Why You're Not Getting Paid To Shoot (PhotoFit #19)

The most common question I get in my email from aspiring photographers is "how do I get paid to shoot."  This usually has the same follow-ons, 1) I've shot for free but now want to get paid, 2) I don't know what to charge, 3) I don't know what to give clients, and so on.  By no means do I have all the secrets, but I want to spell out a few of the key points in my mind to turn you from just aspiring to actually making money taking photos.

First, if you want to get paid taking photos, you need to already be a professional.  I'll go over what that means to me.

CrossFit Garden City Partner Competition - shot for CFGC

You need to have professional equipment.  No, don't run out and buy a Nikon D5 and a plethora of lens, but a basic dslr, with a basic lens will do the trick.  DSLRs are incredible now.  Even entry level DSLRs have incredible low light capabilities and can create fantastic images in the right hands, better you can get them very cheap used.  A basic crop body camera - like a used Nikon 7100 or the Canon equivalent will run you less than $600 and a 35mm 1.8 (great for the low light in a gym) is less than $200.  With a setup like that you can shoot RAW, have plenty of low light range, and can nail tact sharp photos.  With those tools you can deliver a professional product to your client that they will be happy with.

Rob Moloney - Shot for Goat Tape

Next you need to have a portfolio and a social media presence, you could even get extra points and have a website.  The social media presence is easy, and everyone now has an instagram accpimt and posts photos there.  That is not a portfolio.  A portfolio is a link you can send to a client that is representative of your work.  It should be direct and short.  A portfolio should be 8-12 photos specifically of the type of work you're looking to do.  Don't send a portfolio to a gym client that includes wedding photos, or food photos.  They are trying to hire the best fitness shooter, not some person that can do a little of everything.  Your portfolio should also be perfect.  Each shot should be great, without any technical mistakes, and stand on its own.  If you're not confident in a shot, dump it.  You have every photo you've ever taken to choose from, make sure they are all winners.  More is not better here.  A client or editor isn't going to scroll through 30 images, they are going to skim a few and make a judgement.  Don't include crap.

Lastly, you could have a website.  A website might really just be your portfolio - sort of like my landing page at www.scp-fit.com.  I consider that page sort of an expanded portfolio.  It has an about me section, and a few portfolio pages that are sorely in need of an overhaul.  And a way to get in contact with me.  A website isn't a deal-breaker, but it is definitely nice to have.  I have this one hosted on Squarespace and it was very easy to put together.

Mat Fraser - Shot for East Coast Championship

So let's say having some gear, a portfolio, and a web presence is the starting point to being a professional.  Next up, getting a job.

You need to walk into your first job already knowing how your gear works and how to deliver.  Don't make a client learn the hard way that this is your first time.  The easiest way to get those bugs out of the way is to head to your gym and take photos.  Class is every hour and most people in the CrossFit space love having their photo taken.  Just clear it with the gym owner/coach/ and members and you're good to go.  Experiment, practice, and figure out how your camera works and how to get good results.

Now it just comes down to marketing.  If you want to shoot at gyms, contact local gyms!  If there are clients - whether athletes or sponsors - that you want to work for, reach out to them.  Email and social media are always easy, but phone calls work better.  Provide a link to your portfolio.  Go into this already knowing what you're going to provide.  

Beach stock shots - shot for Flex Events

Set up some basic packages.  Here are some examples of what you could do.  2 group classes, plus coaches photos for $xxx, or 4 group classes plus coaches photos for $xxx.  Explain what your deliverables will be (100 edited photos?  200 edited photos?  Watermarks or no watermarks?, what sort of usage will the client receive?  Finally, explain what sort of turn around time you can provide.  Will they have their photos in a week or a day?  

I can't emphasis this enough.  A lot of people will just say no, or worse, not even answer you at all.  That is just how it is.  You need to cast a wide net and reach out to a lot of clients before someone will get interested in you.  From there, the haggle usually starts.  You need to know what your market is like and what your time is worth.  In your area do gyms pay $1000 for photo services?  Are they used to getting everything for free?  You need to go in with a number that will not simply insult the gym but take into account what they could actually afford.  To determine your own worth, look at the investment, first in time.  A 2 hour shoot usually include 30 mins of setup and breakdown on each end, then there is an hour of driving as well.  Let's say you're not a very speedy editor so every hour of photography you do, takes two hours of editing to process and edit your images.  Pre-shoot calls and emails are another 30mins-hour.  Delivery and follow-up are the same.  So a 2 hour shoot is actually 11 hours of work.  What do you think that time is worth per hour?  You're also walking into the shoot with a few hundred to a few thousand dollars of camera gear, as well as the computer at home, and the software you're going to use to edit.  While each client shouldn't have to pay for all of that, you could certainly assign a percentage to it to help determine your rate.  

This is often the falling off point for people who haven't landed their first client yet.  Telling someone you're worth money -- and I don't mean charging $50 for a 4 hour shoot -- but real money -- hundreds if not thousands of dollars is scary.  Sticking to your guns when a client says "can you do it for less" is tough.  That's where you just need to get some comfort in knowing what you're worth and what the lowest rate you'll shoot at is.

Emily Abbot - Shot for Wodapalooza 

I think this is the perfect time to talk about working for free or for "exposure."  Just don't do it.  Free clients don't become pay clients.  You will forever forward be the "free guy."  Working for free also damages the local market for other photographers.  All that said, there are certainly times to work with financial compensation.  Barter is a real thing.  Plenty of working photographers have started out by getting their gym memberships in exchange for a monthly photoshoot.  That is not "working for free" you and the client are both getting something you want.  Further, there may be a particular athlete you want to work with, they might need some portfolio images, and you might want to practice with a more high profile athlete.  You're getting practice, they are getting some portfolio images.  That could be a resonable barter depending where both of you are at.  Again, it is all about valuation.  

Whenever you're working a job, make sure you have some kind of written agreement in place spelling out exactly what you are going to do and deliver, as well as what the client is required to do (pay you, when and how).  You also should have model releases for everyone that will be involved in the shoot as well as from the location owner (there are some handy apps that make this easier).  I also don't want to burst your bubble, but if you're working, you really should have a separate business insurance policy.  If someone trips on your camera bag at a gym, they can sue you, and if you don't have the proper insurance in place you can be liable for a hefty payout. 

Katrin Davidsdottir - Shot for East Coast Championship

I think this lays out the basics of "how do I get people to pay me."  To summarize, know the gear you're working with and have a portfolio.  Know what kind of clients you want to work with and what you can provide for them at what rate.  Lastly, deliver!  Do a killer job and make sure they are happy with the product you put together.

If you like what you've read, please share.  Feel free to post some content suggestions below so I know what you're looking for in my next post.  For bookings email shaun@superclearyphoto.com.  And as always, follow @supercleary on instagram and SuperClearyPhoto on Facebook.

Getting Unique Shots in a Crowd - Shooting the CrossFit Games Part 2 (PhotoFit #15)

In my first post about shooting the CrossFit Games I focused on the challenges of shooting with long lenses in the gigantic Soccer Stadium.  In part two, I'll cover the complexities of shooting from fixed shooting positions and trying to create unique images that help you stand out from a crowd of other photographers.

For the third year in a row I've had the pleasure of working for CrossFit Inc. as part of their photography team.  In working within that team, positions and roles are assigned.  Once the action moves to the Tennis Stadium, assignments fall into two categories: assigned seats, and floater positions.  With assigned seats, you're literally handed a seat ticket and have to stay locked in that position.  These seats usually make for an incredible view of the action.  First and foremost, I've always been a fan of the sport itself, so getting a front row seat is never something to complain about.  As a floater - you're either shooting in the media lane or wandering around the stadium looking for good sight lines - I'll cover this more in the next post.

Katrin Davidsdottir at the 2016 CrossFit Games - Sigma 120-300 - Copyright CrossFit Inc, 2016, all rights reserved

The downsides of these seats from a photography perspective is that if I found myself in a seat where the action wasn't particularly close to you, or doesn't advance towards you, I sometimes found myself at a loss for how to capture great images.  The Games aren't unique in this, all major sports have assigned positions for photographers, and it's on the photographer to make the best out of those positions.

If I was in a less than optimal position for a specific WOD, I fell back on the importance of trusting in the team I was working with.  Because other shooters from the team are assigned across the rest of the stadium, I count on the fact that they are in position to get the perfect shot, and it then becomes my job to see how creative you can get in unique positions.

Katrin Davidsdottir - 2015 CrossFit Games - Sigma 120-300 - Copyright CrossFit Inc, 2016, all rights reserved

Lens selection varies wildly once you're in the Tennis Stadium, and I think that's a great way to become creative and stand out.  For the most part, I actually went back to my Regionals go-to, the Sigma 120-300 2.8.  I really love working with that lens, and only at the extremes was that 300 not enough reach in the Tennis Stadium.  For a few events this year, and when the action was panning across my seat in the south side, I busted out the 200-400 and tried to really get in super tight to athletes.  I always love working with the extra reach these monster lenses afford, but as the action gets closer, they get more and more restrictive.  

As a fun combo during the Ring Handstand Push-up event, I was stationed in the south seats (the finish line) and shot down the lane with the 200-400.  On my second body, I had a 70-200, and as the athletes closed for their last reps and sprint to the finish, I switched to that, to still get nice and tight, but offer a great degree more flexibility, and ease of use.

Camille Leblanc-Bazinet at the 2016 CrossFit Games - 200-400 f/4 - Copyright CrossFit Inc, 2016, all rights reserved

The Tennis Stadium is an incredibly unique shooting environment with the action so close, and the conditions so easy to shoot in.   When you look to your left and right there are dozens of cameras - some professional, some just part of the spectators', but you'll also notice most people are using very similar lenses.  Something I always try and think about when shooting in this sort of environment is trying to get shots other people aren't. With some base level knowledge, and because high-end equipment's price has come down so dramatically, it really doesn't take all that much to get a good result when the lighting is awesome like it is in the Tennis Stadium.  Even with a semi-entry level camera like a Nikon d5500 or a Canon 70d and a 24-120 f/4,($1000) you're going to be able to get sharp action photos with low ISO settings, and you're not even going to know it wasn't shot on a Nikon D5 with a 70-200 ($8000)

Cole Sager during the 2015 CrossFit Games - Nikon 70-200 - Copyright CrossFit Inc, 2016, all rights reserved

Because of that, I'm always thinking of how to mix up shots a bit so they don't just look identical to what everyone else shooting from similar positions are probably taking.  The "easy shot" is a classic head to toe of an athlete exercising with the whole athlete in frame.  Wide shots are much easier to take, and much easier to get tact-sharp focus on.  What I try to do once I get some safeties - the boring classic shots that help fill out coverage - is try to shoot very tight.  If I shoot super tight, my editors won't have to crop in post, and the image itself will have that amazing background compression and bokeh.  This is how you can get some really unique images while shooting from the exact same position as every other shooter. 

If I'm using a 70-200, I'm going to try to shoot closer to 200 and really get tight on the athletes.  If I'm on the 120-300 I try to go tighter than 200 (otherwise what's the point).  Yes, I miss a lot because of this.  Yes, I get a lot of weird crops and amputations that aren't useable.  But, when everything lines up right, the focus hits, and the crop is good, I'm able to get a really unique image that I don't think a lot of other people are going for.  

For some technical details, when I'm trying to shoot really tight during fast action, I'm going to use continuous autofocus (sorry this will all be Nikon language), and actually limit it to only 9 points.  On the D5 there are something like 51 focus points you can use, but I actually like to limit it.  As the action moves and the camera hunts for focus, if you limit the active points, you can actually track faster.  Of course, I'm using back button focusing the whole time -- read about that here if you're unfamiliar.  Something else to help get focus, I might actual close down my aperture just a bit.  With a 2.8 lens, I might actually shoot at 3.2 or 3.5.  There will be a very minor difference in the out of focus areas (especially because I'm shooting with a lot of zoom to help get compression), but I'm able to get a little more of the athlete in focus especially if they shift forward or back.  And because I'm getting a little less light, I'll just bump up the ISO more, which won't really be noticeable on pro bodies like the Nikon D4-5 / Canon 1dx mk1/2.  

Jacob Heppner - 2016 CrossFit Games - Sigma 120-300 - Copyright CrossFit Inc, 2016, all rights reserved

For example, in 2016, I was shooting from the West finish line where athletes advanced during double DT.  I'll zoom all the way into the athlete's head and put my focus point on the eye.  From there, I'll hold down the back button, and grab frames during those decisive moments of peak exertion.  I will also try to frame up the shot in camera, but to get this in focus, I may select a focus point off to the left, right, top, or bottom so that focus point lines up best with the athlete's head and I'm able to fill the frame as much as possible. Another option is to use that middle focus point to get the subject in focus and then recompose the shoot.  You have to be careful doing this though, because if the athlete moves forward or back during the time you're recomposing, the shot will be out of focus.  The shot above of Jacob Heppner was snapped with the Sigma 120-300, at more than 200mm.  He was relatively close to me and it was an adventure to get everything framed up right and in focus.  Below is another shot, still useable, but includes a bit of a crop on Mat Fraser's hand which I'm not happy about.

Mat Fraser - 2016 CrossFit Games - Sigma 120-300 - Copyright CrossFit Inc, 2016, all rights reserved

The best part of the last two images - in my opinion is the out of focus areas.  They are just buttery mush.  It helps separate out the athlete and create what I think are really great images.  By zooming in so hard and leaving so little to need to be cropped, the background fades out into just colors.

Another type of shot I've grabbed the last three years from the same finish line is the "finish" shot.  After an athlete's done, I'll keep the lens zoomed in on them and keep clicking hoping for a great reaction.  Yes, shooting with a 24-70 is going to be much easier to make sure I don't miss anything or crop the shot in a weird way, but shooting with a 70-200 when you nail it is so worth it.  Here are a couple examples.  The first is shot very close with a 70-200 and the other is with the 120-300 handheld.  Yes, I try that shot a lot, and I have a ton of misses, but that zoomed in image, to me, is so much stronger than a boring wide shot.

Scott Panchik's finish double DT at the 2016 CrossFit Games - Nikon 70-200 - Copyright CrossFit Inc, 2016, all rights reserved

CLB at the 2015 CrossFit Games - Sigma 120-300 - Copyright CrossFit Inc, 2016, all rights reserved

For some takeaways - I'd always recommend trying to shoot much tighter than you normally would.  Wide shots, while useful, are really easy to get and easy to duplicate.  To get your images to stand out in a stack of other images from the same event, try taking the harder shots - zoomed tight and into the action.  You're going to miss a whole bunch, but the hits are much better.  In my next piece of the Games, I'll talk about shooting from float positions in the Tennis Stadium and working to get the best shots in those scenarios.

If you like what you've read, please share.  Feel free to post some content suggestions below so I know what you're looking for in my next post.  For bookings email shaun@superclearyphoto.com.  And as always, follow @supercleary on instagram and SuperClearyPhoto on Facebook.

Big Lenses and Big Pressure - Shooting the CrossFit Games Part 1 (PhotoFit 14)

I had the pleasure of shooting the CrossFit Games for the third year in a row for CrossFit HQ this summer.  Shooting the SuperBowl of exercise is a huge job that requires a monstrous quiver of lenses to really capture those unique moments across a series of differing arenas.  I'll try to write a few different posts about shooting the Games, but this one is going to be specifically focused on shooting with long lenses, and trying (and sometimes failing) to get good results using them.

Shooting for CrossFit Inc. has some serious perks.  First off, you're not on your own, you're part of a large team - anywhere from 8-12 photographers, plus a few onsite editors, as well an incredible group of volunteers.  Next you get access to an arsenal of loaned long lenses and tele convertors.  To begin with, I own the Sigma 120-300 2.8 (new version).  I picked it up two years ago before regionals and it quickly became my CrossFit work horse.  All of my favorite images from Regionals over the last three year came from that lens.  Those extra 100mm really just add so much punch and reach that I really think they create something special.

Josh Bridges at the 2016 California Regional - Sigma 120-300 2.8, Nikon D4. -- Copyright CrossFit Inc, 2016, all rights reserved

At the Games, it's a different story though.  The soccer field at the Stubhub Center literally eats lenses.  70-200mm?  No way.  The starting point is 200 and that's only enough to get a wide shot. On the Nikon side the team had access to the following -- Nikon 200-400 f/4, Nikon 300 f2.8, Nikon 400 f/2.8, Nikon 600 f/4, and a Nikon 1.4x and 2x.

Let's talk some basics of shooting with monster lenses before I get into some of my experiences over the last few years.  First off, shooting with with lens around 300 and above, a monopod becomes a must.  These guys are heavy and the idea of handholding them may work for a shot or two, but not for any extended period of shooting.  Without a monopod, grabbing any sort of focus is basically impossible.  And longer lenses at 400 and above are basically impossible to operate without being staked into the ground.  Just because you're on a monopod though, the basic rules of composition don't change.  Simply standing there with a monster lens at eye level will get you just as boring images, even though it's much easier on the body to shoot that way.  I'll usually work to have the mono as close to the ground as possible, or at the lowest part of the guardrail that wraps the stadium.  From there I'll shoot taking a knee on the ground to help keep the camera that much more stable.  When that starts getting boring, I like to get rid of the mono and just shoot from the ground in the prone position.  While certainly a crapshoot, images from this angle in a huge stadium all the way zoomed can really came out incredible.  Anytime in an image when you can make that stadium look huge (and crowded) wrapping around the subject really creates a better story and more impact.  Shooting from the ground up angle is always a surefire way to make an athlete look huge and their accomplishments that much more impressive.

Shooting with the Nikon 200-400 during the "climbing worm" WOD at the 2016 CrossFit Games

With these sorts of extreme focal lengths too, another challenge is amputations.  When you're framing up a shot, it is easier than ever to cut off a limb / hand / foot.  You have to take that much extra care to either make sure you frame things in such a way that you don't cut off anything, or if you have to, you do it strategically that aesthetically works.

Shooting during big field events like those at the CrossFit Games you're not allowed to simply walk wherever you want.  You're required to stay off the sidelines and around the perimeter.  Because of that, you're not always able to be exactly where you want to nail the shot.  You also have to deal with myriad video guys, judges, and other staff on the field constantly walking across, or blocking your frame.  That's simply the name of the game though.  I'd love to fill my feed with the number of judges backs and videographer photos I've taken, when I thought I was about to nail the perfect shot.  These sorts of restrictions though force you to always consider what type of lens you're going to bring out to shoot - fast moving events, zooms are usually easier.  Slower events, primes can workout great.  Action close to you?  Maybe more standard lenses in the 24-200 range will work out better.

In terms of settings, you're generally dealing with extremely bright daylight filtering into the stadium during the middle of the day.  In the morning and afternoon there is a horrific split light between the rising/setting sun and shade which makes for some really tough exposures.  While many shooters prefer aperture priority during an outdoor shoot like this, I always prefer manual.  My issue with shooting in Aperture priority is that the camera's computer can easily be fooled by extreme differences in exposure.  What do I mean?  Say you're shooting straight on at an athlete coming towards you.  You're lying on the ground.  Those first couple frames just have the stadium behind the subject, the image comes out great.  As the subject gets closer the angle gets more extreme and that super bright sky is now half the background.  Depending on what metering setting you have your camera on, you may get an extremely underexposed image as the camera's meter focuses too much on the sky and not enough on the subject.  Yes, there are different metering techniques to compensate for this and you could also always use exposure compensation.  But now there are two extra steps you have to take and you may still get an exposure off.  For me, I'd rather take a few tests shots and get a good baseline.  From there, I'll slowly adjust my shutter speed up or down to compensate for changes in the ambient light while keeping my subject exposed well.  While this technique may lead to a series of images that are a little overexposed or underexposed, you're not going to get extremes unless the lighting radically changes and you simply forget to compensate.

I rarely shoot at ISO 100.  I'd much prefer to sit around 400-800 because I can then have a super fast shutter speed -- generally 1/1000th as a baseline.  Remember, these larger lenses are usually f/4 so you're loosing a lot of light from the normally quick f 2.8 lenses.  With the amazing camera bodies out there now, you can easily shoot all the way up to ISO 1600 before you even notice the slightest flicker of noise.

The full collection of Nikon gear at the 2016 CrossFit Games

My first year at the Games in 2014, and really inexperienced at shooting in such large fields, I gravitated towards the 200-400 f/4.  Even though it's an f/4 lens, shooting outdoors during the day means that basically doesn't matter.  You're able to use that ISO range from 100-1000 to maintain fast shutter speeds and 0 noise. I like the flexibility a zoom provides and it feels much more similar to shooting with a 70-200 in a regular field.  It's crazy though shooting with lenses in this range.  At 400mm you're able to get so close and tight to the action in the lanes closer to your sideline that you're able to get a view almost no one else can.  Regardless of what the internet says, I think 2014 was the hottest year in my time at the Stubhub Center.  The added joy of working with these huge lenses in big events is you have to lug them for our media office - two plus stories up in the press box - and get them back and forth to the field.  Add in some 100 degree sun and 20 minute heats, and you get the idea.  I can't go on enough though about how amazing the volunteer squad that we have was (and continues to be).  All with a smile, they would gladly carry the heaviest gear, run for water and snacks, sprint memory cards up and down flights of stairs, and just be otherwise awesome.  Without them, handling this gear all day would be a real struggle.

2014 CrossFit Games - I take naps whenever possible.  Always trying to keep the batteries on full.  Copyright CrossFit Inc, 2016, all rights reserved Photo by Tai Randall

Working with a larger team requires you to operate much more differently than you would if you were the sole shooter for the event.  We received assignments from our manager, putting us on different sides of the field and required to cover the action from there.  Some events aren't overly conducive to the money shots from some sides, but even from the worst shooting position, you're still able to occasionally capture a really unique moment.  And really, you're only given this opportunity because you can count on the other shooters in their positions nailing their shots.  This does a lot of things for you though.  You're able to sit back and really compose your images.  You don't need to take 1000 photos of the back of athletes heads if they're moving away from you.  You have the time to get the right lens and work to get a unique shot that you wouldn't be able to do if you were required to cover the entire event yourself.

In 2015, I was much more comfortable working with the larger zoom lens so wanted to try my hand at some of the more exotic glass the team had, the big primes and also teles.  While I absolutely love shooting with primes in the gym environment - the Sigma 35 1.4 to be specific - I find the big primes extremely restrictive and challenging in big field sports.  The first issue working with them is they are gigantic and heavy.  A monopod is a must, be on top of that they simply suck to lug around.  Beyond that, their handling requires the fine touch of a steady hand.  The slightest shakes back and forth or side to side can knock a perfectly level shot off, or knock a well composed frame into dutch angle hell.  The most obvious challenge of primes though is that they aren't zooms.  Once you plop that monopod in the ground, that's your position.  Assuming you picked the perfect spot at that moment, the athletes will inevitably be moving closer or farther from you, requiring you to shift positions as you track the action.  

Shooting with the Nikon 600 F/4 at the 2016 CrossFit Games, image credit Jason Morrison (@dubtastic)

When I shoot, I want to do the best I can to fill the frame in the camera and leave as little cropping as possible for post.  Filling the frame in camera creates the largest possible useable file and the easiest to edit.  Further, you're going to get the best possible bokeh, whereas if you crop into the image, you're not going to get any additional quality in those out of focus areas.  Especially when working with editors that might not see what you're seeing, you want to leave as little to the imagination as possible.  Nailing the shot in camera is that much more important.  With a prime in the Soccer Stadium though, setup on the sidelines, you might only really be able to fill the frame with one or two lanes of athletes, limiting your section for that perfect shot.  Because of that, you're constantly needing to reset your position as the action develops, or worse, sit idle as you watch as those critical moments are happening either too close or too far from your position.

Now that's not to say primes are all bad - or bad at all.  When you set yourself in the perfect position, and the action develops just right, the moments you can capture with a prime are stunning.  The sharpness and bokeh are incredible, and simply can't be reproduced with a zoom lens.  It requires a lot of patience and a bit of luck, and you can nail some killer shots.  Me though?  Not so much.  I struggled working with primes in the fast moving action on the soccer field.  Looking back through my images, I found my hit rate much lower when working with primes, and even some really good shots, needed a lot of cropping in post to get the look I wanted.  Again, when you're shots are being sorted and edited on the fly, shots that aren't quite right like that get passed by in place of better composed images.

Katrin Davidsdottir - 2016 CrossFit Games during the Snail WOD - Nikon 600 F/4 - Copyright CrossFit Inc, 2016, all rights reserved

Another experiment in 2015 was working with teleconvertors to try and get a reach that isn't attainable with lenses even like the 400mm.  The common caution against using teleconvertors is that they "soften" the image, and in my experience I think that is partially true.  The first example I can think of was during the team event that included a series of rope climbs in the middle of the massive Zeus rig.  I was down in the endzone and wanted something that could reach all the way into the rig.  So I created what I affectionally called the "hubble" -- the 600 f/4 with a 1.4x tele, effectively making it a 840mm lens.  While the reach I got was nuts, and the background compression was incredible, a close review of the images after the fact revealed many of the shots I thought I "nailed" were actually soft and the sharp focus was just not there.  I'm not saying the teles were the cause of that, I think it was a lot more operator error than anything else, but it certainly cautioned me from falling for the desire for that extra reach the next year.  I had a similar experience working with the 1.4x on the 200-400.  While that extra reach was great, I really found it that much harder to get that tact sharp focus in my images.

Pondering tacos with the Nikon 200-400.  Photo Cred CrossFit Inc, Colleen Baz

Starting in 2015, we also worked to get our edits even faster with the introduction of a private wifi network on the field, and all cameras transmitting small jpeg images over that network direct to the editors.  When it worked, it was crazy to take what you think was a killer photo in the heat of a WOD, and a few minutes later notice on facebook or instagram, it was already edited on and online.

For 2016, we had a similar quiver of equipment and after reviewing my work from the previous years - what got good results and what didn't - I had a different gameplan.  For the soccer stadium, I went back to the basics and stuck to the gear I knew worked for me and the way I shoot.  I balanced using the 200-400 in the soccer field with just a sprinkling of the 400 and 600 during some of the slower events where I had more time to plan and compose shots.  

Katrin Davidsdottir and Tia-Clair Toomey at the 2016 CrossFit Games, Nikon 70-200, Nikon D4s -- Copyright CrossFit Inc, 2016, all rights reserved

Something I never really used much in previous years was my old standby, the Nikon 70-200.  Because of the ease of handling this "small" lens, it was much quicker to get down on the ground and take some shots from the prone positions, especially on the fast and dramatic turn of the suicide sprint WOD.  Ironically, the first mainsite image I got during the 2016 CrossFit Games, was taken with the 70-200 in the soccer field, not one of the $7000 prime lenses.

 Regardless of the venue, the most important thing to me is getting right in the action.  Sometimes you can do that with gigantic lenses, other times you just need to still be physically close to where the action is going to be, and hope everything lines up just right.  My take aways from working with these big lenses is that a monopod quickly becomes your best friend, and good planning is important.  On paper a 400 f2.8 might be the most magical lens ever, but if you find yourself assigned to a position where that can't catch that action, it's worthless.  Point being that you want to go into a shoot - any shoot really - knowing where you're going to be and what's the best tool to help get the shot.  For me, it is tough to beat the versatility of zooms like the Nikon 200-400 f/4 for shooting big field sports like this.  From one position you're able to cover multiple lanes of action, and within a single lane, on one athlete you can get multiple looks depending on how much you zoom.

Stay tuned for part 2 where I take things into the Tennis Stadium where I go over a whole different slew of challenges.

When given the opportunity to take a break, a nap is always crucial

If you like what you've read, please share.  Feel free to post some content suggestions below so I know what you're looking for in my next post.  For bookings email shaun@superclearyphoto.com.  And as always, follow @supercleary on instagram and SuperClearyPhoto on Facebook.

How to Develop RAW Fitness Photos (PhotoFit #10)

This post has been sitting in my drafts for about two years, and I'm finally getting around to finishing it! I'm going to talk about the basics of post processing that I use and have worked well for me.  Before I go any further, this will be entirely focused on Adobe Lightroom, which is both cheap ($10 a month through the creative cloud or around $100 standalone) and an unbelievably powerful tool to any photographer.

Step 1 of my post processing guide, and this is a step you have to take before you ingest your images to the computer: Shoot RAW.  I won't really get into a long discussion about the long-standing argument about shooting RAW vs JPEG, but just accept that RAW wins.  RAW is basically the ingredients to the cake, but not the cake.  It is everything you need for a perfect image, but the image isn't done yet.  Taking that further what that really means is that you control the final look of the image and nothing is baked into the file by the computer in the camera.  The most obvious place this impacts is white balance, and if you've ever shot inside a decrepit warehouse gym, you understand how easily white balance is thrown off by bad lighting.  If you shoot JPEG, white balance is determined by the camera, and while it can be altered in post, it cannot be corrected the same way as RAW.  RAW files influence the final image in a number of other ways, but all you need to know is this is the largest, cleanest, most untouched file your camera can produce.  This should be your starting point for an edit, not a compressed JPEG that limits your options.

Dan Baxt at Active Life Athletics

So I'll go over a basic edit that I'll preform on an individual image basis and the usual order I'll go about.  (Note: I have basic presets that I've developed and will generally import with on of these active based on the image I'm ingesting -- my normal workflow will skip a number of these steps)

First things first, skip everything else and head down to Lens Correction.  I almost always use lens correction (except with fish eye lenses where I want the distortion) because it corrects a number of the issues you can experience with a wide range of lenses like distortion and vignetting.  

Next head to camera calibration.  I'll usually select "camera standard" which will give a fairly good starting point to how the image looked on the back of your camera.  As a note, you'll find these panels towards the bottom of the develop module.  If you're starting your edit from scratch, I want both of these changed first because they will impact the coloring and exposure of the image slightly across the entire shot.

Cropping:  I can't overstate how crucial this phase is.  Because of the way focus systems work, you may not be able to frame a photo perfectly, and get it tact sharp, because of that framing and composition could be off.  After those previous basic adjustments are made, the crop is whats going to nail the composition of the image.  I won't go nuts about composition here, but before you edit your image, it should be cropped as well as straightened.  A crooked photo is not interesting, it's crooked.  Any shot that has a horizon line or a straight vertical beam in it needs to have that line straight in the final image.  Very very minor tweaks add huge value in "finishing" the image.

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Paige Miller, Long Beach, New York

Next up the two most critical steps: White Balance and Exposure.

White Balance adjustments help correct for all the issues that can happen when the camera misinterprets what the actual color of a scene was, or you can adjust to get the image more in line with how you want it to look (realistic vs. creative).  To correct this, I'll hit the eye dropper and then sample an area of white/grey in the image.  That will usually get the WB close, and will then just need a minor adjustment on the temperature slider.

Now exposure is other huge global adjustment that radically impacts the image.  This is where you're correcting for the brightness/darkness of the image.  Especially in dark indoor locations, you can really save an image here.  The exposure slider must be used with caution and not as a primary way of getting the image properly exposed.   As exposure is added to an image, more and more noise is introduced (a common theme in editing). As a rule of thumb you don't ever want to adjust this slider more than 1 full stop (between -1.0 to +1.0).  Especially using cheaper camera bodies, pushing much more than this will not save your image, but make it really look worse.

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Random hero, Flex on the Mall 2016

Next up, contrast.  I like a strong contrasty image.  I've never found a reason to go below 0, and I'll usually land around +25.  Contrast can also be adjusted in the tone curve section by adjusting the point curve to medium contrast or strong contrast.  Play around and see what method works for your look.  You'll notice the harder you adjust contrast though how the color and exposure of the image will be altered as well, so you may have to go back and get tweaking.

Highlights and shadows -- the bright parts and dark parts of your image.  When I first started, it seemed to make sense to put the highlights to -100 and the shadows to +100.  That was really just because I had no idea what I was doing and I thought it looked neat.  It doesn't.  Like anything else, use adjustments with moderation.  But some examples when to make big changes with these sliders: extreme dynamic range.  Let's say you shoot on the beach.  It is very tough to get the subject, as well as the sky properly exposed in the same image.  In this case, I would under expose my subject so I could still get something like a blue sky, and then bring the shadows up in the edit.  Normally in a gym environment, I want to bring down the highlights a bit to get a better skin tone, and pull up the shadows slightly.  

Whites/blacks -- again, these should be tweaked with caution.  I like a strong, contrasty image, so I generally increase the whites, decrease the blacks, that helps put more "punch" in the shot.  The "professional" way of doing this right has you holding the option key and sliding the whites until a white outline begins to develop, and doing the same thing with the blacks until a black shadows starts to fill in.  

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Katrin Davidsdottir, ECC 2016

Presence might be my favorite place to experiment because so much can be done in just a few little tweaks.  +100 clarity is the first thing any amateur photographer will do when they open up Lightroom.  It makes everyone look like they are cut out of stone and have huge muscles -- the "300 effect".  The more you get comfortable working and editing your images, you'll realize, moderation is again key.  Clarity can add a lot of structure to an image, but it will also make everything look extremely post-processed and not real.  I think for a fitness scene - +30 is "moderate."  Vibrance and saturation deal strictly with the color of the image.  When you hear about "desaturating" an image, that's where this work is done.  Tweaking a combination of the vibrance/saturation sliders will pull color out of an image and add a fade.  Cranking these sliders too far the other way will make the colors cartoonish.  Again, you're shooting RAW so for a standard edit, I'm going to bring up my vibrance to around +10 to get some color back in the image, and the saturation anywhere between 5-10.

Let's go all the way down now to "detail" and specifically "noise reduction".  Noise reduction is a huge debate in digital photography.  Noise reduction is going to pull out all that digital grain that develops when a camera shoots at high ISO or an exposure was wrong and you've heavily corrected it with the exposure sliders.  For the most part, I would stay away from ever using noise reduction more than a +10.  Reason being is that as that slider's value increases, detail is lost and smoothed over in an effort to get rid of the digital static.  My advice would be to just try and nail the exposure in camera - even if that means shooting at a very high ISO instead of trying to "fix it" in post production.  Some purists insist on not ever using this slider, but I find it very useful, especially if you have a lot of blacks near the edges of a high ISO image.  A small tweak on this slider will help smooth out those edges without doing "damage" to the detail of the subject.

So that's my basic process that I go through in Lightroom.  Like I said, I have presets that I've built and use in most scenarios as a starting point, and then go through these steps to "finish" my image.  The combo of the RAW image and Lightroom are a powerful duo, but always remember to use those sliders with moderation.  A good image should stand on its own legs without having to have every slider adjusted "+100, -100."  Get editing and let me know how it works out.

If you like what you've read, please share.  Feel free to post some content suggestions below so I know what you're looking for in my next post.  For bookings email shaun@superclearyphoto.com.  And as always, follow @supercleary on instagram and SuperClearyPhoto on Facebook.

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Mary Cipriano, Strong is Beautiful 2016