Kids, Sports and Photos
Written by Mike Cheliak on November 20, 2009 – 4:24 pm -Not everyone is cut out to do Sports Photography and there are even fewer people who are able to meet the demands of Kids Sports Photography.
The dynamics of league photo days are extremely demanding and require your A-Game every time. As the photographer, you have to keep a 
captive audience of children ranging from 3 years old to 18 years old. The transitions you go through during the course of a large league photo day are numerous.
Being there, giving instructions and taking photos are about 1/10th of what you need to have when you are shooting. The other 90% of your duties range from drill Sergeant to goofy goober to comedian to pretty cool dude (or dudette as it were).
It is really a great feeling to accomplish a day where you shoot maybe 800 kids and everything happens according to plan. The only way to accomplish this is to have about 99 hats in your bag and the willingness and ability to wear anyone of them at any time.
The single shot of any child under the age of 10 (and some a little older than that), is a challenge in several ways. Some kids don’t feel comfortable smiling, some don’t like showing their missing teeth, some are cranky, not feeling well, tired, overactive, underactive, goofy, silly or REALLY upset and crying.
You MUST be prepared to react immediately to each and every child and to make adjustments on the fly. I can count (literally) on one hand how many shots I have to bypass each year due to a really upset, scared child. Sometimes I just have them step aside for a bit to watch stuff happen but in the end I can usually coax a smile or at least a “non-crying” photo from the little one.
That skill is not taught in a book, in a class or anywhere else for that matter. You either have it, or you don’t. If you don’t…go take wedding photos, nature photos, food photos or photos of anything else, but don’t bother doing sports, school or dance studio photos.
One of the keys to successfully shooting a large number of kids on schedule is the ability to set the tone right from the start. Be in charge, be funny, be happy and be VERY clear with your instructions. Get everyone’s attention, give them the rundown, get the coach to help “herd cattle” and then start shooting. The worst thing you can do is to be poky. Get to business, get the subject in position, focus and shoot.
People are amazed and sometimes shocked at how fast I shoot. I literally don’t give them time to think. In they go, stop, shoot, and move on. If you leave too much time fidgeting and messing around trying to be perfect, you will miss numerous opportunities. You have a very narrow window to keep a child’s attention and the younger they are, the quicker you need to be.
Sports league photography isn’t for everyone, in fact it is really for very few. You have to love working with kids, have the patience of Job, and have a quick mind, quicker wit and also the understanding that sometimes you have to crack the whip to keep control.
It’s fun, it’s challenging, it’s rewarding and it’s a big part of what I do.
In happiness and health as always.
Mike C
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