How’d he make that picture? Having an idea, planning and expertise
John Leyba is one very fine photographer here at The Denver Post, especially good at sports photography. I’ve had the great pleasure of working with John in my 11 years here and he never ceases to amaze me at how he is always – ALWAYS – in the right place at the right time during a critical juncture in a game. He gets the game-winning shot/heave/jump/run/catch/play. Always. His anticipation and intuition are spot on and he positions himself accordingly.
John’s pretty good, too, with making a picture outside the heat of battle, where understanding the thrust of a reporter’s story and the athleticism of a particular competitor are the critical factors in planning a shoot and, in the end, giving a designer a photo to build a display around. Knowing there are a good many photographers in our audience who might appreciate a tip from a pro, I asked John to tell us all how he made this photo of Valor Christian track star MaryBeth Sant.
Leyba: Going in to the shoot I knew I needed to show her speed so why not do a blur? I first made a couple test frames to check shutter speeds to see how much of a blur I would need to get the effect. I tested on a couple of other runners who were warming up and when I found the right shutter speed I then adjusted the f stop to accommodate the shutter speed. I found that f10 for this shoot was ideal. I started at f5.6 and worked my way to F10. Anything past 10 was too dark for my liking.
I positioned myself about 35-40 feet away with my D4 200-400mm F4 lens on a monopod. I then did a test on her first run without shooting a frame just to get comfortable with my timing and panning. Then she did three more passes during the shoot. You can also accomplish this using a zoom lens like a 70-200mm, or any fixed telephoto lens. It takes practice and I think the best way to learn to do this is to go to a park where there are cyclists, like Washington Park, and practice panning on them.
Here are my settings for this photo
Model: NIKON D4
Lens (mm): 200
Me: What he said.