You Only Get One Shot! That's Why You Hire a Professional Photographer.

I get phone calls all the time from a Mom or a Dad, asking me to give a price to come out and photograph their son or daughter playing a particular sport or a coach will call me to come and shoot a team in an event.

My prices are not the cheapest. I generally charge between $250-$400 per event, depending on the circumstances.

While I don't get a lot of resistance to my pricing, due to the reputation I have as a sports photographer, I still occasionally do get the; "Wow! That's pretty high."

My response is always one of two questions, depending on what mood I am in.

Response one: "Are you referring to price or cost?" or "What criteria do you use when choosing a professional sports photographer?"

Are you paying for photos or are you paying for memories?

If you are simply buying pictures, find someone with a camera from Best Buy and give them $25 and let them post 400 shots on their website.

If you have a special occasion and you want it captured for a keepsake, you need a professional.

When you hire a professional sports photographer to shoot action photos of a sporting event, you are not only paying for their time and effort, you are paying for their experience, knowledge of the game flow, understanding angles and momentum and anticipation.

You paying a professional sports photographer for their professional grade cameras with extreme low light capabilities. You're renting their high speed professional grade lenses that can run $8000 to $10,000.00.

I've shot tens of thousands of action photos in little league baseball, select ball, football, basketball and other sports.

Every now and then I capture a moment like this.

Eaton, Ohio 8th grade basketball player Donnie Nicodemus was driving to the hoop in the Southwestern Buckeye League Championship game in Camden, Ohio at Preble Shawnee High School recently.

The lighting in the gym was not the worst I've shot in, but it wasn't good either.

I was shooting a Nikon D700 with a Nikor 80-200mm 2.8 lens and 5000 ISO and 1/800th of a second.

When I grabbed this frame and looked at the image, I realized that I had gotten Donnie's Mom in the background.

This wasn't just a picture, but rather a lifetime keepsake for Mom and son.

There is no greater satisfaction as a professional sports photographer than presenting a parent with a shot like this. I've shot a lot of pictures of Donnie as a result of little league photography. One I shot of him this past year was this pitching photo, with the Eaton Express, which became one of my favorites.

Why do you pay a professional photographer vs "Mom or Guy with Best Buy camera", you don't pay a professional for pictures and images. You hire a professional for memories that will hold a special place in your heart and soul for years to come.


Posted by Monroe Ohio photographer Vincent Rush, Cincinnati Sports Photography and Dayton Sports Photography of Monroe Ohio. Vince Rush can be contacted by phone at (877) 858-6295 or by email at vrush@rushintl.com or visit http://CincinnatiSportsPhotography.com

Vincent Rush is a an Ohio based professional sports photographer that primarily serves as a Dayton Sports Photographer and  Cincinnati sports photographer.

The A List:: Super Sports

 Little League Sports Action Photograph of Eaton Ohio Little Leaguer, by Vincent Rush of Cincinnati Sports Photography

Robert Beck is a Sports Illustrated contract photographer with over 25 years experience shooting all manner of sports events. He's as comfortable applying his skills to his son's flag football game as he is to prowling the sidelines at the Super Bowl. We recently asked him to share some tips from his A-list of sports shooting advice.

• The first thing I look at is the background. Whatever the action is, the background will complete the picture. I don't want a busy background—a lot of fences or light glaring off a fence. A lot of people in the stands are okay, but I don't want one person walking by or just standing around. Some sports are good with the bench as background, like lacrosse or football, with coaches and players behind the action. Shooting Little League is trickier. The field is an odd shape, and I try to crop out distractions. I shoot the batter so the bench is in the background as opposed to two parents and otherwise empty aluminum stands reflecting light. The rule of thumb: real clean or real real.

• The first lens in my kit is the 70-200mm zoom lens [AF-S VR Zoom-NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8G IF-ED]. Very sharp, very fast, and if I have to shoot through a fence, I shoot wide open and the fence won't even show. It also offers me a lot of flexibility in composing; too tight, I zoom out, too loose, zoom in. My next lens is the 200-400mm [AF-S VR Zoom-NIKKOR 200-400mm f/4G IF-ED]; fabulous for any sport, just perfect.

• I'm shooting D3 right now almost exclusively. I also have a D700 and a D300. Focusing is quick on all, but the D3 is a little faster in its burst. But I suggest you don't get caught up in shooting sequences. In reality the high point of action is really one or two frames, especially in sports where a ball is struck. The ball is only going to be in there for one frame, and if a kid is fielding the ball, the ball's only there for three frames. Generally, five frames per second is fast enough.

• The truth is that professional sports are almost easier to shoot. The younger the kids, the less you can anticipate—they don't have a sense of timing like the pros or older kids; the young kids are all a little bit off the timing. Be prepared.

Posted by Monroe Ohio photographer Vincent Rush, Cincinnati Sports Photography and Dayton Sports Photography of Monroe Ohio. Vince Rush can be contacted by phone at (877) 858-6295 or by email at vrush@rushintl.com or visit http://CincinnatiSportsPhotography.com Check out my about.me profile!

How to Photograph Winter Landscapes by Moose Peterson

 

West Yellowstone by Cincinnati Photographer Vincent Rush

When Moose Peterson starts talking about photographing winter landscapes, you tend to pay attention. In fact, if you're like us, you take notes. As a renowned nature and wildlife photographer, Moose brings experience and expertise to the subject. He also brings an appreciation of the beauty of the winter world and a realization of its challenges.

Because we were taking notes, we can share his tips with you.

White Out
What was once the bane of winter photos is now past tense. You guessed it: blue or gray snow. Here's what used to happen: the camera's meter would read the vast white world as a vast overexposure, and to compensate the camera's autoexposure system would set faster shutter speeds or smaller apertures; either would effectively cut down the amount of light reaching the film or the sensor. Simply, the meter didn't know that all that white was what you really wanted. Moose remembers those days, and how he'd use +1/3 or +2/3 or more exposure compensation to let in more light and bring white back to white.

These days it's pretty much a non-issue. "With any Nikon D-SLR, I go with Matrix metering and aperture-priority exposure and that's it," Moose says. "I don't dial in any exposure compensation." And if some of the snow gets blown out—that is, overexposed—it's no problem. "White snow doesn't need to have a whole lot of detail for your mind to know its snow. In the majority of photos you'll take, you don't need to see the individual crystals of the snow."

In addition, it's also likely that the shadow areas of the scene will be filled in by all the light bouncing off the snow. "You won't have a lot of shadow area to deal with," Moose says, "and neither will your meter. The exposure range is mostly in the highlight area."

Things might be different when the sun's not out. "On an overcast or cloudy day, you might get a blue cast to the snow. I don't mind that so much at all—it helps suggest just how cold the scene is. What's the color of cold, after all? Blue."

But if you want the snow to whiten up, an exposure compensation of +1/3 or +2/3 should do the trick. Take a photo, check the LCD, adjust as needed.

Also, keep in mind that when you're shooting in snow, chances are you're not just photographing the snow. There's a person, a tree, an animal, a house...maybe a snowman. "And, once again, the snow in the scene acts like a giant fill card and bounces light around," Moose says, "and bounced light will be softer and more flattering for your picture."


Contrast
The winter landscape doesn't have to be all white to tell its seasonal story. For example, check out the sixth photo, taken on the Madison River in Yellowstone National Park. "What are you doing in a photograph?" Moose asks, and then he answers: "You're telling a story. Well, in the Madison River photo I put the autofocus sensor on the trees in the sun, which insured that they'd be sharp, of course, but which also biased the exposure toward the sun, so the shadows on the left went to black. I framed the shot for that effect, for that contrast. The story I'm telling is that there's a transition taking place: spring is coming."

Color
Winter will almost always provide its share of color—you just have to seek it out. Sometimes chasing the light will do the trick. (And when you catch the light, check its direction. "Look for sidelighting," Moose says. "It'll give you more definition in your subject because the shadows are revealing texture and detail.")


"What you're doing is fine tuning the photo," Moose says. "In effect, you're warming up or cooling down the winter landscape." How much fine tuning will suit the scene you're shooting? That's up to your taste and judgment; take a picture at any setting and check the results.

Moose also remind us that the colder the air, the better the color. "Cold air is clearer," he says, "and there are often ice crystals in the air that cause light to diffract; you get really brilliant, pretty-picture colors. So you want to be photographing at sunrise and sunset—the coldest parts of the day."

Moose calls the tenth photo, taken in the Bridger Mountains of Montana, "one of the top five sunrises of my life." To get it, he had to be there at 4:45 in the morning—in the dark, in the cold and in the storm. "Some of the best photo opportunities happen when winter storms begin and end," he explains. "That's when the drama comes—when the light is trying to burst through. I took this photo as the storm was clearing out." So check weather reports or the weather app on your smart phone.

Comfort Zone
"Snow photography is only fun if you're comfortable," Moose says. "The right boots are essential. Look for high-tech snow boots that are rated to keep you warm down to zero. Next, gloves and hat. I'm a glove fanatic, I admit it. I never go to an outdoor shop without looking at the gloves. For basic snow shooting, when you'll be out for fun for a couple of hours, I recommend gloves that are made for cross-country skiing; they're ideal—very flexible, with good insulation. For hardcore, out-all-day shooting, my choice is ice climbing gloves. They have extra insulation on the top of the glove that keeps your hands warm. Hats? A personal thing—you'll know what works best for you.

Gear Protection
"It's not like the old days when you had to weatherproof your gear," Moose says. "I've taken all the Nikon digital cameras, from COOLPIX to D3X, out in minus 20-degree weather and never had a problem.
"What you should think about, though, is taking your gear from a warm place—a building or a car—out into the cold. Don't breathe on any glass; if you avoid moisture in the beginning, you won't have moisture problems.

"My gear is in the camera bag when I'm not shooting. When I come back at night to my home or to a hotel, the gear's going to be cold, and if I just take it out of the bag I'll get the condensation cycle started, which is exactly what I don't want. So I take the camera gear out, put it on the counter or the bed, pop out the memory cards from the cameras and put a clean white towel over everything and let it all sit there until it comes to room temperature. All the condensation forms on the towel and is absorbed. You don't have to do this in a hurry, there's no rush—but do it. When it's all at room temperature, stow it back in the bag and you're ready for the next day or the next time.

"And if I'm in and out of a vehicle all day when I'm working, I keep a white towel on the gear when it's out of the bag."

Walk Right In (Not!)
"Think of where you're walking," Moose says, "and when you're walking there. You don't want to walk through a scene looking for subjects or vantage points and then realize that the nice virgin field of snow is now covered with your footprints. Think ahead."

Any Way the Wind Blows
 "I always look for places where the wind is blowing. When there's steam or snow or ice crystals in the air, the picture tells the viewer, 'It's cold!' Again, what's the story? What's the message?"

In a word: winter. And though Moose travels to some exotic places—and even conducts a winter workshop in Yellowstone—he also tells winter's story from close-to-home locations. He took the seventh photo practically from his backyard and the second and third images about a block away.
So if you're lucky enough to live in a place where snow visits you, or if you're going to be a visitor to a snowy region of the country, keep your camera close at hand.

Lessons from Behind the Lens of a Legendary Wildlife Photographer, at his website, www.moosepeterson.com.

Posted by Monroe Ohio photographer Vincent Rush, Cincinnati Sports Photography and Dayton Sports Photography of Monroe Ohio. Vince Rush can be contacted by phone at (877) 858-6295 or by email at vrush@rushintl.com or visit http://CincinnatiSportsPhotography.com

Forget Resolution and ISO

Resolution and ISO are silly numbers used to try to sell you more expensive cameras.

Resolution, expressed in megapixels, is no longer relevant. Forget it when comparing cameras. I've made great 12 x 18" (30x45cm) prints from a 3MP camera and 40x60" (100x 150cm) prints from a 6MP camera. 6 Megapixels is all anyone needs for anything, and every camera here has two or three times that.
Resolution is nothing more than a sales pitch to get you to pay more.

Now that every camera has double-digit megapixels, camera makers invented another meaningless number they can use to extract more cash from the innocent, called ISO.
ISO is a rough measure of sensitivity to low light. It only matters if you shoot in the dark, and then shoot without flash. As soon as your flash pops up, the higher ISOs aren't used anyway. Even if you learn how to use the higher ISO settings of your camera (few people do), there isn't much difference between cameras of the same type and era, regardless of cost. All the higher ISO settings do is make the picture look grainier, and the cameras that sport the highest ISO settings look horrible at those settings!

This said, DSLRs are a zillion times better in the dark than point-and shoots, and the newest point-and-shoots like the Canon S95 are superb for use at night without flash as well.

Don't buy a camera because a salesman tries to smoke you with gibberish like megapixels or ISOs. They have nothing more to do with a camera's quality than the number of spot-welds used to assemble your car
These things are easy to measure, which is irrelevant because the factors that really matter don't have numbers attached to them.

Posted by Monroe Ohio photographer Vincent Rush, Cincinnati Sports Photography and Dayton Sports Photography of Monroe Ohio. Vince Rush can be contacted by phone at (877) 858-6295 or by email at vrush@rushintl.com or visit http://CincinnatiSportsPhotography.com

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

Do Your Pictures Tell A Story

I recently had a great conversation with a Sports Illustrated photographer out of Orlando, Florida about sports photography.

I asked him his opinion on my work and any area that I needed to improve upon. He paid me a very high compliment when he simply said "connections". He went on to clarify that he felt that my particular style was every bit as good as the Sports Illustrated work of today. All I needed was the connections to get in the door.

That was fine and very flattering but I really wanted to know why he felt that my work was that good because obviously that's either very flattering or he just wanted to be nice.

"Your good at telling a story with your pictures. I look at a Vincent Rush or a Cincinnati Sports Photography shot and I don't have to wonder about what was going on. There is always a focus on the action and the subject in the middle of it. All good sports photographs tell a story."

I thought about that over the weekend and then took those comments and looked at some other Dayton, Cincinnati and Monroe, Ohio sports photography websites and saw a whole new perspective on what other "Sports Photographers" are shooting.

I think that there are those that think that simply a good stop action shot is enough. However if there is no central point of focus or you look at the picture and your first instinct is...awkward, because the player is suspended in the air, head in one direction feet in opposite and no ball in the frame, you're like..."What the ????" or the players are suspended in mid air. Is this a Chris Angel act or what is actually going on?

If I'm a Dad or Mom that is going to shell out good money for an 8 x 10 of my son or daughter in football, baseball or soccer, I want a shot that makes my kid look like Carson Palmer, Jay Bruce or Beckham, not Forrest Gump.

Now granted, my little personal athlete, more often than not, looks like Gump in the shots I take, but I only post and brand myself with the sports photographs that make him look like a straight up "baller".

I don't want a shot of my kid looking like a confused scarecrow on the field. If I have a daughter playing Volley Ball, I don't want to buy and especially see shots of her butt cheeks as she is jumping off balance to block a spike, posted on the Internet.

I recently saw a series of soccer pictures that were the oddest looking collection of images that I've seen a sports photographer post. It looked more like an interpretive dance class than an actual soccer game. There was one shot of a long haired kid that as a result of jumping in the air, looked more like a kid in a fright wig than a kid who just hit a "header", which is what he did, but the ball was no where in the frame, just a weird looking picture of a of a kid levitating with a bad case of static electricity or "balloon hair".

The picture I posted today was shot during a 2007 match up with Anderson High school vs. Turpin. My subject, a private client was the kid in the air in this shot that headed the ball into the net. Now this wasn't even the best shot, but I couldn't find it for this post. But even this picture tells a clear story and the series is currently framed on the family wall. The coolest thing about this picture, is that his Mom shed a few tears when she saw it.

Every picture needs to tell a story. That, according to my friend from Sports Illustrated, is a key to being an effective sports photographer.


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

Competition?

There’s always enough to go around…for the good guys.

I was shooting sports photography one night in Cincinnati at local high school football game and I noticed that there were probably 7 other photographers hanging around the football field. Well, let me clarify, three of us were photographers and 4 were camera operators.

The question from one of the other photographers who I am on friendly terms with, commented, “Looks like we got some competition tonight!”

I looked him in the eye and replied, “Not really. Look who is out here. Now look at their gear.” I pointed out to him that only one other guy even had a mono pod. Three guys had kit lenses that had maximum apertures or 4.5 wide open and only one guy actually had a professional grade camera, a Nikon D2x.

Now at the risk of sounding arrogant, I kept my mouth shut about my next thoughts which were, I have no competition because I’m the best out here and at the end of the night, no one will get the shots that I do. More times than not, that is the case.

Keep in mind that I am not talking about going up against the same guys that shoot for the Cincinnati Reds or the NFL Photographers that cover teams like the Cincinnati Bengals. I’m talking about the guys like myself...that dream of doing that!

Which is basically true in most cases. Every now and then I am just not on top of my game. But if you’re going to succeed at what you do, you have to believe that you are the best and not feel threatened by every one that enters your playing field.

I’m a photographer first and a sports photographer second. I have the ability to see a picture where no one else sees it. I am also a networker and a marketer. I have learned through my years building and running a successful Amway business as a Founders Emerald, how to build relationships and relate to all types of personalities. Actually, everything I have learned about people skills, relationships, marketing and business philosophy has been as a result of my nearly 20 years in Amway, or should I say my mentors and reading 2-3 books a month for the past 18 years.

Learning to create you own opportunities is a secret to any successful endeavor in life. I see lots of people show up on the fields that I am shooting at, but I have yet to feel threatened by other photographers. I know there will always be people that love my work and people that don’t. You can’t win the world and the fact is that there is enough to go around but not if you wait for it to come to you. You have to go out and grab it.

Good Cincinnati sports photography has lead to good Cincinnati portrait photography and Cincinnati event photography which has lead to more contacts, more money, better equipment and on and on.

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

You Can Bet Your Glass!

Ever wonder how it seems that the guys with the big cameras and huge lenses get the outstanding shots time after time? Must be the camera…right? I mean, you were in almost the same position, taking the same shot with your point and shoot or your Nikon D90 with the provided kit lens.

In my opinion, all things being equal, such as position and angle, it is more often than not, the lens. You don't need a Cincinnati Reds Press Pass to get outstanding baseball shots, if you have great seats and an even better lens.

I get people ask me all the time about upgrading their cameras for several hundred dollars to get 1 or 2 more mega pixels.

Many times, weather you’re shooting portrait photography of sports photography; you may already have a camera suitable for capturing the same quality of sports photography that I will typically display. What you don’t have, is a quality piece of glass, or lens on your camera.

I shoot the same quality sports action pictures with my $1700 Nikon D200 as I could with a $5000 Nikon D3.

The glass, along with a choice selection depth of field, say 5.6 or higher, will go a long way to capturing that sharp depth of field in your sports photographs.

The length of the lens, will give your pictures that compression factor that is a trade mark in professional sports photography.

In other words, a 50 millimeter lens will give a more accurate relationship between your subject and the background. A 200 millimeter lens will draw that background in close to your subject matter giving it the “Pro” look and feel.

In this picture of Go-Kart racers, I was at G&J Kartway in Camden, Ohio, a nationally recognized professional go-kart track where the likes of NASCAR driver Tony Stewart have gotten their starts.

I used a Nikkor 80-200 millimeter lens and a mono pod and set this shot up where I knew there would be close competition in an S curve.

It took me about 6 attempts to get these guys in just the right position as they were racing.

The 200 millimeter lens gives the illusion that the back two racers are literally hooked up bumper to bumper and makes for an intense action shot.

Any other camera or lens would have shown you that there was ample separation between the three of them.

I you aspire to be a quality sports photographer, the one investment you’ll never go wrong on would be your lenses. You can “bet your glass” that the photographer with the better lenses will always capture the best sports photographs of your event.

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

Capture Cincinnati 2009

Well Capture Cincinnati 2009 has almost officially wrapped up for this year and to be hones with you, I’m kind of glad. It routinely takes up too much of my already limited attention span as it is.

I first jumped on board with the program last year after seeing an article in Cin Weekly while at my local Fitworks Health Club

I thought it would be a good way to see how I could stack up against the masses of photographers from the area and assumed it was a legitimate well respected publication.

I’m not saying that any of those things aren’t true, but what it really is amounts to a very clever marketing idea that steals a page from the old high school “Who’s Who, Among American high school Students” books.

I was a marginal C & D student in high school at prestigious Preble Shawnee in Camden, Ohio in the late 70’ and early 1980’s when I received a notice in the mail that I, Vincent Rush, had been selected as a member…and for only $35 dollars my picture and a copy of the book would be delivered to my home.

Well, what parent could resist forking over the $35 dollars for the bragging rights of her specially selected son as one of the top high school students in America?

So along comes Capture Cincinnati and without pontificating through several long arduous paragraphs, what aspiring photographer could refuse to fork over $29 to see his or her picture published in a hard bound coffee table book? Possibly even buy a few for friends and family!!!!

Enough photographers get one picture in the book and the publishers are already profitable. All the extra books are “gravy”. It’s a can’t miss scenario. I work in commercial print and I can tell you that each book costs very little to produce. WISH I HAD THOUGHT OF IT!!!!!

Now there is a voting system in place where supposedly your work will be published based on it’s acceptance by the photography community who approves your shots or rejected as a result of the masses of negative votes, cast by all those who either genuinely do not like your pictures or try to “vote you out of their way”.

I believe there is some validity to the seemingly sophisticated algorithms they use, but I have to be honest with you, I think the editors then actually choose among the best and put a book together that is attractive.

Now I’ll admit that it was pretty cool to get 5 of my pictures published last year and win a 3rd place award, but one of my pictures that they used was not that good and did not garner a lot of votes, rather it “just fit” the theme.


And there were also some pictures I remember that literally kicked butt in popularity, were far better than mine and never even got into the book.

So this year I shifted my focus of what I was out to accomplish. I used the contest to showcase my sports photography.

Not to the large percent of photographers in the book, because why would any of them ever call you to come shoot pictures? But rather the small handful of professional sports photographers that enter their own and people from marketing firms and local media that actually see the work.

Last year after the contest was over and I got my $25 gift card to Dillard’s for a 3rd place prize, I started getting a few calls from people such as “The Cincinnati Business Courier”, WLWT, Cincinnati Convention and Visitors Bureau, Cincinnati Reds, etc.

I then realized that Capture Cincinnati was not so much a legitimate photography contest, but another marketing tool for me to establish my brand.

So in 2009 my focus was totally removed from getting pictures “published” (although I will be flattered) but rather “displaying” an assortment of stunning action and sports photography, Cincinnati or not, for the eyeballs that really matter when it comes to achieving my own long term goals of shooting professional sports…professionally.

Because as I said before, what photographer in the book is going to call me up and ask if I will come shoot their family portraits or senior pictures?

Because of my posts this year alone I have gotten calls to shoot NCAA Football, Division 1 High School football and a few newspaper assignments. I have even had further talks with the Cincinnati Reds.

As I’ve said before, “if you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there. The difference between good photographers that make money and good photographers that would like to make money is marketing and knowing what you’re trying to accomplish.


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

Establishing Your Brand and Name

I was recently asked by another young sports photographer if I thought that he should ever give anything away for free.

“Why do you ask?” I replied.

“Another photographer told me that I should never, ever give any of my work away.”

“Are you a threat to that photographer or is your stuff that good?” I asked.

When I started shooting sports photography a couple of years ago, I had a Nikon D2x that a good friend of mine by the name of Larry Winters had just given me. Larry is one of the most successful people in the Amway business and one of the biggest givers that I have ever known. Knowing that I love photography, this was a token of appreciation for some work that I had done for him.

I started shooting in Eaton, Ohio where my son played baseball at the time. I would also shoot other kids during the games and hand out pictures the following week at the park.

At the time, I was considering establishing myself in the Eaton market. There is a photographer there by the name of Pat Taylor www.pattaylorphoto.com who has been in business since 1971.

In the opinion of many, partially due to envy and partially do to a perceived lack of people skills and arrogance, many people have been begging for someone to come in and give a much better option to the community.

Now, Eaton which I believe has about 35,000 people also has about a half dozen photographers.

Most of them fail in a relatively short time, not because of talent or creativity, but a poor business plan.

See Pat has a monopoly on the “Cash Cow” of photography. Senior Portraits, School Pictures and Team Photography. That alone keeps him profitable and in business.

Most photographers, who in my opinion are light years ahead of Taylor in their abilities, try to open up shop and establish their brand a reputation while funding a business. That in itself is a recipe for disaster.

My plan was to spend a few years establishing my brand and name, first by giving away and then by gradually charging through my website ( http://CincinnatiSportsPhotography.com ) until people started coming to me and asking me if I would be interested in bidding on team and school portrait photography. (Which has already started to happen)

Pat would eventually retire, sell the business or health challenges would get the best of him, and at that point, I would open up shop, having already built a solid reputation and a well established brand.

Meanwhile, a dozen or more photographers will have come and gone in that time frame.

So the answer to the question for this young photographer really came down to what was he trying to accomplish and what were his goals. If his goal was to make a couple of dollars, with no real perceived value to his work, then by all means, squeeze every penny you can. On the other hand, if the goal is to build your reputation until people offer to pay you for your work, then sew some seed in the form of free 4 x 6 or digital images.



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

War Paint

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

Colerain Cardinal Football

For more Colerain Cardinal Football Sports Photography, visit Http://CincinnatiSportsPhotography.com

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

It's All Subjective

It's all a matter of personal taste and the client is the only taste that matters when you're marketing and selling your services.

I'll share a simple story to make my point.

I have a niche for SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY. It's my comfort zone. I, like any other self respecting professional SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHER, feel I'm one of the best at it. Not because my camera is better, or because I have a special set of skills other photographers don't, but rather because I work a sidelines as good as anyone and go places other photographers won't to get the unique angle or perspective on a shot.

But because of my SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY and my own unique blend of marketing, I have started to have the opportunity to branch out and begin doing some other style jobs.

One such experience was when I received a call from a Monroe, Ohio resident by the name of Kristina Centers. She has seen nothing but sports Photographs from me on http://mainstreetmonroe.com.

Kristina is developing a line of clothing called "FIGHT HER", http://fighther.com , kind of a "WARRIOR CHICK" style t-shirt line.

She wanted to know if I could shoot some pictures of her models as a CINCINNATI PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHER for the website. I said sure. To tell you the truth, I was way out of my comfort zone on this one.

So I head out with my NIKON D200, NIKON SB 800 SPEED LIGHT and my GARY FONG LIGHTSPHERE and the bottom line is, the shoot was 4+ hours and at the end of the day, it was a success.

After editing pictures and delivering them to her, and her models...everyone was thrilled and most importantly, the style, look and feel of the pictures fit with the theme and style of her clothing line.

At the end of the day...Client happy...mission accomplished. And as a result, I had some outstanding portrait photography for possibly picking up SENIOR PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY in MONROE, CINCINNATI or DAYTON, OHIO.

Now to the point I was trying to make.

I have a friend who has worked hard to carve out a niche for themselves as a small time wedding and portrait photographer. And to be honest with you, I really admire that persons tenacity and how far they've come in just a couple of short years. I'm a big fan. However, I rarely see anything my friend shoots that I would allow on my web page or show as portfolio pictures. I really do not like their style.

With that being said, I never offer advice because, "unasked for advice is criticism", but I personally don't think they are very good.

But that's ok, because I am not one of their clients and the clients that they shoot for, think they are outstanding. An at the end of the day, that's all that really counts.

So just for grins, I asked photographer friend to look at my portraits and critique my work. I received comments such as, your lighting is all wrong, white balance is off, top of camera flash did not help, etc.

I was mad for about 5 minutes and then I realized that their opinion really wasn't what mattered, it was the client.

Photographers in general can be very critical of other photographers work. When I was in the Navy and going through photography school, I used to hate hanging out with other photograpraphers, because they were all Ansel Adams in their own minds, and a simple trip to the movies, would turn into a cinematography critique session.

As a PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHER, EVENT PHOTOGRAPHER or SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHER, at the end of the day, the only opinions that matter, are number 1, your client, number 2 you and then everyone else, to the back of the line.
Posted by Cincinnati and Dayton Sports Photographer Vincent Rush of Monroe, Ohio. For more information (877) 858-6295

Angles are Everything

I was asked by an aspiring SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHER the other day, what I was referring to when I talk about the "pro style angle"

In this CINCINNATI sports photo, I use a picture of my own son, taken at the Cincinnati vs. Indianapolis I-74 Series baseball game held in August at University of Cincinnati's Marge Schott Stadium.

Now, like any Father, I love my boy and I love watching him play baseball, but I'm also realistic about his skill level. He's a "happy go lucky" kid that has a lot of heart, but he is not exactly on BASEBALL AMERICA'S Magazine's Top 100 10 Year Old's radar. In fact my nickname for him is "John Kruk Gump" (Hits like Kruk, runs like Gump. A take off on "Willie Mays Hayes")

In SPORTS Photography, a low shot angle gives the players a more majestic grown up look. If you study SPORTS ILLUSTRATED, ESPN MAGAZINE, CINCINNATI REDS or CINCINNATI BENGALS SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY, you'll notice that very rarely, are the pictures ever taken above eye level.

Because of the angle of this shot, Zachary Rush, looks like a jungle cat getting ready to pounce on a hard smash down the first base line. More importantly, if I'm a Dad looking at this shot of my son, it's very flattering and one I wouldn't mind having a framed 8 x 10 of, in my man cave.

This picture was shot with a NIKON D200 and a NIKKOR 80-200 2.8 lens.

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

Here Come the Elks!

One of my first money making SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY shoots was the Centerville Wee Elks and my good friend Mark Deddens of Centerville Ohio.

I had just gotten a new NIKKOR lens, a 80-200 f2.8, and wanted to test it out on my NIKON D200. I

n my early days of shooting sports photography in CINCINNATI and DAYTON, OHIO, I gave a lot of pictures away. This day was no exception, as I shot a ton of my friends two kids and along with that, I shot a bunch of his friends kids.

After he took the pictures and gave the 4x6's to families of the WEE ELKS, I started getting calls to come and cover individual players and then the team as a whole.

After all was said and done, this one day brought in about $450.

When beginning a sideline in SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY, you may have to give away quite a few pictures to establish your brand and reputation. Centerville just happened to be one of those communities where the parents are not cheap and I knew it was good soil to sew into.

Most photographers fail because the try to build a business while building their reputation and brand simultaneously. Photography being such an easy field to get into, especially with today's cameras, there is not a high enough profit margin in the beginning. In my opinion, if you have a desire to be a sports photographer in CINCINNATI, DAYTON or with the CINCINNATI REDS, go build your name first, then instead of chasing the money, it will begin to chase you.

In this simple picture, I just positioned myself knee level, about 20 yards from the arches and got lucky to catch the first kid sprinting through the tunnel.

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

Photoshop and Cincinnati Sports Photography

I'm not a big fan of blowing up every sports photography with Photoshop. I have seen some really good sports action pictures that lose the impact of the action or the moment by an over zealous photoshopper that converts every picture into color / black and white combos.

Actually, I don't know enough about photoshop to be a pro at it. So far I can whiten teeth and remove blemishes. A skill that would have paid of handsomely in high school

I used the technique on this sports photograph during a Monroe High school football game, only because I caught a great stop action shot of the Monroe Hornet quarterback, however he was lost in a cluster of dark blue uniforms, and I wanted to draw emphasis to the actual player himself.

In shooting sports photography in Cincinnati or Dayton, Ohio, I try to think like a photojournalist first and a trendy artist second.

It's always important to remember your niche and play within your game. Fancy color "popping" techniques make for some visual eye candy, but you don't see much of it in Sports Illustrated or other sports magazines.

This photograph was shot with a Nikon D200 and a Nikkor 80-200 2.8 lens. A Promaster Monopod was used with the camera and Photoshop CS3 was used to edit the picture.
Posted by Cincinnati and Dayton Sports Photographer Vincent Rush of Monroe, Ohio. For more information (877) 858-6295

Average Joe

I often say that the difference between Sports Photographers and Picture Takers is the understanding of the game and the ability to work for the shots that most people never get.

This is a good example of what I see at most sporting events in and around the Cincinnati and Dayton, Ohio area. This "Sports Photographer", covering a baseball game in Dayton, Ohio stood at this position and shot from this one angle the entire game. He never moved and never even changed his lens position.

As it turns out, this was one of the most exciting Little League Baseball games of the year. You can see my shots at www.CincinnatiSportsPhotography.com under Sports
/ Baseball / Eaton vs. Shelbyville

These are the guys that think they are sports photographers, but in reality are nothing more that picture snappers.
Posted by Cincinnati and Dayton Sports Photographer Vincent Rush of Monroe, Ohio. For more information (877) 858-6295

Down the Line

Saturday August 8th, had me providing sports photography coverage for the Cincinnati Metro Softball tournament.

This was one of the top sports photos of more than 600 shot on this muggy August afternoon.

Good sports photography is a lot about timing and anticipation as well as luck. I had noticed that the one team in particular was pulling a lot of balls down the 3rd base line. I positioned myself on one knee and focused on the 3rd baseman.

It took about 5 batters but I finally got the fish that I had been casting the line for.

I use Nikon cameras and Nikkor lenses for clarity and high shutters speed for all of my sports photography.

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

Pig Pen

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

Batters Eye View

One of the shots I've always liked in sports photography, weather it's a Cincinnati Reds photograph or a youth sports photograph is the "batters eye" shot. In other words, what does the batter see?

To get this shot, I slipped in behind the catcher during warm ups, after I made sure he had good control that day and let the motor drive run.

One of the keys to being a good sports photographer, in Cincinnati, Dayton or anywhere on the globe, is to have the ability to put the viewer in the game.

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