Photographing Volleyball
Now I am not the world’s foremost expert in volleyball photography as I have shot it a grand total of one time, but I was recently asked how to shoot it and here are my thoughts.
First of all, I preferred to get high. Not smoking, but physically high. As high as possible that my camera and lens will allow. I want to still get sharp, tight shots, but I want to be as high above the net as possible.
By getting way up high (I am in the upper deck of a 13,000 person arena) I make it look like she is getting ridiculous air, but most importantly, I can see her face very, very clearly.
The other thing that being up high does for you is it clears up the backgrounds a bit. Volleyball generally doesn’t have the best scenery with an official on opposite corners, and who knows what else in the gym, since I got up high, my background is the court, not the people.
Because there isn’t a great distance between the players and the background, there won’t be great separation in the shot without getting super high or without getting super low. Getting super low can be limited based on where you can actually position yourself and remember there are six people per side, so you might get a lot of people blocking your shot. Obviously, how high you can get will depend a lot on the venue you are shooting.
The other main take away I have is to pick a player on each play and only follow them. That ball moves WAY too fast to try to follow the ball. So pick a player and follow them throughout the play. Volleyball will have a lot of missing, but because there are only six players out there, your player will get a hit sooner or later. Once you have a few of that player you like, move to the next one. This is where it is beneficial to only have to cover one team.
Shutter speed can be tricky, because most volleyball matches are not played in the best lit room. At 1/1600th, the ball is pretty sharp, but not perfectly so when it is moving at its fastest. At 1/800th, there will be some more blur, but in most images, it will be an acceptable amount.
Finally, keep shooting. I found that women’s volleyball has a lot of great jube shots. Don’t stop shooting because the ball hit the ground. The best shots may be just after the action stops.
All images ©Thomas Campbell 2016.
