Jeanfruth

Thanks so much for joining us today. Please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions or if I can be helpful to you. Wishing you all the best on your photography journey!

I have been very fortunate and continue to be, to have mentors who have helped me throughout my entire photography career. Michael Zagaris taught me how to connect to subjects quickly and shoot pre-game in a very compelling way, Steve Fine, the former editor for Sports Illustrated moved the needle tremendously for me to become a good editor. Neil Leifer, who is still shooting sports today has helped me with my books and now as I move into directing, has been a wonderful mentor to me. And there are many others who have helped me along the way. You get different things from different people. We also have so much to learn from those that came before us. Neil Leifer, Eli Reed, David Burnett. Buy their books, study their work. Legends!!

I have had great mentors throughout my career and continue to have them. We are all students still learning! I don't believe you can have one mentor in your photography career. You get different things from different people. I have had mentors who helped me with sports photography, others who helped me with how to edit, another who taught me about preparation and a very valuable mentor who taught me how to network and connect. I may be great to help you with storytelling, but someone else can be better at helping you prepare to find that right job. I hope this makes sense.

Please do! Reach out on social if I can be helpful. Wishing you all the best!

And George, if I didn't answer completely, please feel free to reach out further!

Hi Alan. Thank you for your kind words and for supporting Grassroots Baseball! I have mostly been using expanded tracking with the a9iii and had great success. I feel like it has held on to my subject even when other players cross in front. Give that a try! Please reach out to my further if you would like. On IG if that works.

The 300 2.8 has been a wonderful addition to my kit. So many times the 400 is to tight for a venue and the 300 2.8 is perfect. Great idea! You can also hand hold it, which is a game changer for a telephoto lens!

Hi Sowil. Thanks for your questions. If I am shooting an sporting event, one day or multi event, I approach it the same way. I like to always make a wide, scene setting image to establish a sense of place. Maybe this is during beautiful light, or a pre-game ceremony. Usually shot with a wide angle, like my 12-24mm. Sometime Pre-game shots, showing warm ups or tight on a detail of the sport. Then telling the rest of the story showing the game action, re-action ( re-action of the fans, re-action of the player, or their teammates) Maybe there are great fans, in that case some fan shots, then its on to cheers and tears. The winning team makes a great story, but also consider the losing team can be a powerful story as well. Using different focal lengths as you tell the story is important, to change up the scale and keep the viewer interested.

Hi Avmil At big sporting events, photo wells can be crowded, sometimes prime positions are not available and you need to get creative. Getting to an event early, way before fans are in the venue, is a massive help in getting organized and finding interesting photo positions, looking at backgrounds that are available, where the light is going to be. Sometimes the challenge is, there are no fans and you don't want to show that. So you find positions that don't show the empty seats. Example, finding an "up" position. Cleans up your background and can make impactful pictures.

Hi Libro. Great question! I was a portrait photographer. Not because it was my passion, but it was just where the opportunity was to get started as a professional photographer. I worked for two women who were my mentors and learned so much from them. I was also still taking classes in photography and working for other photographers assisting them with weddings, food shoots, landscapes. I had an opportunity to shoot sports for a local paper, after my first shoot, It was so obvious to me, that I wanted to shoot sports. The feeling I got, the adrenaline, the what what what is going to happen! So exhilarating, to this day!

Hi Miar, Nice to meet you! Lots of advice, but to name one or two, have a great website, portfolio, only showing your best work. Same for your IG, keep it professional only and show your potential clients that you are ready for the assignment. Connect with photographers who work you admire and who have similar positions that you aspire to. I find there are many photographers who are willing to share advice and mentor.

Hi Dennis, thanks for your question. It was great to have the opportunity to shoot with both cameras side by side, the Sony A9iii's autofocus is now at the next level. Tremendous for sports photography. For the high speed action, having 120fps means you don't miss. Of course, you don't always need it, but It is great to have for capturing the athlete at their peak moment. The A1, will always be in my kit because it also has tremendous autofocus and the large file sizes gives me alot of flexibility for cropping in post and still be able to use the files for all of my needs. I have the 1.4 extender and I do use that on occasion. Usually with my 400 if I decide to shoot from an outfield position and it works well for that. We have also been using for video on the 70-200 ii 2.8 to give us even more range to go tight on action, or loose to show a sense of place. I don't use extenders a lot but the 1.4 I have had good success.

Hello George! It is a pleasure to meet you. I shot a lot of Friday Night Lights, but never in Texas. I am jealous! If I had to shoot with only one body, one lens, it would be with the Sony A1 + Sony 70-200 2.8 ii. I like to get to my venue early to find what positions are available to me, where the light is going to be, what are my backgrounds. Even with all my gear, I still move around during a game. The reason for my choice, if I had to choose one, is the autofocus, speed of the camera and lens. The focal range gives me a choice to go tight on action, or loose if I want to show a sense of place. With the large file size, I can also crop in post and still have a large enough image for all of my uses.

Hi Troy, Thanks for your questions. Most of my prep for storytelling is before I arrive to the field. What images do I want to make, what stories am I trying to tell. Sort of like a "shot list" before a game. Then arriving early to the venue, I am looking at things like where will the light be during the game, shooting positions available to me and what are my backgrounds. From there I make my lens choices before I start my shoot. Of course, since its sports photography, stories unfold. But with good preparation, you are more ready to pivot and tell the story. Please feel free to reach out on social further if I can be helpful.

Hi everyone! My name is Jean Fruth. I am a visual storyteller and sports photographer. I am excited about this forum and having the chance to chat with the photo community about our shared passion. Throughout my sports photography career I have documented many different sports. I have a year-around schedule shooting the game of baseball. In addition to covering the professional game I co-founded a non-profit called Grassroots Baseball. Grassroots Baseball promotes and celebrates the amateur game around the globe. Looking forward to connecting with you!