Making the Player Look Good

One of the most important factors in selling sports photography, is to always make sure that the pictures you're posting to your websites are flattering to the athlete.

In Cincinnati or Dayton Ohio, where I live and operate, I browse a lot of sports photographers websites and there seems to be a thought process that says, If it's stop action, it has to go in my gallery.

Many of the sports photographs that sell from my site are ones such as this. In fact this picture is the latest one bought on my site, just today.

I shot this sports photograph back in late July. I was photographing a men's softball tournament in Cincinnati at Rumpke Park.

I snapped about 10-12 shots in a series on this guys at bat and deleted all but two.

I think this player hit a routine fly ball in the shot, but the picture is presented in a way that makes him look like Superman. A welcomed addition to his wall or social networking site.

I chose to post this picture on my web site at http://CincinnatiSportsPhotography.com because it was very flattering to the player himself.

I see a lot of sports photographers that feel that they have to post every single frame that they shoot, cropped and un-cropped onto their sites. Many of those pictures have the athlete in an awkward pose, faces turned away from the camera or being used by the opposing team.

Not every shot will sell, but those that sell well, tend to show the player at his best.

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

Play Your Game

Playing within your game could also be interpeted as staying within your niche. When I was playing mens softball and traveling with a team every weekend, I never tried to be more than I was.

Out of 12 guys on the regular roster, I was probably the 8th or 9th, maybe 10th or 11th (depending on who you asked), best on the team. I was not a home run hitter and I didn't have a cannon for an arm.

What I was however was a .650 right handed hitter that made my living by hitting the ball to right center and painting the right field line, I was fast and I wouldn't embarass myself in the field. I was also willing to be the ultimate support player for the team by playing some catcher and riding the pine without throwing a Terrell Owens or Chad "Nacho Stinko" Johnson style temper tantrum.

All of those qualities had earned me a spot on the team that played about 200 games a year, so when I got to that team, I never tried to be anything other than that. As Clint Eastwood always used to say..."A man's got to know his limitations" and I knew mine.

Occasionally we would see some young up and coming ball player and invite him to play a tournament with the team. Inevetably, that player would, more times than not, forget what his game was and why we wanted him in the first place, and try to play outside of his game by swinging for the fences and attempting to do things he was not equipped for. The end result was, that he would be with us for a brief time and then we'd never call him again.

In photography, if you want to succeed and make a decent side income or one day a living, you've got to know your niche and play within you game.

My niche is sports photography. I can shoot wedding photogrphy, portrait photography and industrial or landscapes, but I know that in CINCINNATI or DAYTON, OHIO, when it comes to that type of photography, I'm very good at it. In fact I feel I'm the very best at it. I'm also good at marketing and promoting what I do and learning more every day.

I have many friends in photography who are skilled at various dicsiplines and do quite well in say PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY, SENIOR PORTRAITS, WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY and then I have freinds that are highly skilled at PHOTOSHOP and various forms of post photo processing. They tend to make a nice living at it.

In fact, I know a guy in West Chester by the name of Russ Miller, who is one of the very best family and portrait photographers in the world. The guy has become extremely prosperous at taking family and senior portraits. He demands the highest price and always gets it.

As a photographer, you have to know you game and stay within that game to succeed. When you have mastered that and own that niche, then broaden your horizons and master another one.

Most people that try to scratch out an income as photographers, are never quite sure what kind of photographer they want to be.

In one of my next posts, I'll talk about branding and being selective on what pictures you choose to post on your online portfolio,


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

Locked In

One of the events that I get asked to cover in Cincinnati when doing Sports Photography, is the Annual Rumpke Park, Metro Softball Tournament.

As a Sports Photographer in Cincinnati and Dayton, Ohio, I get to see a lot of sports. Softball players are a colorful bunch. However no less intense than a Cincinnati Reds ball player.

On this photograph, I was merely locked in on the 3rd baseman waiting for a hard shot to be hit his way. Although I never got the actual action photograph I wanted, I did get a sports photograph of a guy who was ready for anything that was coming his way.

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

Bat Rack

$2100.00 worth of softball bats, resting up against a dugout fence. The average cost of these bats is $300 each. I was shooting sports photography at the Cincinnati Softball Metro Tournament in 2008. While looking around for gallery fodder, I noticed all the colors of the bats lying in the dugout. I simply grabbed all of them, arrainged them in the color order I desired and snapped a few pictures for the portfolio.

I am always looking for images of the game that I can use for featured photographs in my galleries. I have revisited this technique many times in little league, girls softball, mens softball etc.

"Picture takers" never do this type of work Photographers on the other hand are always looking for the unusual.

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

Last Game

One of the smarter thing I did while shooting sports photography at the 2008 Cincinnati Metro softball tournament, was to grab a few shots of "The Men in Blue", otherwise known as the umpires.

Umpires can be your biggest ally in a game of any type, because they are generally hard working guys that have to put up with a lot of crap and no one ever takes a picture of them.

After taking a few pictures of these men and posting them at Cincysoftball.com, I was greeted by a senior umpire the next night and was introduced to the consession stand as he told them to give me anything I wanted as long as I was there.

Softball is one thing and the same principles often work for Highschool Baseball or Football. Those guys appreciate a good quality photo of their work.

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

Full Speed

Sometimes you're lucky in shooting a sports photograph and sometimes you're set up just right.

One of the things I look for when shooting a game is look of the athelete. In men's softball, you get a lot of different looks, shapes and sizes of ball players. An athlete that moves well, dresses well and presents himself as a professional, will always provide for some good photographic opportunities in a game.

Now while this is not the most important aspect of shooting a sports photograph that will sell to an individual player, they are great gallery photographs that advertise the quality of work that you do.

In this picture, during the 2008 Cincinnati Metro softball tournament at Rumpke Park in Cincinnati, I went and set up in the 3rd base dugout when I saw this player get a base hit. I knew he would be rounding second base and turning it on for third on the first base hit. I intentionally put myself in a position to catch the score board in the shot. The end result was a ball player that was "flying" to the bag and a great action shot.

Not every great sports shot has to be of a pro team like the Cincinnati Reds. In this case I captured a shot of a guy who was a very good athelete and more importantly, a picture he will buy.

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

Mad Max

I shoot a lot of interesting sports photos, in and around the Cincinnati area. One of my favorites that I get asked to shoot every year, is the Cincinnati Softball Metro Tournament for my friend, Andy Larkins at www.Cincysoftball.com

When marketed and posted properly, this tournament can net you several hundred dollars a day from shooting, editing and posting the pictures on an easy to find website. As a former softball player myself, I can tell you, big egos live in this sports and every "baller" loves a quality "Sports Illustrated" style shot of himself.

There is also plenty of color and variations at these games. This picture was shot from the 3rd base dugout with a Nikkor 80-200 2.8 lens. Classic Mad Max style shot. This is also a smart pitcher, as balls can come back at the pitcher in speeds in excess of 100mph.

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