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Attending a professional sports game is thrilling. There’s nothing like rooting on the home team along with good drinks, tasty snacks, and being in a crowd of hundreds cheering on your favorite team. And one of my favorite parts is being able to photograph the entire event.

Here are a few things I do to make sure I come home with some great sports photography shots: 

First things first, when attending a professional sporting event, make sure to check the rules: Is professional camera equipment allowed? How will you carry it? Are backpacks allowed? 

Research the venue or ask people you know who have been to games before. Ive been to several arenas where they are very strict on backpacks or professional cameras are totally not allowed. If that is the case, then a good old mobile photography will have to do. However, if they are only strict about backpacks, I just have my camera around my neck and a little sling bag to carry one extra lens and additional accessories I may need. Keep it light and minimal to prevent any problems.

Camera Equipment

If there are no lens restrictions, I recommend bringing at least a 200mm lens.  My 70-200mm is usually on my camera the entire time. Especially when you’re up in the stands, a 200mm will bring you in nice and tight into the action. I also love a good wide-angle. The wide-angle shots are great for some context and give your viewer a sense of where you are and how big the event is. The 16-35mm wide-angle is usually in my sling bag and brought out only a few times.

Go Early and Get a Feel for the Environment 

If possible, I like to go at least 30 minutes to an hour before the start of a game. That way I have time to wander the venue and check things out. Sometimes if you go that early, you can even go to different sections than your tickets and check out the vantage point from different spots. There can also be some possible backdrops for photos you may have never noticed. Taking your time is key to photography.

When I went to the CitiOpen in Rock Creek Park, Washington DC, I didn’t anticipate being able to watch players practice prior to their actual match. Otherwise, I would have not have been able to get such close-up shots of Rafael Nadal which was very exciting to capture.

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If I could go back anywhere in the US from our epic cross country road trip last year, it would have to be White Sands National Monument. Hands down, no questions asked. I need to spend more time in this place. We only had one night here. So we were able to shoot sunset and early morning. Park authorites were pretty strict about making sure that everyone left right as the sun was setting so I didn’t get to spend as much time as I would have liked here. Plus they didn’t open at sunrise and I had to wait later in the day to get back in the next day. I didn’t go on any of the hikes or trails. We basically just parked our car, walked up to the highest sand dune and took a few pictures and sledded down the sand dunes. That was so much fun all on its on.

What first attracted me to visiting this place were all the beautiful lines that the wind created in the sand dunes. I thought they were so interesting and would be great for leading lines. But when I arrived, I quickly found out that you probably have to walk more than just the sand dune that was in front of your parking spot because those lines are probably covered by other people’s foot prints. LOL. To be honest, I photoshopped some of the footprints that are in this image because there are just sooo many of them. But the best part about this park is that shoes are pretty pointless. Unless you are wearing sneakers or something and plan on doing some serious hiking, it’s totally normal to be walking around barefoot. I love it!

My camera settings for this image is 1/40th of a second at F7.1 and ISO 160 with my Sony A7II and 28-70mm lens.

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If you have a choice to fly in and out of an airport in the DC area, Id say Reagan National.

First of it is gorgeous. I remember when I was younger and there was only terminal A. Its this old, small building that was not fun at all. However terminal B is soo nice. I love walking through the hallway of windows and getting excited by all the planes that are parked outside.

Second reason to fly out of Reagan, the awesome views at take off and landing. Theres no other way to get an ariel view of the DC area so you might as well as take advantage of the awesomely located airport.

Last reason to fly out of Reagan National- better food options. ‘Nuff said.