Baseball shooting is boring

[JimTx]

I have shot football, basketball, and soccer and now have been asked to shoot baseball and softball. I am probably doing it wrong but it is very boring to me and I love baseball. Action shots may or may not happen other than the pitcher and batter..... and it they do .. you better be ready or you will miss it. So it is watch and wait ... watch and wait .. camera ready.

I will be shooting both High School and College .. if you have any tips for either of these sports .. would welcome them. This is for a daily newspaper.

[Doublea17]

I love baseball and softball but they are boring to shoot and I have the luxury to shot Division 1 baseball and softball and have access to almost the anywhere in the stadium so when action is slow I look for different angles in the stadium that I can shoot from and i have my ipod to listen to music to make time go by faster.

[MJPhotos24]

I'm around baseball pretty much every day from late Feb through mid Sept every year shooting and coaching. There's action with almost every hitter that hits the ball but definitely can get some games that are just plain boring. Gotta be creative in those and find new angles, try different things to find what works. Lot of time maybe nothing great but others maybe. Be amazed how much new angles can make things more interesting.

Check this link out...
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=136949

[Patrick]

Baseball has its benefits. The players are far enough apart that I can get good shots of all of the players. I've had basketball shots with 9 players in the frame at once. I can't do too much with those photos.

The baseball action is far and few between but when it happens it usually results in good photos.

[snyderman]

Huge baseball fan here and a new shooter of basebeall ... first game tomorrow as a matter of fact. Here is what I'm planning on right now.

Hitters: I'm going to setup camp just beyond the on-deck circle (1st base side mostly) and shoot through the fence. Maybe split time on 3rd base side depending on lighting. I'll sit on something dry and use this vantage point for plays at the plate as well.

Pitching: through the fence from behind the plate. I'll ask the ump if he minds first, though.

Ground Balls: at all levels of baseball from HS up, the majority of ground balls go to the left side of the infield. Should be able to get short or 3rd guys making a play or two in the first 3 innings. Also will focus on 1st baseman for a couple of innings. Maybe 2nd on steals depending on how aggressive the teams are on the bases.

Fly Balls: I can tell off the bat whether a ball in the air is a popup, base hit, routine flyout or HR because I've seen so much baseball. I'm not going after the fielders on these plays, but moreso, the finish of the swing, drop of the bat, coming out of the box and (hopefully) the frustration on the batter' faces when they pop one up!

Dugout shots: I'll keep an eye on the 3-4-5 hitters on the team and be ready if either of those guys jacks one with guys on base. Love to see the dugout reaction ... even if it's just a long flyball, they get excited because they THINK it's a homer.

Planning ahead, I think there are lot of shots to anticipate knowing full well that we have no idea what direction a batted ball is going at any given time. I'll let you know how it works out for me!

dave

[canonnoob]

honestly I find baseball fun to shoot. I shoot d1 college but I guess it is just because I have loved baseball all of my life anyway lol

[TheSportsGuy]

Some games can be boring, but baseball is my favorite sport to shoot.

[zerovision]

I would have to agree with TheSportsGuy, I like shooting baseball and especially softball. I've only done it one season, but I shot for the paper and I shot the high school teams in the area, so I covered about 4-6 games a week as girls and boys would play back-to-back at adjacent fields.

Outs at first were always good. I even had a ref ask me if I got a shot of an outfielder catching the ball. Luckily I did not get that one. My fav was an in-field pop up in a softball game and the short stop closed her glove a second too soon and the ball bounced off her glove, but the third baseman had come over and caught the ball. I was able to catch all of the action on my Mark III. Even the score keeper asked me if I got it. It was a lot of fun and I'm not a real big fan of baseball.

[patwill]

Knowing the game from the standpoint of a player helps a lot to be able to anticipate where the action is going to occur. I like to shoot from the first base side at the far end of the dugout, or just beyond it. From there you get face on most batters, a good shot of plays at the plate, attempts to pick a baserunner off of firstbase, and an infielder at second base starting a double play. Shooting close enough to the dugout to pick up on what players and coaches are saying can make the game more interesting.

[hooookup]

I shoot MLB for a large wire service and I must admit that I too find myself getting very bored when i'm covering MLB unless it's an extremely exciting game. I usually start off the first inning getting my shots of the starting pitchers from both sides of the field. Right around the 3rd inning, I settle in at my usual spot and focus on the batters and in field the rest of the game. Each time a new pitcher comes in I make sure I get some pictures of him from each side as well. I also transmit/file just about every inning.

[dmwierz]

I shoot MLB for a large wire service and I must admit that I too find myself getting very bored when i'm covering MLB unless it's an extremely exciting game. I usually start off the first inning getting my shots of the starting pitchers from both sides of the field. Right around the 3rd inning, I settle in at my usual spot and focus on the batters and in field the rest of the game. Each time a new pitcher comes in I make sure I get some pictures of him from each side as well. I also transmit/file just about every inning.

I shoot Pro/NCAA sports for a "not-so-large" wire service and MLB for a national magazine, and even the most boring, rainiest, horrible, grayest day at the ballpark beats the best day in pretty much any office...I thank my lucky stars for every MLB/NHL/NFL/NCAA etc. event it is my privilege and good fortune to cover and promised myself when I shot my first "big time" game years ago to never, ever take it for granted or let it become stale or boring.

[koprivakopriva]

Ha I shot little league baseball for a local paper as well. You're right, if you're not ready you'll miss the money shot. In that sense, it's about 100X more difficult. I was allowed into foul territory, so I was able to move freely. Anticipating what plays may happen is key: get in good position to shoot that steal at third base. Be ready at home for the runner coming in to score. When the ball's in play, you've got to be at the top of your game. Loved every minute of it!