One of the differences between a professional sports photographer and a sports picture taker is a creativity.
When I am shooting sports photography in the Dayton, Ohio or Cincinnati, Ohio regions, I not only will shoot the stop action pictures, but I also never quit looking for the art of the sport of in some cases, the strange and unique.
I was covering an NCAA Division 3 College Football game on a recent Saturday at the college of Mount St. Joseph. I was watching players warming up at pre-game and caught a glimpse of "The Beast".
This dude was a beast on the field as well! For a Division 3 football team like the Mount. St Joseph Lions, this guy was a Lawrence Taylor on the field. A strong side defensive end that was more than a handful for the visiting Wisconsin team.
Back to topic...
The "war paint", which is becoming very common these days, and the menacing look when I yelled, "Hey 99!", and for a great "Faces of the Game" picture. I already had my Nikon D200 and Nikkor 200 millimeter lens focused on him. After I got my shot, I gave him the thumbs up and he smiled and acknowledged.
As a photographer, I am generally very aggressive when I'm going after my shots. A lot of camera carrying picture takers will stand in one space and hope the picture comes to them. I'm a big believer that you have to go after your shots and you have to have the creativity to know what makes for good pictures and what doesn't.
Standing out and being unique takes work and effort, but it pays huge dividends when people begin to separate your art from the masses.
Lesson is, always have a game face on.
Posted by Cincinnati and Dayton Sports Photographer Vincent Rush of Monroe, Ohio. For more information (877) 858-6295
This is a GREAT shot.
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