Photographing Sports Teams

Team photos are a classic part of sports participation, whether it be the official team photo of the New York Yankees or the souvenir shot from junior's little league team. While these images make for wonderful reminders of past athletic endeavors, it isn't as easy as it might seem to create a winning team photo.

There can be all sorts of challenges to photographing sports teams, not the least of which is that the people involved may have other priorities than getting good photos (such as warming up for the game). A good bit of planning is necessary to give yourself the best chance of getting a good shot.

Team photos can be shot on game day, or you can set up a team photo day. A lot of it depends on what you're trying to accomplish. If you're just after a picture of the team, game day is probably easier for everyone involved. If you're trying to do individual portraits too, then a special team photo day is probably a better choice. Let's look at some of the considerations for each of these scenarios starting with the game day shot.

If you're looking for tips on how to photography specific types of sports, check out the following articles:

How to Photograph Hockey

Photographing Football Games

How to Photograph Baseball, Soccer & Other Outdoor Sports

How to Photograph Gold, Track & Field, and More

While it's logistically simpler to get the shot on game day (the team's going to be there anyway, everybody's in uniform, you've got their gear around if you want to use props) there are some very important concerns you should be aware of. Here's a list of things to consider when photographing sports teams:

• Advance notice -- Always try to get advance notice to the manager or coach if possible and get their agreement ahead of time. Showing up right before the game to take a team photo without doing so means you've got a good chance of being told "Sorry, today's not good for us." Remember, coaches, managers and athletes strive to develop consistent routines, anything that interferes with pre-game rituals is a nuisance as far as they're concerned.

• Plan to shoot before the game -- You should always plan on shooting a team photo before the game rather than after it ends (and it's a good idea to communicate this to the coach or manager). There are many reasons why this is important; uniforms and athletes will be clean, chances are higher that everyone will be there (in some sports, individual athletes may leave early because of other commitments) and the team will be in a predictable frame of mind. If you plan on shooting the team photo after the game is finished, there's always the possibility that the team will suffer a disappointing loss and won't want to pose for the photo (it's happened to me more than once).

• Show up early and come prepared to shoot -- As noted earlier, teams tend to have a routine they prefer to stick too. Once part is getting warmed up for the game itself. It's better to try and get the shot before the team begins its on field warm-ups because at this point no one really wants to bother with posing for an image. They're all too busy getting ready for the game (you also have the problem of uniforms getting mussed and dirty). If you're there early it also gives you a chance to meet with the coach before he/she gets caught up in their pre-game duties. A coach is much more likely to be helpful at this point than at any point after this. One potential problem is an athlete may show up late and miss the shot (or the coach may be concerned about this happening). Usually explaining to them that you're worried about getting the shot done and it's better to get as many members of the team as possible rather than not getting the shot at all helps. If the coach doesn't agree ask them to let you know when you can get the shot. (Then every now and then try to make sure they can see you hanging around so they don't forget about you or the photo.)

For more tips on photographing sports teams, please continue on to the next page.