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|| SportsShooter.com: Member Message Board
2007 Baseball Portfolio???
William Guerro, Photographer
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Galloway | NJ | USA | Posted: 9:22 PM on 06.05.07 |
->> This is a portfolio of a few of my images of my coverage of the 2007 Baseball season to date. I have been covering the Philadelphia Phillies as well as a few Spring Traing games. Please let me know what you think of my images so far (good & bad).
http://www.sportsshooter.com/wguerro/portfolio/index.html |
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Pedro Diaz, Photographer
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Miami Beach | FL | United States | Posted: 9:35 PM on 06.05.07 |
| ->> Well done Willi... |
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Brad Mangin, Photographer
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Pleasanton | CA | USA | Posted: 1:42 AM on 06.07.07 |
->> Good evening William. I would like to say that it is tough for me to know which direction to take this critique because I am not sure if you are wanting to have a baseball portfolio to show editorial clients or if you are simply trying to take the temperature of your 2007 season to date to see how you are doing. Since I do not know I will try to help you with some tips on what you should have in a portfolio of baseball images using your 10 pictures as an example.
Based on your member page it seems like you have not shot much Major League Baseball, so you are rightly excited that you have had the opportunity to shoot a few games this season and are proud to show off a few frames. With that said I need to tell you that as you learn and grow as a photographer you need to get past this stage and be able to show some true "portfolio" images in your portfolio.
Just because your pictures are of big league ballplayers this does not mean that they will impress editors or other clients that would actually pay you to shoot an assignment for them. Editors want to see great pictures and do not care if they were shot at a Little League baseball game or a high school softball game. I was able to get hired for the best staff photographer job I will ever have in my entire life based on a portfolio of 30 sports pictures- over half of which were black and white high school and Little League pictures that I shot at a 15,000 circulation newspaper when I was a punk less than two years out of college. The director of photography who hired me did not care what level of athletes I had photographed- what he liked were the peak action moments and off the field features I had included in my portfolio.
Looking at your 10 pictures in the hidden gallery you have linked to I will tell you that at this time you have a set of pictures that show you have shot a few big league games this season and have undoubtedly enjoyed it- however none of these pictures are what we would call "portfolio" pictures. You see- for a picture to be in a photographers portfolio it must be very special. It is hard to explain what it takes for a picture to be that special but I can tell you that you will really know deep down in your heart when you see it in Photo Mechanic (it used to be when you would see it though a lupe on the light table!).
To put this in a little perspective I will tell you that from the first pitch of spring training to the final out of the World Series I usually shoot around 80 Major League games. Out of those 80 games I might make five pictures that I feel are good enough for my portfolio. If I were a hitter that would give me a season batting average of .063 which is not very good :-)
You have put together some pictures that show you can take in focus pictures of guys swinging a bat, etc. but you have not shown that you can cover a game for an editorial client or capture some special moments. You have also not shown that you can see light and backgrounds. In today's age of digital cameras and autofocus 400 2.8 lenses there are many people who can shoot pictures like yours. In order to stand out and get work you have to show that you can do a better job than this.
Please take this as an opportunity to really look at your own work and be super critical of it. One of the hardest things to understand for a photographer who is new to the business is how to put together a good portfolio. Sometimes we are our own worst editors and this can really kill us when we show our work to a prospective client. By showing work that is not your best you will really hurt yourself in the long run as you only have on chance to make a first impression with an editor. Look at as many newspapers as you can to see what the great local baseball photographers like Jerry Lodriguss (Philadelphia Inquirer) are shooting at the same games you are shooting. Look online at the wires to see what the great local shooters like Rusty Kennedy of the Associated Press are getting. This is how you learn.
The good news is it is only June 6, which means you still have four months left in the season to get back out to the ballpark and shoot. You also have all year to head out to the Little League and high school fields to make some special photographs that can take your portfolio to the next level. Good luck! |
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Drew Hallowell, Photographer
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Paul Alesse, Photographer
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Centereach | NY | USA | Posted: 7:45 PM on 06.07.07 |
| ->> Brad... this is really great advice. Thanks for posting and sharing your thoughts. |
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Scott Foley, Photographer
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San Antonio | TX | | Posted: 7:52 PM on 06.07.07 |
| ->> I have to echo Paul...thanks Brad...great advice...thanks for taking the time out of you busy schedule... |
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William Guerro, Photographer
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Galloway | NJ | USA | Posted: 10:07 AM on 06.08.07 |
->> Let me start by saying that putting the word "Portfolio" in the title of this thread was a bad choice of words on my part. These would not be images that I would forward to an editor for a job opening or to a potential client. What I intended was to post images of some of the games that I have covered thus far this season and get a critique on what everyone thought. What I might do differently or somethings that I am doing right.
I really appreciate the comments and I definitely welcome the constructive input good or bad.
Drew thanks for the link, I read it top to bottom, great images and some good advise on his web site.
As for Brads comments, with someone of your caliber and experience, I really appreciate you taking the time to give me your input. There are a lot of great photographers on this site, I would consider myself at the lower end of the food chain here and when one of the Top Dogs takes the time to give you a in depth critique it means a lot. Your comments have been printed out an hung next to my monitor for future reference. "GOOD STUFF".
Thats why I love this site the big time photographers who have paid their dues and earned their respect don't forget where they came from and are more than willing to pass on some of their knowledge to people who are trying to pave their way in this business.
Again THANKS |
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