Taking pictures of a football game is nothing new to me, I have been taking photos of football games since my time as a photographer and writer on my high school yearbook, but I have to say college football is definitely more exciting.
The game I went to was Wayne State University’s last home game on Nov 12, and since it was the last home game, there game was dedicated to seniors graduating and Veteran’s Day, which took place on the day before.
The atmosphere of the game was invigorating as many turned out to see the last game, compared to some of the home games previously. I generally started with taking a few photos of the crowd before the game to save me from missing any action during intense parts of the game. By the end of the game I took close to nearly 490 photos, which is really common in sports because, since the action happens so fast, you have to take many photos in order to get a few good ones or the right one. So I had my shutter ranging between 1/800 of a second and 1/1000 of a second. I tried to keep a shallow depth of field so I could let in as much light as I could to compensate for the high shutter speed. During the night games I would have to increase my ISO to compensate for the natural light getting darker.
Since I am graduating in December, I have to admit that I am going to miss taking photos of Wayne State’s football games, as I have been doing it on and off for the last four years. It is always a fun experience, especially when you get to see your friends at the game, and I’ll be honest it is always cool to be one of the few people allowed on the track and field to take photos of the game. I am going to miss seeing the crowd and coaches get riled up on both good and bad plays, and I’ll miss talking to the other photographers on the field about the game, cameras and other things too.
Chris Ehrmann Photography 