When to pull the trigger...

Now, I'm not the best sports photographer around, but I know a thing or two about the subject.  Even though I focus my efforts on music, performance, and lifestyle photography, I have shot more sporting events than I can remember.  It's just a fact of life that a photojournalist will wind up covering some sport for a newspaper or magazine from time to time.  

When considering sports photography, there are a few things to keep in mind.  One, where can you position yourself that will not interfere with the game, will keep you safe (a ball to the head is not a good thing), and will get the best pictures?  Often, there will be a designated spot for the media to stand, though the smaller events will be more flexible.  

Another thing to consider is when do you actually press the shutter button?  This may sound obvious, but you need to really think things through.  Today's cameras can take several images in the blink of an eye.  Many decent models will shoot five frames per second, and some models will double or triple that number.  Sound fast?  Well fast is never fast enough.  

This is why you need to combine those fast frame speeds with a logical plan of action.  If you are shooting golf (like I was for this charitable tournament recently), there will be a VERY short window of opportunity to capture the action.  If you shoot too soon, you may miss the peak of energy/excitement/emotion in the swing, capturing a non-climactic shot.  If you shoot too late, well, you probably missed everything!  

Let's look at these samples of the most basic and fundamental golf shot, the first swing from the tee:  

The first two images show a golfer hitting the ball.  Even though I captured the ball launching off the tee in the above image, I prefer the second image.  The first image shows very little movement.  The ball is moving and a back leg has some twist to it.  The rest of the body and the club are all in line with each other.  The golfer could almost be standing still from what you see.  

The second image has that classic golf pose, with a nice arched back, leg kicked out, and the club behind his head.  You can tell he just swung hard and is tracking the ball's flight.

Again, look at the two shots below.  One is taken just before the ball was hit.  You get a sense of movement, but something feels lacking.  The ball is just sitting there.  In golf, you imagine a ball zipping through the air or rolling down a green.  The second image was shot just a hair too late to capture some of the tense muscles and grimaced face associated with the swing, but it does have a lot going for it.  The golfer and his partner are looking down the fairway, so your eye is led to an imagined ball down towards the green.  There is still a nice shape to the golfers body.  I would definitely choose the second shot over the first.

Here is an example of a golfer shot right at the moment he hits the ball (above) and a golfer finishing his swing (below).  Both have tense muscles and intense faces.  You can tell some force is being used to drive the ball.  

However, the top image only has that intensity going for it.  The ball has barely moved from the tee and the golfer is in a very boring position.  If he wasn't tensed up, you would've thought he was just lining up for a practice swing.  The club is sitting in a position normally associated with resting or aiming, not smacking a ball into next week.  

The bottom image has the tensed face, legs and arm muscles, but also has that same arched back, kicked out leg, and flying club.  You can tell the golfer just hit a long one, and it's screaming down the fairway.

And these last two shots show a variation on the classic golf shot.  They have the same wonderful body position as the other "good" shots, but they also have some extra details.  The top image has some grass and dirt flying up off the ground.  It helps to show that a mini-explosion just hit where the ball once sat.  The bottom image shows a tee floating in the air.  It is proof that a gigantic force just came barreling through, kicking up the tee as the ball takes off.

Don't think I'm suggesting that every golf shot should be taken in this exact pose.  There are an infinite number of ways to capture the action of the game.  Instead, I'm just taking one of the most basic positions for photographing the game and pointing out the minor details that can make a shot seem average vs. great.  This should be the first shot you learn and the first shot that you take.

Once you get this idea down, then you can start looking for creative spots behind sand traps, on greens, or even in between holes to capture the full game.  But, I wouldn't star playing around until you know you can capture this "golf 101" shot without fail.  If you can't get this fundamental image captured, you aren't ready for the next step...