Eaton Little League Video

Posted by Cincinnati and Dayton Sports Photographer Vincent Rush of Monroe, Ohio. For more information (877) 858-6295

Hornet Baseball 2010

2010 Monroe Hornet Baseball video by Vincent Rush of Cincinnati Sports Photography http://cincinnatisportsphotography.com/

Posted by Cincinnati and Dayton Sports Photographer Vincent Rush of Monroe, Ohio. For more information (877) 858-6295

Game Winner

Maybe even better than the sports action photograph shot by a professional sports photographer with the best Nikon or Canon equipment, is the "Moment" shot.

I was shooting, not the Cincinnati Reds, but the Eaton, Ohio, Henny Penny Reds of the Eaton Little League Association.

As a meaningless side note, I used to work at Henny Penny in the warehouse in 1986 and I played softball for Henny Penny that same year.

I had been watching this player crush the ball all day and he was beginning to dial in the pitcher. I just happened to catch him in full swing, dropping the bat and taking the home run trot on this series, but the best picture of all was the "Moment" he was swamped by his team mates as he had hit the game winning blast.

The ONLY thing that would have made this shot any better, would have been if he had just held his head up.

Being a great sports photographer in my opinion has a lot to do with anticipation and a feel for the flow of the game.

People will ask me at CINCINNATI SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY http://cincinnatisportsphotography.com

how I always seem to be in the right place at the right time. I often comment that I study the game that I am covering and I pay attention to the players tendencies. Sure I attribute luck to it also, but there is nothing more rewarding than being at that right place at that exact moment and you look up and the other photographers are standing around comparing the size of their lenses...or what ever they discuss in their huddle.

Posted by Cincinnati and Dayton Sports Photographer Vincent Rush of Monroe, Ohio. For more information (877) 858-6295

Another Example...Amatures vs. Professionals

Here are sports photographs of the same pitcher for the A's of Eaton, Ohio Little League. One picture is your typical "GWC" (Guy With Camera) or unfortunately, what a lot of wanna be sports photographers post on their web site for viewing and possibly purchasing.

As one can easily see, the one picture was shot during warm ups with no concern for all the non essential distracting background noise. You have players not paying attention to the warm up pitches and telling the viewer that this is not even a "Game Time" picture.

The athlete is caught in an awkward body position that is very unflattering to the subject and the angle of the shot is a "Grandstand View" at best.

There is also no contrast adjustments, color correction or selective cropping.

I actually shot both of the pictures to illustrate a point.

The more professional angle of the pitcher was also shot in between innings during his warm up tosses. As a Dad buying the picture to frame up on my wall in my man cave for all of my friends to see, it's obvious which picture makes my son look like he is bringing some serious heat, and which picture makes my kid look like "he's at that awkward stage".

If you want people to value your skills as a sports photographer, you yourself have to place a value on your brand, your style and your attention to detail as a professional photographer.

by Cincinnati and Dayton Sports Photographer Vincent Rush of Monroe, Ohio. For more information (877) 858-6295

Professional Quality Sports Photographs vs. Picture Takers

I purposely used one of the pictures I took at a recent girls softball game in Monroe, Ohio to illustrate the difference in a quality sports photograph and what the majority of picture takers consider sports photography.

Both images came from the same play thanks to my Nikon motor drive. the picture on the bottom is awkward, tells no story, is not cropped and uncorrected in any way. Now if I'm a Dad or a Mom, I like looking at the snap shot if it's my kid, but it does nothing to flatter my favorite ball player.

We all take hundreds of shots just like this, with an awkward pose or twist, but one should consider every shot the post on a web site as a portfolio picture and take more care.

Posted by Cincinnati and Dayton Sports Photographer Vincent Rush of Monroe, Ohio. For more information (877) 858-6295

Blogger Buzz: Blogger integrates with Amazon Associates

Blogger Buzz: Blogger integrates with Amazon Associates

Posted by Cincinnati and Dayton Sports Photographer Vincent Rush of Monroe, Ohio. For more information (877) 858-6295

Positioning of Your Subjects

When shooting sports photography, many times you're at the mercy of elements that are out of your control.

If you're photographing the Cincinnati Reds for example, you may be relegated to a "Photographers Pit" or if covering the Cincinnati Bengals or any other NFL or College team, only be granted access to certain areas of the playing field, thereby limiting your ability to properly frame up your subject.

In conditions or enviornments where you do have total access however, it is always good to utilize whatever backgrounds you can to enhance the overall picture.

In this sports photograph, one can see that I clearly positioned myself so that the scoreboard became the back drop.

Too many "sports photographers" are merely picture takers and not really photographers. In todays digital world, anyone can grab a camera and shhot untill they land a big one.

Being a "Photographer", be it Sports Action Photography, Portrait Photography or Event Photography, involves more than just "point and shoot". One must be cognizant of all elements that he or she is faced with.

Posted by Cincinnati and Dayton Sports Photographer Vincent Rush of Monroe, Ohio. For more information (877) 858-6295

Sport-trait Photography

Sportrait Photography or Sportraiture Photography, I'm not really sure because I just made that term up....

Has been a cornerstone to a moderately successful youth sports photography business for me over the past three years.

Like any good quality portrait be it family or individual, capturing the natural expressions or nuances of a subjects personality is what can often separate a good photographer from the GWC (Guy With Camera) or picture taker as I like to refer to them.

Aside for high quality sports photojournalistic shots that tell stories of the moment, I also like to capture the tightly cropped close ups of the subject in action. While none of these types of shots are necessarily news worthy, they are highly attractive to the parents.

None of these shots would be a typical Cincinnati Reds action photo or a Sports Illustrated article shot.

One of the best compliments I get from people is that they instantly recognize my particular style of photographs.

On a final note, one of the key elements in any of these so called "Sportraits" is the eyes. Without the eyes in the picture as being clearly focused and sharp, it is nearly impossible to capture the personality of the player.

I have an entire collection of these photographs that I hope to one day compile in a book entitled, "Game Face" or "The Face of Sport"

In my next posting, I'll discuss the "less is more" philosophy of loading random shots from a game or activity on your web site.



Posted by Cincinnati and Dayton Sports Photographer Vincent Rush of Monroe, Ohio. For more information (877) 858-6295

Batters Eye View

One of my favorite shots when shooting sports photography, especially baseball, is hat I call, "The Batters Eye View".

There is not a more action packed, intense, story valued picture than the pitcher staring straight into your camera and the ball coming straight at you.

Technically, it is a simple shot to set up. The trick is getting the perfect harmony of pitchers position, and ball flight coming into frame, without being so high that you have to extend your crop zone.

In this sports photograph, I caught Monroe High school Freshman pitcher, Jake Little at the perfect moment. I used a little selective color technique to jazz it up a bit and cropped to an 8 x 10 frame.

Sports Photography and Photo Journalism, when done right should leave no question in the viewers mind as to what is happening. Too many aspiring "sports photographers" think that because they managed to get a "suspended in air" stop action shot, that they have an award winner on their hands.

It's not enough to freeze the action, you've got to be able to tell a story. A picture should be worth a thousand words, not a hundred question marks.

Posted by Cincinnati Sports Photography and Dayton Sports Photographer Vincent Rush of Monroe, Ohio. For more information (877) 858-6295

Last Batter

Posted by Cincinnati and Dayton Sports Photographer Vincent Rush of Monroe, Ohio. For more information (877) 858-6295