Winthrop University, Rock Hill, SC, student photographer Chris Osborne hopes his experience in sports photography will take him to the next level – his goal is to shoot all the “Sports Illustrated Covers.”
Osborne explains how the sixth sense can be useful in sports photography, but without the elements of photography, the developer is still confused.
What first attracted you to photography? How do you start yourself?
Achievement was something I could do since I could always see how I wanted things to look. I started and restarted several times. My first camera was a 110 mm back in 3rd grade. I took other advantages until college, where I bought a Coolpix L3. It’s good for general use, but not for basketball targets. So I bought the Rebel XT and haven’t looked back.
Which photographers – known or unknown – move you?
Beyond the sports culture of photography, two things are unknown to me where I am today. She is my first sister. She says that I stole the photo, and they don’t blame you for any effort. The second is Paul, a fellow photographer for the school paper. After seeing one of the pictures on his paper and not being completely displeased, I decided that I would do a better job and filled the rest of the sports photography position. I only learned later that the editor and not Paul was making the decisions.
What equipment do you use? Is there a certain piece of gear you couldn’t live without?
I currently use a Canon Rebel XT with a kit 18-55mm lens, a Canon 50mm 1.8, a Canon 75-300 4-5.6, and a Tamron 28-200mm 4/5.6. My only other additions are a battery grip and a polarizing filter. Being on a college student budget, I don’t buy new equipment unless I actually use it. But if I had to choose one thing that I couldn’t live without it would be hand combat. Too many wrong shots on the camera flipping the wrong way to shoot vertically or simply missing the shutter release.
Do you have any goals in mind with your photography?
For my sports shot, one basic thought always runs through my mind – Sports Illustrated< /a> cover I would love to have one someday. For all the rest we think if I could see a lot hanging on someone’s wall. If I can’t, I’ll find something that meets this requirement.
What do you feel are your strengths and weaknesses in sports?
As much as I hate to say this one thing, one of my strengths is that I have a camera that can handle the speed and lighting in events. Besides this, I can have a personal relationship with most of the athletes and I can predict quite well what is coming. My weaknesses are that I’m still slow sometimes to get the shot I want, even though I generally know what’s going to happen and that I have a tendency to weigh my camera. Also, where Winthrop’s athleticism allows me to go through the limits of what games I can shoot.
What does sports photography look like?
To be a quality sports photographer, you need to be a little psychic. By this I mean that you need to know where to point the camera to the keyboard. Some sports are easier than others. What sports would you like to shoot? As well as basketball darts, and a large volleyball. They have great intensity and usually have something new to do every time. I don’t like baseball at all because most of the shots are just too similar.
What post processing tools/software do you use? How important is your product?
When I want to improve my photo power, I use Photoshop 7 or Gimp depending on the operating system I’m working under (the desktop runs XP while the laptop is in the process of switching to Linux). I use Picasa for basic editing such as cropping and overall brightness/contrast. I sacrifice ultimate power for speed when I turn things into school paper.
What advice would you give to new photographers?
A) Don’t be petty-minded. It is an art that you will have to work through yourself.
B) A good price can beat bad equipment, and good equipment will not make you a good price.
C) Less time spent editing your photos means you’ll have more time to spend as much time as possible on the camera.
D) Try to see everything there is to shoot, not just the stereotypical snapshots that you will find everyone.
Check out Osborne’s photography at http://sapidexistence.com
