I don’t really photograph sporting events, actually to be more specific, I’ve never photographed sporting events. Headshots and portraits is what I tend to shoot on most days, however, last week I was given the chance to take pictures of my company’s softball game. I wasn’t too nervous because the pictures were only going to be used for internal purposes but I did learn a thing or two about sports photography.

Things I learned:

1. Be careful especially if you’re close to the action. I almost got hit by the ball a couple of times. It’s definitely safer inside the steel gates but the gate sometimes gets in the way.

2. AF pointer set on Auto. I usually have my AF centered. I pick the spot I want to keep in focus and recompose but the action happens so fast that I can’t really keep up. So my best bet was to set it in auto and go with the flow.

3. One needs a monopod. I don’t own a monopod but I do see almost all sports photographers carry one. Let’s just say that 70mm – 200mm 2.8 IS gets really heavy during the 4th inning.

4. I like sports photography. I think I’ll do more in the future and get a 1.4 extension to lengthen the focal length of my lens.