Sportsshooter.com

Absolutely agree with you here Kenny. Nothing wrong with what you are doing. My son and brother in law shoot girls sports because his daughers are in it.... and there are lots of girls around for my son. Plus as a junior in high school he make a couple hundred a weekend doing it - sometimes much more.

The rest of my comments about shooting at universities was targeted at what I thought was your desire to build a portfolio.... kinda took a quantum leap from sportsshooter. If that were the case, what Jeff said is exactly right. Your portfolio would be your representative of whay you can do... the best of kenny. It is not so much the names on the uniforms, but the intensity at which the sport is played... making the pictures have that much more punch. You want something that is going to catch someones attention. Technical merit is hugely important. By you want some eye catching content, and while you can get that at HS sports, it is a heck of a lot easier at the college\university level. And this only makes a difference if you are trying to build a portfolio...

Keep doing what your doing. For me sportsshooter is neat... but it isn't the end all and at best it would be a small stepping stone to other things. My goal is for a total stranger to say - wow, that is a great shot. To get that great shot, I need access to the places and people most people don't get. That applies to sports, events, performances.. what ever. To get that access I need to continue to develop my portfolio, challenge myself, and learn from the smart and better shooters then me on this forum. I have learned more in the last 12 months shooting university sports then I could have otherwise done. There is nothing wrong with what vwpilot is said, there are many paths to get there.. this just happens to be mine.

Again, agree with both of you to a point and depending on what you are after.

If you are after something that will "wow" the average person on the street, being able to do it with a pro name or with some form of great action that a pro is able to achieve that an amateur cannot, then by all means, shooting pro sports will make that easier.

But what kind of portfolio really matters and who are you trying to impress? To what kind of photo editor will be impressed with that as opposed to the technical aspects of the photo?

I think that ANY qualified person looking at a portfolio to evaluate your shooting skills and whether or not you could "do the job" for them will not be looking for those things. They will simply be looking for your ability to get good composition and your ability to capture that composition with a technically sound shot.

For instance, I shoot both professional and amateur auto racing. I have also shot high school sports, jv and varsity. I know that I could put together a portfolio of auto racing shots with just ones taken at the amateur level and have a photo editor impressed with the work. Even though they are generally uglier cars (not as much money often put into them), they are not as fast, they dont get air over hills like some pros do, they race at an amateur track that is not nearly as photogenic as some of the great historical pro tracks that I visit and none of them have a big name, I can put together some nice solid shots that show I know what I am doing and I can make a great photo. If I wanted to use it to get into sportsshooter or show it to the editor of Racer magazine I'm confident that they would like what they see. Likewise, I am sure that I could take a handful of my high school images and turn them into a portfolio that would get me into sportsshooter.

Now that is not a statement of arrogance, I know there is still a ton that I can learn, hence the reason I talk to as many pros that have gone on ahead of me when I get the chance. But its a statement of confidence due to the fact that I know how to take a good photo, I have the skills to do it and I can meet the criteria that are often looked for.

You dont have to have a shot of Ricky Carmichael getting massive air to have a good portfolio. You can get a just as impressive portfolio with an average guy coming out of the starting gate if you do it right. Sure, we all want those cool and one of kind photos that the pros can provide us. But in this case and with what was asked for here, how to put together a portfolio for SS, having those images are not necessary, and dare I say it, they are never necessary if you want to show how good you are.

Those shots are to impress the fans and stoke the egos. I know, I enjoy it as much as anyone. I'm not saying they are not fun to get, I'm also not saying that shooting higher levels of any sports wont make you better as things will often move faster and therefore you have to move faster to get the shot, but I am saying that you do not need those things to have a solid portfolio that shows you know you are a great photographer.

Thanks. Well, yes I am working to build the ol' portfolio and your advice is good particularly wrt the "level" of play and the possibilities of more action.

KAC

I agree 100%...