“Capturing the moment …….”

Sport and Sporting Events are usually fast paced affairs with end to end action that opens up a whole new plethora of image opportunities for photographers. There is more to this though, its easy to capture the goal or the wicket falling at the cricket match but it’s also about emotion and “the money shot”.

In an ideal world we would be in the right place at the right time. But we all know that if we could predict that we could also predict the lottery results every Saturday night. From athletics events to professional football matches, local cricket to crown green bowling; they all have the ability to generate the kind of images that make the front page.

As a photographer with over forty years experience shooting many different genres I appreciate the core value of what it takes to capture that one special image. The “Money Shot” if you like. The images that have the “Wow” factor are the difference between great and exceptional. To freeze or not to freeze. Is a question asked by not just photographers but publishing companies and picture editors the world over.

And it’s a tricky one to answer.  Do you create that pin sharp frozen image of the centre forward volleying the ball in to the top corner of the net; or do you blur the movement intentionally to give the all action effect to the viewer?

Difficult one isn’t it?