We edit all kinds of professional photos—product photos, ecommerce shots, headshots and portraits, car photography, and sports photography. In this post, we’ll dive into everything you need to know about sports photography in 2024.
What is sports photography?
Sports photography refers to any photos taken of sports and/or athletes. Sports photography could involve action shots as well as team shots, athlete portraits, behind-the-scenes looks, marketing and promotional photos, and pretty much any photo related to some type of sport.
Types of sports photography
Shooting sports photography involves many different contexts and scenarios. You might have action shots taken during a match, or editorial and promotional images taken in a studio far away from the field or court.
Individual headshots
Some headshots are meant to highlight an individual. There are tons of reasons for this—maybe it’s a founder or C-level executive, a LinkedIn profile photo, or a business owner. These photos could be used for profile pages, about us pages, and more.
The Women’s Eagles rugby team also has individual headshots on its website. In this example, there are many individual headshots to showcase each of the players on the team.
Group and team composites
Team headshots involve multiple people. In some cases, the whole group is on-site to take the photo together. In others, the photos are taken individually and later clipped and composited to be one group photo.
For example, one sports photographer we work with on clipping paths and retouching takes both team and individual photos of 16 different sports teams for each season. That’s a lot of headshots!
Action shots
Action shots focus on capturing the live action and movement during the event. They’re taken during a sporting event, showing the athletes actually competing. These are difficult to shoot and edit, but they’re exciting. We get lots of requests for background removal from action sports photos.
Event photography
Sports event photos are either for games or matches, or for promotional events like celebrations or parades. Event photography captures the broader aspects of the sporting event, including the crowd, ceremonies, and the environment.
Sports editorial photography
Editorial sports photography provides storytelling through images that accompany sports journalism articles. This might also include sports fine art photography, where sports photographers focus on the aesthetics of the sport, emphasizing form, motion, and emotion in a more artistic manner.
Cost of sports photography
Asking “how much does a headshot cost?” is similar to asking “how much does a car cost?” The prices vary depending on many factors, including:
- How many shots you want
- How many different looks you have
- Whether it’s on-site or at the photographer’s studio
- Whether edits and retouching are included
- Number of subjects
- Location and prices in that market
We researched many different photographers’ pricing and found the range is quite wide—it seems that most sports photographers land anywhere from $75 to a few thousand dollars. According to this reddit thread, most expect it to be around $200–$400 for a standard headshot session with one or two subjects.
Sports photography tips to keep in mind
Keep the following sports photography tips in mind:
Equip yourself
When preparing for amazing sports photos, it’s essential to get the right camera equipment. While technically speaking, you can take your sports photos with a smartphone, a mirrorless or DSLR camera will give you the best result.
Here’s a quick-hitting list of equipment to consider for sports photos:
- Camera (DSLR or mirrorless)
- Zoom lens or wide angle lens (200mm or better)
- Bag
- Rain cover
- Tripod or monopod
- Filter
- Neck strap or harness
- White balance card
- Seat/stool
- Memory card pouch
- Multitool
- Speedlight/off-camera flash
- Remote triggers
- Extra batteries
Use the right shutter speed
Shooting sports photos with fast-moving subjects moving in sometimes unpredictable directions requires a lot of advanced skill. You’ll need to familiarize yourself with a variety of camera settings—a very important one includes shutter speed.
A fast shutter speed is helpful for action spots, while you can use a slow shutter speed for shooting sports photos in controlled environments, like team photos or portraits.
Make edits
While you want to do your best to capture the perfect shot, there are likely to be some required edits—especially when you’re dealing with action photos. Be careful not to go overboard here, because you don’t want an overly edited photo that looks like AI or gives an obviously false impression of the subject.
Some sports photo edits you might make include:
- Fix blurriness
- Crop and resize
- Fix highlights and shadows
- Adjust white balance and colors
- Fix skin tones so they’re natural
- Reduce distracting sweat or shine
- Get rid of any distracting and unnecessary elements
- Remove the background so the photo can be used in a variety of ways
Sports photography courses and workshops to check out
If you want to learn how to take great sports photos, there are tons of courses and workshops that can help you fine tune your skills. Here are a few options to investigate and see if they meet your needs:
- DC Sports Photography Academy: an instructional photography program in the Washington, DC area that focuses exclusively on sports photography
- Peter Read Miller workshops: pro sports photographer Peter Read Miller hosts workshops around the US that allow you the opportunity to shoot real professional sports teams and events
- Sports Shooter Academy: a hands-on workshop that gives participants the opportunity to shoot real sports under the guidance of a faculty of award-winning photographers
- Summit Workshops: on and offline format in a variety of time frames anywhere from 1–3 days, 2–4 weeks, or one-on-one personalized workshops
Edit your sports photos to perfection with Path
When fine tuning your sports photos, a close eye for detail is important. You don’t want to leave your edits up to some faceless AI technology that requires manual review—and often further edits to refine its mistakes. That’s where Path comes in.
All the editing action is completely done by hand when you send your shots to Path. No shortcuts or compromising quality here. And we’re available around the clock, so you can get your edits back in as little as 6 hours!
Let us look after your image edits, so you can get back to the fun stuff. Try Path free.
Learn moreSports photography FAQs
What is the meaning of sports photography?
Sports photography is a specialized genre of photography focused on capturing moments of action, emotion, and intensity during sporting events. It involves photographing athletes in motion, the dynamics of the game, and the atmosphere of the event, often requiring fast reflexes, technical skills, and the ability to anticipate key moments.
What do you do as a sports photographer?
- Capture action shots: Take dynamic images of athletes in motion, including shots of pivotal moments like goals, sprints, or celebrations.
- Work at events: Attend sporting events, often in various settings like stadiums, arenas, or outdoor venues.
- Use specialized equipment: Operate cameras with fast shutter speeds, long lenses, and high-speed autofocus to freeze motion and capture details.
- Edit photos: Post-process images to enhance clarity, color, and composition.
- Collaborate with media outlets: Provide images to newspapers, magazines, websites, or sports organizations for coverage or promotional purposes.
What are the different types of sports photography?
- Action photography: Focuses on capturing the live action and movement during the event.
- Portrait photography: Involves photographing athletes off the field, often for profiles or promotional purposes.
- Event photography: Captures the broader aspects of the sporting event, including the crowd, ceremonies, and the environment.
- Sports editorial photography: Provides storytelling through images that accompany sports journalism articles.
- Sports fine art photography: Focuses on the aesthetics of the sport, emphasizing form, motion, and emotion in a more artistic manner.
What are the characteristics of sports photography?
- High-speed action: The ability to capture fast-moving subjects clearly.
- Emotion and drama: Capturing the intensity, excitement, and emotion of the athletes and the event.
- Timing and anticipation: Knowing when to click the shutter to capture peak action moments.
- Technical precision: Mastery of camera settings, including shutter speed, aperture, and autofocus to achieve sharp, well-composed images.
- Storytelling: Using images to tell the story of the game, including both action and behind-the-scenes moments.
