When covering sports, you want to communicate the athleticism and the competition. Here I went low for a good reason.

When you get below eye level of your subject, you give them power. When you get low as I did here, you start to make the athletes look like the “Roman gods.” We even name many of our sports teams after Greek names like Spartans.

Nikon D4, AF-S NIKKOR 14-24mm f/2.8G ED, ISO 1400, ƒ/11, 1/2000

Now I am standing in the same position, but the camera is at my standing eye level. The thing that makes this photo work is the aspect of “competition.” You can see all the racers tightly packed and looking for an opportunity to move ahead in the pack.

Nikon D4, AF-S NIKKOR 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR, ISO 800, ƒ/6.3, 1/2000

Depending on the caption, this photo of the three riders can make this photo more or less critical. If these were the leaders [first place, second place, and third place], this could be a good photo in the story. However, the guy in the middle’s facial expression doesn’t communicate effort. Instead, he looks like he is enjoying a leisurely Sunday afternoon bike ride.

Nikon D4, Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 EX DG APO OS HSM,  ISO 2800, ƒ/5.6, 1/2000

In contrast, the earlier photo of this one is shot a lot tighter to emphasize facial expressions, and I think these riders all look a lot more competitive in their facial expressions.

Tips:

• Shoot a variety of angles
• Shoot with a variety of lenses
• Look for body language to help communicate
• Look for facial expressions
• Be sure you show more than one athlete to display competition

Nikon D4, AF-S NIKKOR 14-24mm f/2.8G ED, ISO 100, ƒ/22, 1/50

Nikon D4, AF-S NIKKOR 14-24mm f/2.8G ED, ISO 100, ƒ/9, 1/30

Nikon D4, AF-S NIKKOR 14-24mm f/2.8G ED, ISO 160, ƒ/14, 1/30