Sports Photography | A Day in the Life of AFL Photographer Michael Willson

[@JerryZhao]

A lot of work. Photographers deserve more respects!

[@medvejonokolympic5412]

How about doctors?

[@HugoFerreira24photo]

@@medvejonokolympic5412 Why does one have to mean less respect for the other?

[@medvejonokolympic5412]

@@HugoFerreira24photo I mean respect for the profession

[@medvejonokolympic5412]

@@HugoFerreira24photo All professions are respected, but the profession of a doctor is more respected and important than the profession of a photographer. They even get more money.

[@cyrilstheone]

@@medvejonokolympic5412 what about them😔

[@AC-id6rf]

AFL Photography tips. Where to be... Try the ends of the field rather than the sidelines. Try to position yourself a quarter of the way in from the boundary edge with the sun (or rain like this fellah!) either at your back or to the side. Why it works. You will see the attacking players faces and they will be lit with high contrast front or side light. How to stand... Get as low as you can. Sitting on a stool is good. Lying on the ground may be even better. Watch out for puddles. Why it works. Getting low makes the players look bigger, more powerful and more heroic all characteristics you may be trying to capture in sports photography. What lens to use... A 70-200mm f/2.8 on a full frame or the crop frame equivalent is more than adequate. Your best shots will be in the goal area and the near quarter approaching the goal area. The 16-35mm f/2.8 on a full frame is a very flexible wide angle lens. Shoot it at 35mm for great shots of people without too much distortion. Go to 20mm for dramatic skies that seem to race across your frame. At the short end you need serious foreground interest or your frames will look empty. A 400mm f2.8 is a standard lens for pros shooting sport. If carrying an enormous lens and shooting on a monopod is your thing, good for you. The faffery, bulk and weight of carrying a 400mm is not worthwhile for most people. Why it works. A 70-200mm allows you to capture great shots in landscape, snap to vertical when a running individual gets closer and snap to 70mm if they score right in front of you. Settings to use... Shoot wide open (I.e. the smallest number which is your largest aperture say f2.8) Shoot in AV this will maintain your wide open aperture and vary your shutter speed automatically if the light changes due to clouds or shadows on the pitch. Adjust your ISO so that your shutter speed is 1/1000 or slightly better. Why it works. A wide open aperture affords you faster shutter speeds to capture and freeze action. It also provides the shallowest depth of field. f/ 2.8 when shooting 200mm gives you a pleasing creamy background. Focus and framing... Aim small miss small is the sports photographer’s maxim. A single central point on continuous/servo focus, activated by a back button provides very good control and flexibility over what part of the image will be in focus. Why it works. Back button focus allows you to separate focusing from shutter release. This means that you can focus on one area, release the focus button, compose and shoot with the shutter release. It also allows you to follow a moving subject by keeping it on the centre focus point and keeping the back focus button depressed while engaging the shutter. What to shoot... Anticipate to shoot for the height of the action. But don’t forget to keep shooting after the action. Reactions from the winners (and the losers) are great things to include in your photographic story.

[@СергейСоколов-г8ы]

Angus Clacher спасибо! Отличные рекомендации!!!

[@mrtexastaco7047]

A C thank you so much !!

[@harishchavdampagbaips3597]

I shoot manual mode, fast shutter speed typically 1/1600 & f2.8 with auto ISO. Shutter speed depending on the lighting conditions though. Yes the photographer these days are very much unappreciated/underpaid. They really have to work in a tough conditions.

[@scott-wright]

This is brilliant. So great to see behind the scenes for people that make the AFL; not just the players. I am a passionate amateur photographer and would love to shadow Michael for a night. What a cracking insight! Thanks Canon (even from a Nikon shooter!)

[@alexhering1462]

Great insight into a sports photographer. Never realised they were under so much pressure to get the content out. Even during the game !!

[@TajinderSinghjosan]

i am a photographer and i know only one thing you cant afford to miss any moment ...you have to capture ...capture and just .............. .. ../ RESPECT Michael Wilson /

[@Paul_Rutherford]

Always fun to see how other sports photographers go about their day! Thanks for sharing!

[@mrtexastaco7047]

Wow I love this it’s like my dream to be a photographer and even more as a sport photographer or wild life photographer you video explain so much thank you !

[@cadmus777]

I've been a Sony shooter since they got into DSLR's, and while I prefer Sony generally, Canon makes quality stuff. It's undeniable though that Canon is the clear leader in content about photography. They don't push the fact that all of the photographers in their content are using Canon, but it's obvious enough. I love this stuff.

[@Noeman2009]

Canon care their customers. They offer big discounts twice a year in my country. When I bought a Rebel body they gave me a small flip up flashlight for free. When my Canon PS camera's LCD malfunctioned and guarantie was expired and the camera was discontinued, Canon gave me free a new Canon PSA with higher pixel counts. They held photography events like Canon photo marathon, (previously Canon Asia Pacific Photo Contest every year). So, for most Canon users, especially like me, almost unthinkable to switch gears. Been using Canon gears for more than 3 and half decade (Cameras, Printers, Scanner), used Nikon, Panasonic, Casio, Sony, Oly, Minolta and Pentax. My Favorite brands are still the same: Canon and Pentax.

[@LEXPIX]

Awesome behind the4 scenes. The rain adds to the high pressure atmosphere.

[@davidmalone4017]

Great video-thanks for sharing!!!

[@danielaudacious]

Such an amazing job. This when it's okay to envy.

[@lorenzostheman]

That’s on my bucket list. Photograph a pro game. Any sport just to be on the field or court getting those amazing shots!

[@thepanel2935]

Digital has been described as "an endless roll of film". Yes, I remember the days of 36-exposure rolls of film, pre-focus, and the darkroom. Deadlines are the stress-y thing, and sorting through so many images due to large image bursts and large storage cards. Deleting the crap images off the back of the camera is my favourite part of the job, LOL.

[@ZoyaKhan-pk4nv]

We love you Canon

[@yarisTSk]

nice look inside, thank you.

[@TubaSolotheHiker]

Loved that. Really. Great video.

[@s.whitman280]

This is fantastic. Thank-you for the valuable insight!

[@EricMartinez-un3nm]

No denying sports photographers got it tough. However, Sports Videographer have just as much, but amplified. Editing video takes 5 times longer. It is 4am and I'm just exporting a video I shot at 2PM yesterday. Absolutely love what I do. But holy crap is it a lot of work.

[@glenmale4730]

Great pics... but so much harder in my day (cue old man talking background music). There was no sitting on the shutter for 20 - 30 frame bursts. We had 36 frames per roll and changing took about 40 seconds so you always had to save the reload to save enough frames for when that speccie happened just in front of you. Frame management was actually a thing in the 70's 80's and 90's. And AF??? Follow focus or pre-focus every shot. Also, try Plus-x Pan at 1600asa for an experiment in hope! The pictures are much, much better these days so I guess it negates my argument.. but still.

[@charlesp5419]

I'm doing film photography at 15yo :p A lot of people do it in 2020

[@swordfishgameboy4644]

@@charlesp5419 yes, film sports photojournalism is another story though

[@scott-wright]

How quickly did you have to develop the photos to get them in the paper, I'd assume that night? I find myself going back to my film cameras more and more these days.

[@charlesp5419]

@@swordfishgameboy4644 yes sure I never tried maybe one day!

[@charlesp5419]

@@scott-wright I use a Leica enlarger so it takes 6 sec.

[@day1tech]

Great tips thanks for sharing your experiences

[@jburch5752]

I used to do this. It's a lot of work and you don't have anytime to rest until your photos are transmitted.

[@mac7083]

Hey Michael what settings do you use for night sports pics ?

[@shadostorm8375]

This is so inspiring as Im too a graphic designer intending to be a sports photographer.

[@introvertednoise]

I wanna do this for a living and have a front row seat doing what I love. My question though is why is he wearing a beanie when it’s raining 😂

[@jhoang861]

I noticed that too lol.

[@budhiman.grahak]

Radio and noise

[@SatriaSeptaWijaya]

The legend

[@linaolago2490]

This was inspiring

[@AyazAli-ee9yd]

Mosttttt lovinggggg sound in the worlddddd clickkkkkkkkkk clickkkkkkk, if i had that pro cam 😍😍😍

[@zanerichards8348]

If you had that "pro cam" you'd still be the same photographer.

[@thetruth6444]

@@zanerichards8348 no not true. Anyone who has the gear can shoot sports lol, its not hard. If you are relatively switched on and are passionate then Its impossible to not get a good photo with that gear.

[@dashgameryt8572]

Great work

[@shariqhussain9353]

What app do they use on the mac 🖥️ for photo edit. I want to know?

[@i1msrm]

please bring more stories

[@gavinberry1796]

How do you make sure your equipment doesn't get nicked?

[@stubones]

Enthusiastic amateurs who dream of being a professional photographer don’t realise how quickly your hobby becomes just a job and how quick your dream camera just becomes a work tool… since I started making money from shooting sports, my kit stays in the bag if I’m not working. I never shoot for fun anymore.

[@Pamz89]

Using 1DX body ?

[@subtletherapy]

really think sport photographers could do more with their editing

[@CGPhotoKandou]

the problem is. they could for some special photos. But sports photos have to be realesed fast and much editing isnt possible.

[@くるくるばびんちょ]

やっぱりOVFはいいよなぁ まだ80Dで頑張ろうっと

[@aakashsharma2801]

😘😘Canon lover... But I don't have canon my dream get canon mark 2...

[@ynotegg]

What a cool job but hard work 👍🏽

[@hadihakam8600]

Hello sir.... I hope you will help me... I am searching for such photographer. I would like to become a sports photographer. But how? How do I enter a stadium with a camara? Who gave us the permission? Or can everyone do it? Need any licences? ...Can I work as a photographer for famous sporting events such as FIFA or the World Cup without having any ties to the club?Will they allow me? I hope you will give me valuable advice. I am twenty years old Indian.

[@EugeneMaynard]

👍🏾

[@powderdescent]

Definitely not rocking the R

[@thetruth6444]

unpopular opinion but honestly high burst rates takes the skill out of capturing the moment. How can you possibly miss the moment when you can just hold your shutter down and get everything lmao. Sports photography is just about providing images to media for the mass public to consume and cameras with high burst rates guarantee the shot. It's not skilful. Make all models of cameras only able to shoot 1fps and see which photographers stand out. A lot will be culled. Literally give anyone who has passion for sports photography, the same gear and give them the same amount of time experience shooting AFL games as you and they could do your job just as well. Shooting sports with 12+ fps is not hard lol. Once you learn how to position yourself anyone could produce the same photos. Hardly impressive.

[@christopher.walker]

Totally agree !

[@thomaspinder1596]

As a sports photographer who has done manual focus 35mm film photography for rugby and football matches. Yes there is still skill necessary for sports photography with auto focus and 12fps, if it's so easy why aren't you doing it?

[@africanhistory]

I should not have to tell Canon this, but if you turn down the music a little we might hear his what he is saying with that heavy accent.

[@beaumitchell]

Heavy accent? This is Canon Australia...

[@sebastiangrob4813]

It's really not that heavy. If anything it's on the medium- mild side

[@gamingwithnicko1942]

Soccer is a superior sport

[@grantking4681]

Yeah, a real soft game played by academy award winning sheilas!

[@JBexplores]

Lol he must love working at Etihad, no rain!

[@mahatmapech6288]

No worries your stuff might getr stolen, that was left behindat the field while you were inside the cabins after game was over? a 6000€ lens is not that easy to steal but not impossible.

[@slappedby_tao4670]

Do the people who hire you pay for the cost of your travels?

[@pancakezy4169]

He needs some AirPods

[@Dhruv.Wadhwa]

The pics are crappy though Reason why sony is better Canon sucks

[@aarondraper7287]

So go to the Sony channel and enjoy their work. Why even waste your time commenting here? Unless of course, you have nothing else to do....