Visual story telling in sports

[conan_shing]

I love shooting sports, and I have been lucky enough to make it my job. That being said sometimes once you get your shot list sorted I try to get a little creative and almost try to create a photo essay. It can be a little hard especially when you are doing through a commercial lenses knowing the work should fit within brand and style guidelines. What are some tips or trains of thought fellow sports photographers do when trying to incorporate some more visual story telling into your work?

[LensBrew]

I have the privilege to be the editor in addition to being the photographer for a collage newspaper. We do have a shot list, but those are not that many on a collegiate level. I do and tell the student photographer the same thing, take your "own" shots. I encourage myself and them to test, experiment, play and have fun. In the end, we will all graduate and move on, making this an opportunity to learn a bit about the industry and develop our skills.

I personally shoot an average of 500-1500 shots depending on the sport. From those shots, about 20-50 go to the news paper website and one or two to print. I get the same number of different images for my own creativity and self development. 

This is what I told the students and I would tell anyone starting: in addition to learning and experimenting, go have fun!