Recently, I was able to shoot softball for the first time, and I have to say that it was an awesome experience! As it is very similar to baseball, softball forces you to slow down and process the shot in your mind before you go ahead and take it. I found that to be very challenging, but now, I am super impressed at what I was able to deliver.

Being a fast paced sport, softball was definitely tasking on my gear and skill. This was the first time I shot an outdoor sport on my Nikon D7200, so I was super excited to put it through its paces, and my-oh-my it delivered!

The biggest challenge with shooting any sporting event is keeping a story in mind. It’s easy to shoot a photo with your camera and be over with it, but does that photo tell a story, or is it part of a story? Those are questions I always ask myself whenever I shoot any sporting event.

Now I don’t know much about softball, or baseball for that matter, but I did have a general idea of how the event would go. It’s helpful to have some prior knowledge about the sport while you shoot the game as it helps you anticipate moments better,

As you have probably observed from the settings in my images, a very fast shutter speed is critical for a sport like this as you cannot afford to have any unnecessary motion blur in your shot. Some blur, however, can add to the shot, like the one produced by the speeding ball.

Also, this sport really made me appreciate the advantage of having a longer zoom lens, as all the action happens far away from you. I had to make some very aggressive crops here, but thanks to technology, that wasn’t a problem.

A lot of people came to watch the game, including some very enthusiastic kids who were right by me. I couldn’t help but try to document the moment.

Now onto the fun part! I’ll spare you the commentary for a bit and let you appreciate the peak (and random) moments of this amazing game. I hope they tell a story to you!

To end the softball game, and celebrate the Badgers’ victory, everyone stood up to sing Varsity! What a glorious moment it was. I can’t wait to shoot something fun in the near future!

Nima Photography

Always telling stories

Shooting Softball - My First Experience /April 12, 2019 by Osase Noma-Owens

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