Fore! How to Photograph Golf like an Expert.

Fore! How to Photograph Golf like an Expert.

Contributed article by Darren Carroll

Tiger_Woods_G2.jpg

I used to tell people that I thought golf was one of the hardest sports to photograph–but when their laughter got to be too much, I started to ponder their reaction.

Maybe they had a point. I mean, the player isn’t exactly moving very fast, like, say, in hockey. You don’t have to make any split-second decisions about which player to follow like you might at a football game. There’s not really a ball to follow like there is in basketball, and the game isn’t very cerebral (at least for a photographer), like baseball. It’s all pretty much right there in front of you–player stands there, people get quiet, player hits ball, player walks to ball and does it again.

So I began to reconsider. And I arrived at the conclusion that I still give people who ask today. And it’s this:

Golf is, in fact, the easiest sport to shoot. But the very reasons that make it the easiest sport to shoot make it the hardest sport to shoot well.

Now, I’m not saying that I have all the insight into photographing golf well, nor do I have the market cornered on it. What I’ve attempted to do below is provide a bit of information that will lay the groundwork for shooting golf–the easy stuff, if you will. Once you’ve digested that, you’ll be in a better position to take the stuff I can’t give you–your eye and your talent–and apply it to your work out on the course.

Anybody can photograph golf. Really. It’s very simple to just stand there and shoot people doing the same repetitive thing over and over again, pointing a lens at a guy swinging a club and firing off a salvo of motor-driven frames as soon as he wraps the club behind his head. I see lots of people doing just that every time I cover a golf tournament.

It’s another thing entirely, however, to shoot golf well,


Golf – Images by Darren Carroll

THE RULES
I’m going to start off with these to get them out of the way, because everything else that I say is going to be predicated upon your following the “rules” of golf photography. They’re pretty straightforward, and when you think about it, they all boil down to one thing:

Do not distract a player. Ever.

That’s it. Simple as that. Golf is a much different sport to cover than just about anything else–it’s rather solitary, as the player is really battling himself more than anyone else, and he has no teammates to rely on; the crowds, while large, are generally quiet, and the players expect to be able to concentrate without distraction.

If you can remember that one simple concept, the rest is all common sense. But there are some things we can put down in writing to help illustrate the point.

First, stay close to the ropes. An “arm’s length” is the accepted standard, and generally speaking that works pretty well.

Next, don’t move until after each player has hit. There’s always a tendency to forget that there’s more than one player in a group with, say, Tiger Woods, in it. As soon as he hits, gallery and photographers alike want to head to the next shot, forgetting that there still may be other players in the group who haven’t hit yet.

Stay out of what’s known as the player’s “line.” If you can draw a straight line between yourself, the hole, and the player while on the putting green, you’re in the wrong place.

Maintain some situational awareness on the course. Lots of times tee boxes and putting greens are right next to each other, and the noise from your camera or your moving around while following one group can distract someone in a group nearby.  So be careful.

And finally, there’s something that I like to call “minimizing your presence.” In other words, do as little as you can to remind the golfer that you’re there, while still being able to do your work. Don’t call attention to yourself. That means, for example, that you don’t shoot during a practice swing. It also means that if a golfer is lining up a putt, it’s okay to squeeze off a frame. There’s no reason to rattle off ten in a row.

There is one rule, though, that I feel the need to separate out on its own. In fact, I think it needs its own section devoted to it.

The rule is this: Do not fire until the player has made contact with the ball.

Again, pretty simple. And as with everything, not as simple as it sounds. Which leads us to…

SHOOTING ON THE BACKSWING: NEVER, EVER–WELL, MAYBE SOMETIMES…OKAY, EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE…MAYBE YOU CAN GET AWAY WITH IT IF…
I’ve decided, after years of preaching until I’m blue in the face, that trying to teach photographers who don’t regularly cover golf about shooting golfers on their backswing is akin to trying to teach teenagers about sex: we can preach abstinence all we want, but at some point we have to be realistic: it’s not going to stop anything. They’re still going to do it. So knowing that, we might as well adopt the attitude that while we’re not encouraging it, it’s best to teach them to be practical (and safe) about it.
Shooting a golfer at the top of his or her backswing is the single most distracting thing that we as photographers can possibly do. Put aside any arguments or criticisms of how a golfer can possibly be distracted by that when a baseball player can hit a fast ball, or a basketball player can shoot a free throw, in front of thousands of screaming fans, as such arguments miss the simplest of points: Golf is a game that demands concentration and mental focus, and the expectation that the player has is for silence. A sudden, unexpected intrusion on that expectation–like, say, the sudden ear-splitting crack of a 10 fps motor drive firing away–is most unwelcome. For us photographers, it’s also against the rules. So shut up and stop complaining.
Now, the more argumentative in the audience will point out that images abound of golfers at the top of their backswing. And they’re right. But what they often neglect to mention (or, perhaps, realize) is that those images were shot by photographers who possessed a combination of three things: 1) Knowledge of the game and the player they were photographing; 2) Judgment (based on lots of experience) of the surrounding environment and its ability to minimize noise and distraction, and 3) the right equipment.
With that in mind, here’s the skinny on shooting on the backswing. Don’t do it if you have a testy player who can hear a bee fart. (Colin Montgomerie and Cristie Kerr come to mind.) Don’t do it if you have to get close to a cranky caddie who possesses an overwhelming desire to protect their player. Steve Williams (Tiger Woods) and Fluff Cowan (Jim Furyk) fall into that category.
If you’re within a hundred feet of a player, don’t do it unless you have a Canon G9 or G10, and you’ve turned off all the beeps, clicks, and whistles (not to mention the flash).
If you’re more than a hundred feet away, but still close enough that the player fills the horizontal frame from head to toe with a 400, don’t do it unless the wind is blowing towards you.
If you can, activate the “silent” shutter mode. If you shoot Canon, you can. Do it.
If you can’t, then also check to see if there’s a source of strong ambient noise around to help mask the noise of your shutter: A power generator from a TV tower, a low-flying blimp overhead, a four-lane highway on the other side of the fence lining the fairway.
But above all, if you have even the slightest doubt in your mind; if you think there’s even the most infinitesimal chance that you will distract the player, then DON’T DO IT. Period.
This photo of Michelle Wie was made on the 15th tee at Mission Hills Country Club,with a 400 mm lens from a distance of about 100 feet–with Bob Hope Drive (and six lanes of traffic) in Rancho Mirage, CA hard on the left side of the tee box. Tiger Woods photo shot with a totally silent Canon G9.

There. Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s move on…

THE PHOTO-GEEKY PART. WHAT TO SHOOT WITH
You’ll get lots of arguments on this. Some people love Canon. Some people love Nikon. Shoot with the system you’re comfortable with–the one where you know instinctively which way the shutter dial spins, what button controls your focus point, how different lenses flare in backlight, and which direction to turn the manual focusing ring. In short, use the system that lets you think less about the machine in your hands, and more about what’s in front of you.

I’m a Canon guy. For all of the amazing things a Nikon D3 can do (and there are a lot of them), there’s one thing a Canon Mark III (or II, for that matter) has that a Nikon doesn’t: The “S” setting, where the shutter doesn’t advance until you let go of the trigger button. This is a very good thing to have when covering golf.

But it’s not the be-all and end-all. If you have Nikon, that’s no reason to switch. It is, however, a reason to be a lot more careful about when you shoot on the backswing…At the same time, Nikon has a 200-400mm lens that I would kill for–but again, I don’t think that’s a reason to switch.

Some people swear by a 500mm for their long lens. I think that’s a little too tight, and prefer to go with a 400mm. Besides, I love to shoot back-lit, so I appreciate the extra stop a 2.8 lens gives me without having to sacrifice shutter speed or a higher ISO setting.

When out on the course my kit generally consists of the following:

Canon 1D Mark III with a 400mm f 2.8 lens
Canon 5D Mark II with a 24-105mm f4 lens

Believe it or not, the above gear works for about 90% of my needs. But that other 10% of the time there are a few things I don’t want to be without, and so I carry the following using a Think Tank belt system:

Canon 70-200mm f 2.8
Canon 16-35mm f 2.8
Canon 90mm tilt-shift

Canon Right Angle Finder
Polarizer

Canon G9

AND…if that’s not enough, depending on the course, time of day, assignment, etc. I might also bring the following with me:

Nikon 500mm f8 mirror lens adapted to a Canon EF mount
Canon 15mm, and a 6-foot remote trigger wire (for mounting the camera on a monopod and shooting over the gallery)
Canon 300mm f4, (particularly for match play, when I’m concerned more with the reaction of the players than I am with making stock action images.)

When I have the luxury of working with an assistant, I’ll also bring along another Mark III with a 600mm f/4.

THE EQUIPMENT SECTION FOR NON-PHOTO GEEKS
There’s more to it than camera gear, of course. Golf is different from many other sports in that it’s played outdoors, under varying conditions and over uneven terrain. Not to mention that  it’s a hell of a long walk, and that your day on the course can last all day long without a chance for a break.

With that in mind, there are several other things I always have with me that help make life easier: waterproof, Gore-Tex shoes (the grass is usually wet early in the morning, and there’s nothing worse than walking around for an entire day with wet socks on. Buy shoes that are meant for long treks–I find that those made by Salomon and Montrail both possess a good combination of wearability, breathability and comfort.

Rain gear is a must-have as well–and don’t skimp on it. The best-made camera rain covers out there, made by Think Tank and Aquatech, can withstand hours of steady rain . All it takes is one drop in the wrong place, or a leaky seam, to ruin your day. When it comes to this critical piece of gear, you get what you pay for. So spend the money.

Also spend the money on good Gore-Tex outerwear for yourself. Yes, a good set of rain pants and a jacket will run upwards of $500.00, but there’s a huge difference between working in the rain when you’re wet and miserable, and working in the rain when everybody else is wet and miserable but you’re bone dry. Pack-Lite materials crumple up nicely, and I have no trouble, on days when rain is imminent, carrying a full jacket and pair of rain pants in a belt pouch. Otherwise, I always bring a lightweight, water-resistant shell (one I normally use for running) with me, just in case.

Other things I like to keep with me: A small screwdriver, water, and either some trail mix or an energy bar or two. And one other absolute essential: Sunscreen. You’re going to be outside for a long time if you cover golf. Regular exposure to the sun means you need to protect yourself. This is another thing you shouldn’t skimp on.

AND NOW MORE OF THE PHOTO-GEEKY PART. HOW TO SHOOT IT.
Generally, the ball and the club can’t be frozen below 1/2000th of a second. That’s not, however, to say that you need to shoot that fast all the time. In fact, I prefer a little motion blur on the club and the ball. What you have to watch out for, though, is the speed at which a player’s head moves as he follows through. Especially with the more sensitive sensors in today’s digital cameras, motion blur is a lot more prevalent at shutter speeds we would normally think of as “safe.” I’ve seen heads begin to blur with movement at as low as 1/640th; as a rule, then, I try not to go below that when shooting with long glass.

Try to avoid shooting on automatic until you really know what you’re doing–and even then try to avoid it. The stark difference between a player’s white shirt and a dark, back-lit row of trees in the background can really screw up an in-camera meter reading. And besides, it’s the face you’re going for, which is often hidden under a visor. I like to keep things simple, which is to say that I’ve come to the conclusion that there are only three basic exposures you need to know: Front-lit, side-lit, and back-lit.

Here’s the problem, though: Thanks to the vagaries of different camera and sensors, I can’t tell you what they are. Mine are going to be different from yours. Mine are generally 1/800th at f2.8 backlit, 1/1600th at f3.2 side-lit, and 1/2500th at f4 front-lit all at ISO 200, but that’s no guarantee your cameras will behave similarly. Play around a bit. Watch how the sun falls on your subject. The more you experiment, the more I think you’ll find that it all boils down to those three consistent exposures.

Of course, there are several things that could affect your exposure one way or another. For example, a bunker often acts as a giant reflector, with the sand kicking up a bit of fill light into your subject’s face. Always be on the lookout for subtle changes in the quality of light around your subject, and compensate accordingly.

Michelle_Wie_Bunker_Shot.jpg

Shooting golf is all about timing. Sure, today’s fancy cameras can get up to 10 frames per second. But none of that matters unless you can time the moment of impact (or, perhaps, a similar moment in time that you’re trying capture during the player’s swing). Just mashing the button down and praying is more likely than not going to result an a couple dozen poorly-timed pictures. So here’s my advice:

Single-frame it.

That’s right, lose the motor drive. If you think about it, there are really only three things you need from a person hitting a golf ball: impact (or shortly thereafter), follow-through, and reaction. Inbetween those things are a lot of wasted frames, an abundance of ones and zeroes, and, if you’re an editor wading through a take of 3,000 images when there really only needed to be about 500, an immense waste of time. Look at the sequence of Michael Allen below. 

allen_sequence1.jpg
Photo by Darren Carroll
In these eight frames, there are only three that matter. Impact. Follow through. Reaction. Resisting the urge to slam on the motor drive just because it’s there can not only save time for you and your editor, and valuable space on your card, but it will also force you to concentrate on your timing and develop a sense of what is, and isn’t, visually worth it.
allen_sequence2.jpg
Photo by Darren Carroll

Instead, head to the driving range, where the rules can be a little looser about shooting before contact. Watch the players. Practice shooting, one frame at a time, until you’re confident that you can time a shot at just after impact. There are several things that you’ll need to take into account, not least of which is the lag time on your own camera, but also the swing speed, which varies from player to player and club to club. But with enough practice and observation, you’ll get to the point where you can confidently estimate exactly the point at which you need to depress the trigger button to stop the swing exactly where you want it.

WHERE TO SHOOT FROM?
There are generally three things I look for when evaluating where to shoot a golfer from, in this order: 1. Backgrounds. 2 Light direction. 3. Position relative to the golfer. Those are listed in order of importance, so let’s take them that way.

BACKGROUND: Is it clean? If so, proceed to step 2 and evaluate the light. Is it messy? Is there a big, white blob of a tent back behind the golfer? A marshal with a “Quiet” sign? An unoccupied bright red canvas lawn chair? Or, conversely, is it so barren that you’re just shooting into a dazzlingly bright white sky? Then it’s time to move somewhere else, all the while keeping in mind…

THE LIGHT. Where is it coming from? And what time of day is it? Late afternoon or early morning front light can be magical, but the higher the sun gets the more a player’s cap or visor will cast a shadow over their face. The way to alleviate that is to try and keep the sun behind them once it gets too high to be of any use.

light.jpg
Photo by Darren Carroll 

RELATIVE POSTITIONING. Imagine a golfer in your viewfinder. If your goal is to keep the golfer, the club, and the ball in the frame, where does he need to be? Assume you’re shooting a right-handed golfer, and imagine the swing. The ball, and the club, move from the left side of the frame to the right. Not only that, but when the player follows through, his arms will move higher on the left side of his body as he brings the club around. In all of these instances, it is much better , then, to be on the left side of the golfer (as you’re looking at him) than the right. Look at the shots of Tiger below, and you’ll see what I mean. In the photo on the left, staying on the left side kept the ball and the club in the frame. If you shoot from the other side, the ball moves toward the left side (you can barely see it against the edge of the frame)–and it moves quickly, since it’s spending half the “time” in the frame as it would from the other side. Notice, too, how and his face is partially obscured. Later on (although you can’t see it in this particular image), his arms will come across his body and block the face on the follow-through.

TW.jpg
Photo by Darren Carroll
One more thing about positioning yourself: Unless you’re shooting a wide, panoramic vista of the hole, the lower you are, the better. Kneel down. Or even lie down–in certain situations I’ll use a right-angle finder and be lying down on the grass. Getting low accomplishes two things: It increases the angle between the golfer and any background elements, thus eliminating many distractions or, at the very least, moving background elements lower in the frame so as not to compete with the golfer’s face, and it also helps you get underneath the visor, with a better chance of seeing the player’s eyes.

So putting those things together, my favorite place to be would be: Dark, clean background, backlit, shooting low, from the golfer’s right-hand (or my left) side. Of course things don’t always work out that way, and if I shot everything that way it would all look the same now, wouldn’t it? But keeping those things in mind is a good place to start. Once you’ve seen how isolating your subject by cleaning up the background and using the light, and your position relative to the subject, to your advantage works, you’ll be more than ready to take some chances with different things.

KNOW THY SUBJECT
The more you cover golf, the more you’ll learn about many of the personalities involved. And that familiarity is even more important when it comes to covering a tournament, as golf is (again) unique in that we, the media, are often literally in the field of play, accessible to the players and, consequently, able to affect the outcome of the event in some way. Therefore, it helps to know players’ tendencies, idiosyncrasies, and whatnot. For example:

Knowledge of a particular element of their swing helps. If you’re shooting Paula Creamer, for example, hitting a tee shot and you’re not expecting her left shoulder and her head to drop precipitously downward at impact (and therefore lower your framing accordingly), you’ll  have a lot of pretty useless images where her face is cut off at the bottom of the frame. If you try to shoot a tight vertical of Justin Leonard as he habitually “flattens out” his follow through off to the side, you’ll cut off a lot of clubheads. If you observe Bernhard Langer long enough you’ll notice that his face contorts into a giant mess of unspooled energy and concentration not at, but shortly after, impact and that he does it just as he picks his head up, opening his face to the camera. 

Bernhard_Langer_1.jpg
Photo by Darren Carroll
That, combined with your sense of timing that you read about above, can make for a compelling image. Everybody has their little quirks. Knowing them can help make your pictures better.

Knowing how a player tends to react can help as well. Common sense tells you to always position yourself so you can see a player’s face when putting, to get the reaction. But when Tiger Woods sinks a particularly big one, he usually spins around in a 180 degree arc. I’ve been on both the good and bad sides of that–at the 2005 Masters, I had a perfect view of Tiger’s rear end until he spun around after making his putt to win in a playoff; at the 2008 US Open I had a perfect view of his face until he spun around, giving me the sharpest frame of the back of his head I’ve ever made. It happens. At the same time, you will never get an energetic, fist-pumping reaction photo from Steve Stricker or Chad Campbell. Knowing that can help you make the decision to concentrate on other things, or perhaps look for a picture elsewhere.

Tiger_05_Masters_01.jpg
Photo by Darren Carroll
And finally, knowing who the more sensitive players out there are can help keep you out of trouble–and perhaps preserve your sanity. I’ve touched on it above, but there are some players who are just easily distracted by photographers on the course–Mike Weir is perhaps the most glaring example–even if they’re following the rules to the letter. And for some players, the rules are different. Tour and tournament officials routinely set up different sets of rules for Tiger Woods, but don’t tell anyone ahead of time. Knowing this can help you prepare for the unexpected, and perhaps take preemptive action by choosing another location to shoot from before it’s too late.

So a working knowledge of the players you’re covering greatly enhances your ability to make pictures. Try to observe, and learn about, the people you’re covering.

THAT ALL SOUNDS GREAT IF YOU’RE AT A PGA TOUR EVENT. BUT WHAT IF THIS ISN’T A PROFESSIONAL GOLF TOURNAMENT?
Whether it’s your local club championship, a charity pro-am, or a high school match, everything I’ve told you above still applies–if not more so. Many non-professional matches are played on courses where backgrounds are a huge problem: houses, chain link fences, golf carts, and a host of other things that ruin an otherwise good image are in abundance. In fact, you’ll find that you need to actually work harder to make a decent image at events such as these, for precisely that reason.

Another thing you’ll have to work harder at is minimizing your presence. At a local event (or even “minor league” professional events), there’s little, if any, gallery to lose yourself in; walking around with one camera around your neck and a giant lens on your shoulder makes you stick out like a sore thumb. And the noise from your camera can be nerve-wracking–especially if you have golfers who aren’t used to having action photos taken.

Keep in mind that here are no ropes at these kinds of events, either. It’s up to you to use your best judgment as to where to position yourself. This can be both a blessing and a curse; sure, you’re not “locked in” to a well-defined range of positions, but at the same time, the players probably aren’t expecting you to be where you are. Be prepared to move if asked, as you probably will be more than once.

One other thing about positioning yourself at a non-pro event: be careful. Professional golfers practice for hours on end to be able to strike a ball with predictable, repeatable precision. As such, we tend to place a lot of trust in them–I mean, would you otherwise even contemplate standing 20 feet in front, and 10 feet off to the side, of someone using a slab of metal at the end of a spaghetti-like shaft to send missiles hurtling past your head at upwards of 150 mph?

The PGA Tour likes to tout that “These Guys Are Good,” when it comes to its players. And they are. So it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that in contrast to them, the vast majority of golfers are not. I wouldn’t be caught dead shooting a country club event from my “normal” spots at pro events. Golf at the amateur, charity, or “fun” level can be just plain dangerous. So be careful.

THINKING DIFFERENT
Golf isn’t all about tight shots of people swinging clubs, however. Sure, that’s the bread-and-butter of it all, but that’s by no means all there is to shoot.

Don’t be afraid to pull back and shoot wide–give your audience a sense of place. There are certain courses and locations (the British Open comes to mind) where this is especially true. Golf is unique in that the venue is oftentimes as important as the tournament itself, and it’s in your best interest to capture that as well.

Tiger_at_St.Andrews.jpg
Photo by Darren Carroll
But it’s not just about the course. Shooting wide can apply to action as well; not every golf picture needs to be shot with a 400mm from the waist up. If a player is in trouble–in the trees, high weeds, etc., shooting tight doesn’t do you any good. Establish the mood and show the player’s circumstances.
wie.weeds.jpg
Photo by Darren Carroll
And speaking of moods and circumstances, always be ready for the unexpected. Reactions can happen at any time, even when the player you’re shooting is away from the ball. If you watch the tape of the 2006 US Open, for example, you’ll see that Phil Mickelson held his head in his hand (see photo) for less than a second. Keep an eye on the player, and don’t lower the camera just because the follow-through is finished.
Mickelson_Winged_Foot_18.jpg
Photo by Darren Carroll
Finally, don’t just concentrate on the action in front of you. One of my favorite things to do is get to the course early, before sunrise. There’s about 45 minutes between when dawn breaks and the sun passes over the horizon where amazing things happen, and there are lots of pictures to be made.
Villegas_Driving_Range.jpg

US_Open_clock.jpg
Photos by Darren Carroll
So there you have it. In a nutshell? Use common sense. Don’t shoot on the backswing unless you really know what you’re doing. Follow the light and watch your backgrounds. Learn about the players. And don’t be afraid to think differently. Sounds easy enough, right?

Darren Carroll is an Austin, Texas based commercial portrait photographer who also spends a lot of time covering the major professional golf tours for Sports Illustrated and Golf Digest magazines. You can view more of his work at www.darrencarroll.com

Next Post:
Previous Post:
This article was written by

Allen Murabayashi is the co-founder of PhotoShelter.

There are 26 comments for this article
  1. Tim at 5:50 pm

    Glad to know that I’ve been doing most of this for years. I’ve never thought about the steps I actually take though in trying to get something different than the average bear.

  2. Phat Photographer at 11:12 pm

    I don’t golf much, in fact I almost exclusively photograph children but I love how deliberate and thoughtful you are with your photography. The shots are gorgeous. Thanks for sharing the tips.

  3. Dennis at 12:51 am

    Your great images and article are very inspiring. I play golf myself (although rarely these days) and I can relate to the rules you mentioned. Just curious to know, in the image of Michelle Wie leaving the teebox (image 26 of the slide show), did you use zoomed flash or reflector to light up her face? Thanks for sharing this! 🙂

  4. Concerned Photographer at 8:59 pm

    If golfers are so sensitive to noise and distractions maybe they should take up another sport. Maybe baseball. Golfers are a big punch of sissy. I shot competitive archery for 10 years and it is also a sport that demands concentration and mental focus, but I never have seen a punch of people carry around funny little quiet signs at a match. Golf was a game created by a sheep herders many years ago for fun, kill time and relaxation. Now it has gotten like everything else just something else to make alot of money. So again, Golfers, get over it!

  5. Émilie at 10:27 pm

    What a great article! Shooting a golf party tomorrow, I can do nothing more than to thank you for those guidelines. Simple and effective review about something I don’t know much about.

  6. Allen Murabayashi at 2:49 pm

    @dennis, i’d venture to say that there might be a little bit of “dodging” in photoshop to lighten the face, but more likely, it’s just the light reflecting off the sand. she’s standing in a sand trap — a perfect reflector. you typically can’t use flashes or reflectors at sporting events.

  7. Stephen at 5:23 am

    Congratulations on a great article. I have never seriously considered getting onto one of the many local golf courses to do a bit of photography, but this article has give me some food for thought.

  8. A.J. Holmes at 9:27 pm

    First off, let me just say that this is the single most helpful page on the internet for shooting golf; hands down. I’m 17 years old, and golf is something new for me to shoot. Though I had played golf many times, I had never fully taken into consideration what it means to photograph it. I shoot Canon. And I am using your article to freshen my mind on golf photography because I’m shooting a district high school tournament tomorrow. My setup is a Canon 30D with a 100-400mmL and a Canon 20D with a Canon 28-135mm. I sometimes put my 70-200 f/2.8 on the 20D as well. Seriously, though, thanks a lot. It really does make a difference to get online and find tons of information on a subject when you can’t find any anywhere else. Me being a teenager and being appreciative towards an adult pro photographer should be a testament to my sincerity in thanking you. so thanks. -A.J. Holmes

  9. JD Malave at 12:45 am

    This was a great article. I applied everything that I read in this article last week when I shot the Spanish Open in Seville, Spain. Thank you so much for sharing this valuable information. I had never shot golf before in my life. I’ve only shot MotoGP, Baseball and Football up until now. Have a look at my gallery and tell me what you think. I’d really like to contact Darren Carrol for critique.

    JD

  10. Pingback: Sport Shots
  11. Pingback: Sports Photography isn’t as Easy as it Looks | Sports Photography
  12. Amber at 8:22 am

    Just scheduled my first real photo shoot this coming weekend, with my Canon Rebel T3i, outside of family and friends and he happened to be a golfer, so I’ve been reading about golf photography and this is wonderful!!! Such great tips and ideas that I might not have though of!!! Thanks! Loved your shots, too!!!

  13. Crystelle at 9:53 pm

    Thank you so much for this info. I’ve got a shoot of a Launching of a new Golf Course on Thursday and THIS helped me a lot!

  14. wasserball at 12:29 pm

    Many photographer swear by “Late afternoon or early morning front light can be magical”. I shoot high school sports, football, baseball, soccer, you name it. That 5 pm sun casts a harsh shadow in their faces, and the long shadow takes away the action. On top of that, their faces turn orange looking color using my 400mm f2.8 on the Nikon D3s. I like the 2 pm sun much better.

  15. wasserball at 12:39 pm

    I agree that timing is important, particularly trying to get one of those “bat on ball” baseball shots. Even at 10 f/sec burst rate does not guarantee bat contact ball. However, in your example, if you didn’t use the burst mode to caputre those 8 frames, you would not have been able to select the 3 you wanted. So, there are times when burst is useful in golf and other sports.

  16. Pingback: Some Basics For Consideration With Fast Tactics In Golfing | Jennifer's Blog

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *