Photographing sports is usually challenging because you need to deal with fast-moving players and capture the ball’s movement. Following my tips and tricks of shooting a volleyball match could make photographing volleyball much easier for you.
Photographers can easily capture beautiful moments on volleyball courts because they are smaller.
Since volleyball is an indoor sport, lightning has always been an issue for me when taking photos, but using the fast film provided the proper light to capture the fast-moving players. Lenses with large apertures and high-intensity flashes may also be used.
Nevertheless, some situations required me not to use flash because it disturbed the players. While talking about action volleyball photography, you need to consider many factors.
Having trouble figuring out how to photograph your first volleyball game?
Our photography volleyball guide will cover everything you need to know about how to shoot action volleyball photographs. Why not get started now? Now let’s get into the details.
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What Is Volleyball Photography?
It’s the art of documenting volleyballers while playing the game on a real court with two teams against each other. To capture the moments of uncontrollable action, the photographer stands on the court’s sidelines.
You should know that volleyball team photography is a very lucrative business if you are just considering starting a career in it. Photographing action volleyball games can earn you a good living. Traveling abroad to capture volleyball photographs is one of the best things about being a photographer.
A Sports photographer’s goal is to help fans connect with the amazing moments that occur during the game. Those who cannot attend every live game session can still catch glimpses of special moments through photographs.
You can provide a center point for players and spectators of volleyball games. Taking volleyball photographs requires you to realize that sports connect people emotionally.
Learn More > How to get more photography clients?
Best Photographing Equipment For Volleyball
Volleyball is a quick and fast-paced game where you must capture quick actions efficiently without blurring the images. To photograph the events happening in the blink of an eye, I use professional sports photography equipment.
The number of these equipments is beyond our imagination. However, I am focusing on the following three pieces of equipment.
Best Camera for Volleyball photoshoot
When you are photographing a volleyball match, keep in mind that none of the athletes will stop and make a pose for you to capture their photograph. To capture the moments worth photographing, I was always quick and ready with my camera.
The Canon EOS 250D camera was a lifesaver for me, with a fast shutter speed because a slow shutter takes pictures in motion blur, which is a waste of your time and money.
You need high specifications and image quality that is only possible with a DSLR camera. These cameras are time-sensitive and professional at capturing quick photos with an electronic shutter.
Best Lenses for Taking Great Indoor Volleyball Images
Understand that you can not get too much closer to the court to get clear images, so you need to use proper zooming lenses that capture the photographs without blurring them.
I mostly use Telephoto lenses like Sony FE 200-600mm F5.6-6.3 when I want to photograph a volleyball match because they have the amazing magnification power to capture far away scenes with accuracy and efficiency.
A zoom lens is also useful as it gives more versatility than a casual lens. You can try on Olympus M.Zuiko ED 40-150mm or Nikon AF-P DX NIKKOR 70-300mm, as they both do wonders for me.
The best thing about them is the feature to change the focal length with a zoom lens. This saves you time changing different lenses for closer or far away shots.
A prime lens is also a good option If you are looking for highly professional images, you need to stay closer to the subject with this lens. So if you are using this one, you must stay as close as possible.
Tripod and Monopods for Best Volleyball photographing
You need stability while shooting volleyball match photographs. You will be running from one position to the other to get the best view of the court. Of course, you cannot hold the camera continuously, even in between the brakes.
Can you believe it, I was a fool to do so few years back until I realized the importance of tripods and monopods. The camera must be set to a specific point so you can immediately capture a moment.
Tripods are the best for stability as they allow you to capture photographs from a fixed height and location. You can adjust the settings using the tripod, like lowering the ISO and using a fast shutter speed.
Monopods are the best option for me, especially when running from one position to another. Benro Aluminum 4 Series Monopod is more useful for me than other ones, as they give a stable platform with additional camera settings so you can get your perfect photographs.
Tips For Professional Volleyball Photography
Know some savvy tips to boost your value in the industry. Because there are already thousands of volleyball photographers in the industry.
01. Camera Settings
Learn the details about the camera settings of your particular camera model because you need to have the best settings for the ultimate results. Of course, you do not want to miss even a single shot.
Shutter speed is important when you have to deal with fast-moving subjects. A faster shutter speed helped me to align with the subject’s speed, giving out the best photographs for my clients. You can also use shutter priority mode if it’s available on your device or find a relatable one.
02. Capturing High-Speed Ball
Capturing photographs of a volleyball match sometimes became very difficult for me. Especially when I had to capture a fast-moving ball on the court; not every photographer can deal with the speed. Even a normal shot of volleyball can be up to 120 mph.
This speed is so high that it can’t even see with the naked eye. But I was finally successful by working on some useful tips and tricks to capture the fast-moving ball. The aperture and ISO are important factors you must deal with. While for the focus option, it’s better to use autofocus. Autofocus helps with capturing the subjects in motion.
03. Using Burst Mode
Burst mode is the handiest tool for me when taking volleyball photographs. No matter how fast you are still, you will fail to capture some important and quick motion movements. The burst mode allows you to capture continuous pictures with the exact moments that you want in your images.
Whether I wanted to capture the player’s hands touching the volleyball or the ball in the air, I got every shot that I wanted with the burst mode. But do not think having the burst mode is enough, and you will not need to make any effort.
04. Creating Motion Blur
Motion blur is considered a flaw in a photograph. Photographers usually try to avoid motion blur in the image but think the other way around; you can use motion blur to add amazing effects in your volleyball pictures just like I do.
Learn to manually create motion blur by slowing your shutter speed when the subject moves. But do not reduce the shutter speed to 1/125 sec. Photographers also add the motion blur effect during the editing process.
05. Intentional Camera Movement
Camera movements are not preferred during photography, but I add creativity to the volleyball match moments using intentional camera movements. It’s a good way of adding more energy to my photography. Intentional camera movement includes moving the camera during a long exposure that gives a blur effect in the image.
It’s important to master this skill because the image gets blurred if I move the camera too much. So if the subject is moving around the frame, you can use the camera to track it, giving you an amazing image with the camera movement.
06. Setting Autofocus
Autofocus is ideal for getting sharply focused photographs of the volleyball tournament. This helps my camera focus automatically on the subject whether the shutter button is pressed. This gives me more sleek and sharper images reducing the blur of the photographs from my collection.
On some cameras, this option is labeled as AF-C mode. DSLR cameras have this setting with a single switch, which is why you always get the perfect images with a DSLR camera. Some other cameras have this auto-focus function option in the menu bar.
Using the continuous art of focus mode will slow down the burst speed. This gets you beautiful and sharp images of the players on the ground.
07. Zooming In
To get the best photographs of a volleyball match, you need to zoom in to get close-up images. You can use the above-mentioned lenses to get a closer image. Using a 70 to 300 mm lens is perfect If you position it almost near to the field. If you choose to stand away from the field, you will need an even higher zooming lens.
Also, you can move away from the field to get a bigger picture of the match. So using the zoom-in option with high-quality lenses gives you professional images.
How Much to Charge for Volleyball Photoshoot
You can work as a private volleyball photographer or associate yourself with a firm. You can choose based on your preference and the availability of jobs. When you work for a company that pays you monthly, the pricing can range from $500 to $20,000.
When working as a private photographer, you may make more money one month and a few dollars the next, depending on client availability. You can earn an average income between $500 and $10,000 per month, especially if you have regular clients.
For private photographers, a bonus tip is to market your work on portfolio and social media sites to attract clients and hire you.
People Also Ask
01: I don’t feel my volleyball photographs look good. What’s the problem?
One of the common issues is the low light conditions. Volleyball is an indoor sport that creates the issue of low light, thus affecting your photographs’ quality. You must focus on light to get stunning and efficient volleyball photographs.
02: Which lens is best for photographing volleyball?
Volleyball is a vertical sport, giving better photos when shot in portrait orientation. You can use a 70 to 200 lens but be careful because it offers too much zoom that you’ll have to handle.
03: How much money can I make monthly as a volleyball photographer?
Depending on how professional a photographer you are and how many clients you have, you can make between $1000-$10,000 monthly.
04: What’s the best-captured scene of volleyball?
A photo with two players against each other with a complete focus on the ball gives you the perfect shot.
Final Thoughts
Capturing beautiful volleyball moments is an old thing, but there are new techniques added to photographing the volleyball game. Anyone hoping to move on with a photography career in volleyball must learn how to shoot indoor or outdoor volleyball photography poses to win the competition between photographers as more people are moving towards this field of photography.
Learning what equipment you need, the best places to stand in the court, and the tips for capturing amazing photographs will help you be the best volleyball photographer.
So are you ready to rock the ground with your breathtaking volleyball photographs of sweating photographers and rolling balls in the air? Start learning the skills to beat your competitors.