Three ingredients: 1) Ball, 2) Competition & 3) Peak Action

There are three things that I think make for a good sports photo:

1) The Ball
2) Competition
3) Peak Action

Not every sport has a ball, but for those that do I think it really helps to have the ball in the photo. Breaking this rule is possible to still have a good or even great photo.  But like all rules, when you break the rule you need to know why you did so.

Fan reaction to a play is a good away from the action shot where the ball will not exist for example.

If you have a great peak action photo and the ball it doesn’t look as good without the competition.  It looks often like a practice moment when the competition isn’t in the photo.

The competition in sports shows the adversity that literally you must overcome to be a winner on the field.

We have all three, but the competition isn’t up and close like the first photo.  This communicates the runner is outpacing the competition.

Just before they hike the ball in football you could have the ball and the competition in the photo, but lack the peak action.  It is a static moment.

Some of the things that can help communicate the peak action are expression and body language.  If you can see the expressions of the players you often can see the exertion of effort in the expression of the athlete. 

When they are at the peak of their jump like going over the defender you can see a peak moment.

Remember, in all of photography if you wait to see it and then click the shutter you will always miss it.  You need to learn to anticipate a moment.  This is most likely the one thing separating the great moments from an almost good moment. 

Here we have the ball and peak action, but there is really no immediate danger with the competition.  So there is less excitement than the photo above.

These three tips are on top of the things necessary in all photos:

1) Good exposure
2) in focus
3) Well composed
4) Good use of light