I was at a middle school soccer game yesterday. I was there primarily to photograph my niece while she was on the field and I did that, however I am not a fan of posting pictures of other people’s kids so you won’t see them. But this is a good opportunity to give a few pointers about sports events when you can’t really photograph them.
The thing about sporting events is that they do fall into a category where I think special gear is needed. For example, if you are doing anything that has a large field you are going to want to use a telephoto lens that can cover that distance. Furthermore, the gear you need will be tailored to the sport so oftentimes you won’t be getting that perfect shot you want.
But you aren’t hosed for photography if you don’t have the gear for it. When you are at a sporting event and feel the desire to photograph simply turn around. There is always something going on in the audience that you can photograph. In this case, my other nieces were up to stuff. One was running back and forth and looking around. This was perfect opportunity to get her picture. The other was up on her mom’s shoulder – a great photo chance. Failing that you can always get the crowd cheering or, I guess, jeering.
The point is, sporting events are great because there are pretty much always other stories playing out nearby if you can’t photograph the story you want due to gear issues. That stated, strangers generally dislike random people photographing them and not all sporting arenas/locations allow you to do that sort of photography so be aware of the rules and laws involved.