After an action-packed first week of lectures, matches, cheer, and editing I can finally take a little extra time to reflect on my new experiences. This week with some Lacrosse Sports Photography.
The University has many many sports teams from sports I’ve never heard of like Korfball to the more common sports such as Football and also sports which I didn’t think were sports, like Korfball.* Having only played a handful of sports at High School and having little understanding of male-dominated sports, Lacrosse has been one of those sports that I have always associated with all-girls schools and didn’t really think it was a sport that was popular for men. I had the privilege to go along to a couple of home games, first watching the ladies then the men play Swansea’s respective teams, and get my eye in on lax photography.
Lacrosse or LAX
The rules between men’s and women’s lacrosse vary quite distinctively, with men’s being a lot more physical and aggressive than the ladies. If you do have any spare time to watch a game I would strongly advise it as it is an action-packed high paced pitch sport, perfect for anyone who enjoys watching rugby, American football, or normal football.
Lacrosse Sports Photography
Onto the Photography bit! I am so glad I have the 70-200mm lens. The f/2.8 aperture really is my new love of sporting images, like the one above. With the canon 6d being a full-frame camera it is a little bit slower with focus and shutter speed. It’s sports it’s full of action and movement so I try not to drop below 1/250 shutter, especially if it is a beautifully sunny day like the last couple of weeks have been for me in Aberystwyth.
Not much else I can say about settings wise so I’ll talk about the sport itself… Unlike other sports, I’ve been taking pictures of, I have a very basic knowledge of lacrosse. My preconceptions came from the aforementioned high school days and seeing small clips of popular TV and films. Like most sports, it’s good to get the action. The hits, the catches, and the throws as well as the goals and saves. With lacrosse, there is a lot of running, throwing, and catching as it’s a large pitch with tiny goals. Key aspects of the match that can be really good to capture are the face-offs at the start and tackles. Just keep your finger on the shutter release to get a good 4-7 shots to go through and get the main part of the action.
Another thing I’ve learned that I’ll pass on, don’t be scared to talk to people there. Personally, I feel awkward around people I don’t know. After doing different matches with new people and sports it gets a lot easier. They can tell you what they are looking for in the photos as well as what to look out for. It’s a great confidence boost!
*(I jest, I just don’t understand it as a sport).
