Hockey is one of the most popular sports in Canada and the United States. It’s not quite as popular in other parts of the world, but it’s close. It’s always been a bit of a tough sport to photograph well. There are a lot of people who love watching hockey, but hate seeing the sport poorly represented in photographs.
Luckily for you, we’re going to tell you exactly how to photograph hockey so that you can do justice to one of the most exciting games ever invented.
Table of Contents
Know Your Gear
If you’re going to photograph a hockey game, you’re going to need some good gear. Just like any other professional sport, hockey is a demanding sport on your equipment. You’re going to need a good pair of skates, a helmet, a padded jersey, a pair of gloves, fingerless gloves, a pair of goggles, and a mouthguard. All of this stuff is readily available online or at hockey equipment stores.
Your camera gear isn’t the only thing you need to know about though. You need to be prepared for all kinds of weather conditions including cold, damp weather and snow. A lot of people forget that Canada and its teams love to play in the snow and it can be hard to work some magic without it. You’re also going to need a good, strong coat to fend off the cold and wet snow. You don’t want to be using sunscreen during the game because it will wash off in the water. Finally, you need to prepare your hands and feet for the extremely physical sport. You’re going to need a lot of dry powder on your nails to prevent chipping and cracking, and rough hands and feet make for a poor grip on the ice.
Know Your Location
Where is the game going to take place? That’s a question you need to ask yourself before you begin setting up your shot. Are you in a large stadium in front of a huge audience? Are you in a small arena with only a couple of hundred people in it? Wherever it is, you need to find out the location and set up your camera accordingly.
There are a lot of different places you can photograph a hockey game. You can find some great locations in the Canadian Hockey League at www.chl.ca, or even in some cases, the NHL at www.nhl.com. There are also tons of spots in the U.S. that you can check out. If you want to focus on a particular team, all you have to do is look them up on the internet and you’ll find their official website. From there, you can get a good idea of where and when they’ll be playing.
Who’s Going To Be On The Ice?
There are a lot of different people you need to consider when photographing a hockey game. The first and probably most important person is: who’s going to be on the ice?
It might be the players, it might be the coaches, or it might be the referees. You want to choose a position that allows you to get all of them in focus. There are also going to be people in the crowd and behind the glass—be sure you have someone in mind to focus on as well.
Once you have your camera equipment in place and your location chosen, the next step is to figure out who’s going to be on the ice. You’re not going to want to show a packed house, so decide on a maximum number of players you can fit in your frame and work your way from there. Hockey is a fast-paced game and you don’t want to be spending too much time waiting for the action to start.
The Size Of The Ice Rink
The size of the ice rink is going to determine a lot about your game photography. You’re going to want to make sure you have enough room to shoot some incredible action shots. If the arena is small, there’s only so much you can do. You’ll either have to settle for average ice hockey shots or go a bit larger to get the full experience.
In the grand scheme of things, the size of the ice rink doesn’t matter all that much. It depends on how much space you have around you. If you’re at a public rink, there will be people everywhere. You might have to deal with a bit of a crowd, but it’s nothing compared to the excitement of the crowd at a professional game. The same goes for taking pictures during a concert. You’ll either get a ton of people in the way or a packed house, but it doesn’t matter which one you get, the experience is the same.
If you’re at a private rink, which is most likely the case if you’re reading an article about how to photograph hockey on the internet, then the space in front of you is going to be your oyster. You might have the whole ice surface to yourself and can do anything you want. Of course, being able to do whatever you want on such a large surface brings with it its own set of problems.
Game Time
The last thing you want to be doing is wasting time at the game. Especially since there’s a good chance you won’t have another opportunity to shoot the game. Make sure you find out the exact time the game is going to start and be there a few minutes early. This will give you time to set up and get everything ready. Once the players are on the ice, there will be very little time to spend taking pictures.
It’s also important to remember that while hockey is a fast-paced game, it’s still a game. People have lunch breaks during the game, so make sure you watch what time the players are going to be eating and avoid meal times if you want to avoid disturbing the table settings.
Practice
If you’re not sure how to practice, then you might want to consider getting some coach’s help. There are usually people who specialize in teaching others how to play hockey. If you can find an affordable hockey coach, you can probably learn a lot from him or her. Practice makes perfect, after all.
Practice doesn’t have to be restricted to hockey though. You can practice your photography anywhere, as long as there’s ample light and space for you to work. If you have a gym or a pool at your disposal, consider getting some of your friends together and having a friendly game or two. The water will be great for your hands and feet, and it’ll be a great way to work on your positioning.
Hockey is a demanding sport, which makes it a great fit for photographers who want to work hard and achieve results. It’s always been difficult to take decent pictures of the game, but with a bit of planning and research, you’re bound to come up with some amazing shots. Don’t forget to have fun too, because at the end of the day, that’s what it’s all about.