Shooting Professional Tennis

Over the last few years I have had the opportunity to shoot several professional tennis matches and have moved many photos for them over the wire. Like every sport (starting to beat the dead horse), the key to getting published and/or creating good images is to get out, get away from the court, move. I will say this in almost every post I have on shooting sports and tennis is not different.

Gael Monfils at Legg Mason Tennis Classic 2011

Any time I shoot pro sports I take a look around the venue for angles and unique opportunities. Look high, look low, look from afar, look from near. I will almost never go to the spot where other photographers have planted their butts. I will head there later in the event but not right at the beginning. Some of them are there just to get a quick shot to run in the evening paper and then leave, not me. The photo above was a Sports Illustrated Snapshot run two days after the event. It was unique to their editors because nobody else was high in the stands when Monfils dropped to the court. On a side note, if you ever have a chance to shoot Gael, jump on it. He is muscular, vocal and jumps all over the court, making great shots. I am sure that the photographers that were court-side got great shots of this too, but they all got the same shot and that speak for itself.

Positions

The standard positions at a pro tennis court are court-side. Some of the courts give photographers spots on one side of the court and some, on both sides. Some do not give you benches all the way down the length of the court, rather small "boxes" with seats to share. Don't get me wrong, the court-side seats offer a great view of the players but they can offer challenges as well. Many times you will have a ball boy/girl in your way so it makes it tough to shoot unobstructed. Also, you will have an official in your way at least half of the time as they are watching to see if the serves are in bounds. I typically try to sit about 10 feet to either side of the net and shoot to the opposite side. This all depends on how crowded it is and what lens you have with you (more on lenses later).

On some courts (not center court matches), you can stand at a corner end and shoot, getting some great shots of the player returning the volleys. You have to be as high on your monopod as you can get, making sure to shoot over the white stripe on the net.

Roger Federer at Swiss Indoors 2009

Get high! I cannot stress this enough. Grab your 400 and go as high in the stadium as you can. As you can see from the shot on the right, it was shot from the highest position available at St. Jacobshalle in Basel, Switzerland. I will shoot in these spots for as long as needed but usually just a few games and I have what I need. When shooting outdoors and at dusk, the shadows are unreal and make amazing photos. 

Lenses

I am really pretty much a self-taught photographer but the little feedback I did ever get from the wire service I shoot for is this, "Shoot tight and crop tighter". With that mantra, yes, using a 400 mm courtside is normal for me. I have a 300 as well and it gives you a little more flexibility so if that is your longest glass, it will work too. 

I like to anticipate what the player is going to do and when his swing is facing me, I click away, tight. This one may be a no-brainer but I have to say it in this post, don't try to follow the ball. Pick a player and stay on him/her. A 70-200 is the perfect reach for nice vertical shots of the player when sitting court-side. I do not typically carry anything wider with me when in the court-side spot unless it is the end of the final match and then it is used for the awards ceremony. Wider than that, heck yeah! Take the 14mm or fish eye to the top of a full stadium at dusk, awesome photo ops.

Backgrounds

Backgrounds are almost always a challenge in professional tennis. Not only are there ugly advertising banners surrounding the entire venue but I find the officials one of the most challenging of all backgrounds. I am very unlikely to submit a photo to the wire when the background has a bright red or blue shirt in it. I usually pick my spot and watch the player for a bit, pick out the exact place where the player offers me a great shot with a clean background. Then I follow him/her with my lens and snap away once he/she enters it. Tennis is fast and you think it is so anticipate, full the trigger early and follow though the shot. Sometimes the emotion, screams and jubilation is where the money shots come from.

Conclusion

In conclusion, have fun. Watch your horizons when you crop (my biggest pet peeve), pick clean background and crop tight. 

Here is more from a collection from the finals at this year's 2011 Legg Mason Tennis Classic.