What a Shot!

Chris Buhlmann’s photography playbook and the Tamron SP 28-75mm F/2.8 lens ensure a slam dunk on the basketball court.

Article By Jennifer Gidman

Images by Chris Buhlmann

“I always provide photo collages and other images at the end for everyone — it’s a memory I’m trying to create,” he explains. “It’s all about telling a story. What people gravitate toward are the facial expressions of the kids when the game is on the line. You can even show what’s going on by photographing something simple like the coach’s basketball chart — that’s just one way to show how that element of teaching is going on throughout the season.”

The Tamron SP 28-75mm F/2.8 lens helps Buhlmann capture every backboard-shattering play. “These are pro-level courts where, as a parent, you might sometimes be wedged into tight corners,” he says. “This lens is wide enough to get shots right in front of you, and at the 75mm end, it’s long enough for any midcourt images. The lens is also great for shooting cross-court: If you’re on the sidelines, for example, you’re able to reach out and get in close on the action for someone who’s on the other side of the court lengthwise."

The 28-75’s fast 2.8 maximum aperture also allows Buhlmann to selectively blur his backgrounds to get creative with his shots. “Many of today’s cameras have a depth-of-field preview where you can either press a button or slide a lever to stop the lens down,” he says. “I use this feature for moments when I want to set up a shot more artistically. That’s how you can move from just pointing and shooting with your 28-75 to really using your camera to maximize the capabilities your lens is giving you.”

Courtside Captures

Even if you manage to nab a prime seat in the bleachers, that’s not where you should stay if you want to get the best shots. “When I go to these games, I see parents just sitting in the stands,” Buhlmann says. “Approach the refs before the game and ask where you can take shots that won’t be in their way and where you won’t get smacked by the players when they run out of bounds. The best place for in-your-face action is right under the opposing team’s basket so you can capture your team’s offense as they move up the court. If you want to get the defense, spend time on the other end of the court.”

As a basketball mom or dad, you’re also likely to become familiar with the other players on your child’s team, which you can use to your photographic advantage. “The kids at this level aren’t super-dimensional yet,” Buhlmann says. “You learn about the kids on the team just by attending the games: You pretty much know if a particular player has the ball and is driving down the court which way he’s going to go. There’s one kid, for example, on my son’s team who always goes to the right to shoot — if I want to get him shooting the ball, I know where I need to be.”

Shooting under unflattering gymnasium lights poses its own challenges. “I’ve shot in gyms where there are different light temperatures on different sides of the gym,” Buhlmann says. “That’s where the 28-75 lens comes into play — you have to have a 2.8 lens for these situations. You start shooting above ISO 4000 or 5000 and you’re losing image quality. Shooting at F/2.8 allows you to stay between 2000 and 3200 at 1/60th to 1/200th of a second.”

Pros often shoot everything in RAW on auto and then fix it in post, according to Buhlmann. “I’m a dad, though, with a full-time day job; sometimes I don’t go through the images till 10 at night,” he says. “So I shoot JPEG — but what I recommend is to get to the game a few minutes early and set your camera using the predefined white-balance settings. I stay away from auto because of the gym’s varying light temperatures. Depending on the camera model, the auto white balance in fluorescent lighting can sometimes be a little green. Instead, take some preview shots and say, ‘Does this match what I’m seeing in the real world?’ More advanced photographers can set a Kelvin temperature for a shot instead of using predefined settings.”

Buhlmann also suggests checking your meter. “People often like to use their camera in auto, which has multimatrix metering,” he says. “I shoot most of my stuff center-weighted, though. Because of the bright spots found in gym lighting, the camera meter might overexpose or underexpose. Shooting center-weighted gives you the best results. You can still adjust up or down a third of a stop to get your exposure right. Use the histogram on your camera to see how your exposures are coming out.”

Freezing the action depends on the speed of the players — but there’s actually a bit of a slowdown in the action for those money shots at the hoop. “When the guys are leaping for a jump shot, they actually stop their forward momentum as they’re heading up,” says Buhlmann. “When they hit that point when they’re going for a shot and crossing in front of the lens, 1/200th of a second freezes them pretty good. It’s amazing how focused these kids are to get the shot: Their heads are pretty firm, and so are their upper bodies. You might still get some lights or an arm that blurs a little bit, but you can more or less freeze them. I also pan with the action a lot, which helps with freezing certain shots that come at angles to the basket or in ball travel midcourt.”

Buhlmann also advises to shoot at your camera’s highest megapixel level so you can crop if necessary. “You might say, ‘Well, I shoot at 6MP because I only have a 2-gig memory card,’” he says. “Get a bigger memory card. When I’m creating a memory, there may be a shot I took where the best thing is to crop to set that memory up right. If you’re in a situation where you can’t zoom all the way in or the lighting is bad in certain areas, shoot at the highest resolution and then crop it later to get the shot you want. The 28-75 lens gives you such great quality that your image will be really sharp all the way across.”

To see more of Chris Buhlmann’s images, go to www.chrisbuhlmann.com.