Those of you who know me, know that I am one of the world’s most ardent and die-hard sports fans. In fact, it’s a pretty sure bet that if I am not out on a photo shoot or photographing a destination wedding somewhere, chances are I am watching some kind of sporting event at home or in person.

Over the last few years, I have been fortunate to work with the NHL’s Dallas Stars where I had the chance to meet some of the country’s best sports photographers. There is a lot that has changed over the last decade for professional sports photographers, so I thought that it would be fun to interview four of the country’s best to get their thoughts and ideas on several subjects.

I decided to speak with Louis DeLuca (Staff Photographer for the Dallas Morning News), Bob Rosato (Staff Photographer for Sports Illustrated), Robert Hanashiro (Staff Photographer with USA Today), and Peter Read Miller (Staff Photographer at Sports Illustrated). Combined, these men have covered over 70 Super Bowls, 35 World Series, 30 NBA and Stanley Cup Finals and 20 Olympic Games, among many other noteworthy sporting events.

The first thing that I wanted to ask this all-star panel was how they felt about the advances in recent technology—either good or bad. As if almost in unison, all four mentioned how the improved autofocus, high ISO/low noise, follow focus and the ability to shoot around 10 frames per second has made catching the action much easier. In fact, Bob Rosato says, “The advancements in camera technology have made good photographers better, and great photographers greater, but it will never replace the ability to anticipate and capture the moment.”

This same technology has also made it possible for many newcomers to get into the field as well. The influx of new sports photographers has really made paying jobs much scarcer and as Robert Hanashiro says, “The advancement in autofocus technology has been a good news and (very) bad news deal. The good news is that autofocus has in most situations given photographers a great tool to capture the wonderful things that sports photography is about—peak action, capturing fleeting emotional moments, shooting tighter and the ability to concentrate on the game and players.

The bad news is that anyone that has some money can buy the gear that allows them to play sports photographer.
“The sidelines and photo boxes are filled these days with guys that I call ‘button pushers.’ All they know how to do is press the AF button on their camera. Yes, they get a lot of images in focus. But, they don’t know what they are shooting and they have no clue what makes a good photograph. I see more bad photographs these days than I used to because there are more people out there pressing buttons on cameras, and with the Internet, [they] have a source of displaying their images that wasn’t there 10–15 years ago.”

This seemed to be a pretty common sentiment with everyone I spoke to. Louis Deluca did however say, “All the new folks on the sidelines force me to be more creative and to think more when shooting. I want to be shooting at different angles, focusing on the not so obvious, and telling different stories than anyone else to keep my work standing out from the rest.” In looking at their overall collection of work, it’s obvious that all of these guys do that very well.

I figured with all the great moments these sports shooters have captured during their careers, it would be interesting to ask what their proudest sports moment has been. Peter Read Miller says, “It would definitely be being named the 2006 winner of the Dave Boss Award of Excellence, Photographer of the Year, awarded by the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Since Dave was a mentor of mine, this award was very special.”

Louis DeLuca says, “As a longtime resident of the Dallas/Ft. Worth area, I love that I was able to capture such a great moment when the Texas Rangers beat the New York Yankees to earn their first World Series Birth last year. I had planned the shot out so many times in my head and it came out just the way I had hoped.”

As for Bob Rosato, he says “Being named a staff photographer for Sports Illustrated was a dream come true and one achievement that I am definitely proud of!” Lastly, Hanashiro claims, “I guess there have been 11 proudest moments for me. I have been fortunate to have covered 11 Olympic games for USA Today. (Six Summer Olympics and five Winter Olympics.) These opportunities have allowed me to witness some of the most important sports moments in history. From the infamous—Carl Lewis and Ben Johnson’s 100 meter race in Korea in ‘88 and the Nancy Kerrigan/Tonya Harding figure skating scandal in Norway in ‘94—to the historic like the “Dream Team” winning the gold medal in Barcelona in ‘92 and Carly Patterson becoming only the second American woman to win the gymnastics all-around gold medal in Athens in 2004.”

Since they all have some fantastic moments and brilliant careers, I also wondered what might have been their biggest challenge in recent times. I got some very interesting responses. Both Rosato and Miller told me that traveling all the time for Sports Illustrated is a major challenge since it takes away from family, friends and the overall home life. Deluca and Miller both also mentioned that it is sometimes a challenge to continually reinvent themselves so that they can keep fresh and come up with new ideas when shooting or being forced to stay in one spot all game.

Hanashiro told me that TV has been a big challenge as well. He says, “Television has changed sports and, in turn, sports photography. TV cameras, cable pullers, grips, gaffers, hangers-on and the “talent” are everywhere. They change the time of games to suit their audiences meaning ticket buyers and the photographers go to football and baseball games at night about 75% of the time. Commercials interrupt the flow of the games and make them longer than they used to be. But as they like to make sure we know: TV pays the teams, leagues and athletes big money—and the news media does not.”

Since it’s obvious that new photographers are breaking into the sports arena everyday, I asked what advice/tips would they give to the newcomers. Deluca’s advice is to shoot all the different sports and find which one you have a true passion for. He also says to try to get started via school or local papers to gain experience and learn the way things are done on the college and professional level. He also adds, “If you don’t value your work, no one else will.”

Miller adds that new shooters should get critiques of their images from other photographers whom they respect and learn from them. He also stresses the importance of going to workshops and seminars to hone shooting and post-processing skills. Rosato’s advice to newcomers is to educate themselves on their cameras and learn everything that the camera can do so that you can adjust to any situation. He also stressed the importance of taking some business classes. “Too many photographers know nothing about business and as a result, they fail. In the end, you need to not only be a good photographer, but also an even better business person if you are to make a career out of this.”

I literally could have spoken to these guys all day as their stories alone are truly captivating. In my eyes, not only are these guys truly the cream of the crop in the sports photography world, but are some of the nicest folks whom I have ever interviewed. You can find out more details about each of them on their respective Web sites.

Kevin Jairaj is one of the most sought after wedding photographers worldwide. He is known for his dramatic use of lighting and color and his ability to create stunning wedding artistry for his clients. He has been commissioned to shoot weddings and events  all around the world and has shot weddings and events for many musicians, actors, and famous athletes. Kevin has also won Numerous first place awards in the prestigious 16 × 20 and 8 x 10 print competitions in addition to having several prints selected in the PPA Loan collection. Kevin’s work has been published in Photo District News, American Photo, Rangefinder, USA Today, Professional Photographer, Destination Weddings, and Southern Vanity, to name a few.