Hi Everyone,

To complement our first podcast I thought I’d write a bit about how to get inspired by good examples of sports images and learning by example. There’s nothing better for a budding sports photographer to try to emulate the shots of professionals. This is the first step of developing your own style. Getting good shots consistently means that you’re ready to move to the next phase of your sports photography journey.

So, where can you go to see sports photos shot by professionals? Well, don’t start at Flickr. You can go to the sports section of the newspapers, but you’ll only get to see a few shots every day. My recommendation is to go to the web sites of large sports image agencies. Here’s a list of sites where you can sit for hours and look at sports photos:
Getty Images Sport
AAP One World Sport
Corbis Images Sport
Daylife.com Sports

After getting inspired, pick one or two images that you think you can shoot at your next outing. It might be two football players competing for the ball, or it might be a sprinter jumping over a hurdle. It doesn’t matter, but try to make your own image of the photo you liked best. When you’ve done this ten times you’ve now got the start of your own portfolio of shots.

Have fun and keep clicking!

Syd

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