critical moment.” Those of you familiar with the works of Henri Cartier Bresson know he thought that every great photo resulted from capturing, what he called, the decisive moment. Let’s refer to it in baseball as the critical moment. While we’ve said you can’t always capture the critical moment, you certainly should try. And this means anticipating where the action is likely to occur.
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4. Show the player’s facial expression, if possible.
In photojournalism, they call this a “reaction shot.” This is one of many important baseball photography tips: It’s the look of triumph or tragedy written indelibly on the player’s face. It’s what every good photo editor looks for in baseball photos that will make tomorrow’s sports section.
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3. Use fast film or a fast ISO setting on a digital camera when taking baseball photos.
ISO 400 is good, 800 is better, and 1000 or 3200 is often even better — or absolutely necessary. That’s because you want to use the fastest possible shutter speed to stop the action. But what about graininess?
For years photographers worried about excess grain the way mothers worried about polio. Science has made both ills a thing of the past.
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2. Show the ball in your baseball photos.
When you shoot a baseball action photo, whether it’s the batter taking a mighty swing or a close play at first base, the picture is much more effective if it shows the ball too. Or, if you’re shooting the outfielder circling under a fly ball, try to capture the ball in the same picture so that we see the subject of the fielder’s concentration.
Of course, not every shot can show the ball. For example, the baseball photo showing the kids in the “dugout” while their team is at bat can’t show the ball. And there are some action shots that work fine without the ball: The runner sliding into third, for example, may make a great shot even if the ball is still on its way from the outfield. That means this is a “Commandment” that has to be used with intelligence.