Alright, so yesterday was kinda wild. I decided, spur of the moment, to try and capture some NBA-esque shots outdoors. You know, like those gritty, real-feel pics you see online. Here’s how it went down.
First, I grabbed my camera. Nothing fancy, just my old DSLR. I threw it in my bag along with a couple of lenses – a 50mm prime and a zoom lens for those far-off shots I probably wouldn’t get.
Next, I needed a location. I thought about hitting up the local park, but it’s usually packed with kids. So, I remembered this semi-abandoned basketball court near my place. Perfect!
I called up my buddy Mark, who actually plays ball. Asked him if he was free to be my “athlete” for the afternoon. Luckily, he was game.
When we got there, the court was even more beat-up than I remembered. Cracks in the asphalt, rusty hoops… but honestly, that just added to the vibe I was going for. We started with some simple layups. I focused on getting the right angle, playing with the natural light.
Then, I had Mark do some dribbling drills. I tried to capture the motion, the sweat, the intensity. It was harder than it looked! I realized my shutter speed wasn’t fast enough, so I cranked that sucker up.
We moved on to some jump shots. Tried different angles, different poses. Some worked, some didn’t. I told Mark to just play naturally, and I’d try to capture the best moments. That actually helped a lot. It felt way less staged.
I even tried to get some shots of him dunking. Let’s just say, my vertical isn’t what it used to be. And Mark was laughing his head off. But hey, we got some funny outtakes!
After about two hours, we were both exhausted. But I had a ton of photos to sift through. I went home, dumped everything onto my computer, and started editing.
The editing process was crucial. I played with the contrast, the shadows, the colors. I wanted to give the photos that raw, unfiltered look. I used Lightroom for most of the work, nothing too complicated.
Finally, after a few hours of tweaking, I had a handful of shots I was actually proud of. They weren’t perfect, but they captured the essence of what I was going for – that gritty, urban basketball feel.
- Key Takeaways:
- Natural light is your friend.
- Don’t be afraid to experiment with angles.
- Capture the motion, not just the pose.
- Editing can make a huge difference.
What I learned
It was a fun experiment, and I learned a lot. I think I’ll definitely try this again sometime. Maybe with a different sport, or a different location. The possibilities are endless!
