Networking works. I attended a Chamber of Commerce networking event on a Wednesday, then received a phone call the following Thursday from someone I met at that event asking if I could photograph his son's high school championship soccer match because I made a connection with him via a real conversation.
The night soccer match under the uneven lights at the University of Tampa field were the most challenging photography conditions I have shot in to date. Of course I was shooting at f/2.8 and had to set my Nikon D300's ISO to 1600 just to get shutter speeds in the 1/300th to 1/400th of a second range. This was the first time on any photography job that I did not feel absolutely confident from the start. However, since I arrived early enough to the location, I was able to determine the more well lit spots along the edge of the field. I noticed that the far side had three large light clusters, while the stadium side only had two. Most other working photographers were on the stadium side shooting, so I am glad I did not automatically assume it was the best position to shoot from. Only one other photographer came over to the far side where I shot the whole game from.
After delivering the photographs to the client, I was thrilled (and I must confess relieved) to read his e-mail stating his love for the photographs and thanking me for a job well done. I pushed my photography gear to the limit and pooled all my post-editing skills to make this happen, and now I will go into any future night sports photography jobs with the same confidence I do all other daylight jobs.
- Read more sports photography blog posts
- View more soccer photo stories
- Reserve soccer photography for your son or daughter today!