Freezing the action

One of your best allies is the coach.  Many of them don't even see your strobes going off.  Show them you're on their athletes' side.  Don't try to get foul shot photographs, you don't want to break the athletes' concentration and spoil their  free throw.  You make coaches' athletes look good while  providing great action pictures, pictures that can end up in local newspapers as well as various college or university publications.

Coming soon:  Get That Shot

What others are doing

You need a plan.  What better way than requesting in writing what you need photographically. Submitting a form does two things(focusing onwhat is really important and using your resources wisely in a methodical, deliberate way). It is very easy to photograph everything that moves or doesn't. You can prioritize or even eliminate frivolous or meaningless requests if you have it in writing. You should have your supervisor's OK before lifting a camera. Setting some guidelines is always helpful. To see some excellent examples  of photo request forms go to (http://www.bw.edu/news/photo request/ or (http://www.umb.edu/news_events__media/communications/com

Coming soon:  Fulfillment

The types you meet

People break down into different kinds of groups.  You probably know Mr. Hover, Mr. Artsy, Miss Entitlement, Mr. Knows-A-Little-About-Photography and Mrs.Easy- To-Get-Along-With.  Those are just a few.  You can probably come up with your own.  Try to guess who are the people you deal with or answer to everyday.  Don't forget yourself, you're a very, special type.

Some examples

To charge or not to charge? That is the age old question.  Some feel that because he/she is on the company dime, everything and the staffer himself belong s to the company.  When was the last time Buildings and Grounds or Food Service gave something away without an established fee?  What company is around for long if they give their valuable services away? 

Monies charged for photographic services can be reinvested in the department.  It is not cheap to run a photo department and nominal charges can help defray the expense and support the service.  See what other institutions are doing to provide photographic services and what they charge,if at all.(http.//unh.edu/photo/services.html#location) or http.//advancement.ua.edu/ur/photography/prices.html)

Coming soon:  Fulfillment

Make friends for the university or college

What parent isn't proud of their child?  You can make friends and support the service with a little income.  You're not out to make,  a fortune, but why not sell photographs to parents and students?  You'll spread goodwill and even gain a following I remember some parents asking about photos on a weekly basis). 

Put a link on your school website and offer photographs of athletes, actors, musicians or events.  Send an email invitation to see hard-working students.

One of the best labs is Digipixart (www.digipixart.com)  Owner Danny Chu provides great prints that appear to come directly from you.

There are many such services, but Danny is a real master of marketing.  Check out what he has to offer.

Coming soon:  On The Street Where You Live

Putting strobes in your fieldhouse

At some point you will need artificial, high output lights (strobes) to photograph basketball.  The NBA and 'Sports Illustrated' lead the way.  Go to John Biever's or David Liam Kyle's  (www.davidliamkyle.com) webpages to see examples of this in action  True, they're using big blackline systems but you can get useful results with White Lightning strobes at a fraction of the cost. (www.paulc.buff.com) 

Once you have the monolights (don't forget a safety cable), hang them in the rafters on either side side of  key pointing toward the basket  on 4 corners.  What's useful is to question an NBA shooter on suggestions for exact placement.  Be sure you have the Sports Reflectors on the monolights  (to direct the light where you want it).  Wire 1 (one) of the monolights to a plug receptacle for your Pocket Wizard (www.pocketwizard.com).  Set the remaining monolights on slave, get a strobe light reading under the basket and fire away!

Don't try to motor-drive the action.  Be selective and leave a little time for the strobes to recycle before shooting.   Wait for the athletes to take  their foul shot. Flashes may break a basketball players'  concentration.

Speaking of refs.  There are friendly ones (often would ask me if I got their best side) but there are some that interpret the rules quite differently.  Making stuff up to make your job more difficult is directly related to the personality and ask with a holier-than-thou-face, (Are you going to use that flash for the whole game?).  You know, I have the job to get the best images possible and if that means I  stay for the whole game, yep!  the stobes go along with the assignment.  I made an agreement, you  pay  attention to the game and I'll make the photographs.  Pretty good deal, don't you think?  After all, I don't know everything about basketball but I am a  professional too.

Staffer vs. Freelancer

There are many ways to provide photographic support.  Just two of them are the staff photographer or the freelance route.  Both have pros and cons.  The freelancer carries his own insurance and provides his own benefits and retirement plan.  He is available on a different schedule and may not have as much vested interest in the project.  He is available by the job may come in when needed and leave.  Consequently, more advanced planning is often necessary to optimize his useage.

The staff photographer on the other hand is always available.  He is on the payroll and a member of the company.  He must be provided benefits such as healthcare, retirement and other perks.  One should remember not to abuse the staff member's time.  Like the freelancer he is a professional.  He does not live, eat or sleep at the company and should be treated as the professional he/she is.

Coming:  Convince The Coach