Jeff Lewis

I frame for impact and storytelling. Even with a portrait, I’m trying to tell a story in the most emotional way possible.

Rarely and only for portraits. I use two monopods while shooting football games. One is for the 400 2.8L lens and the other for a remote camera to find another angle.

There are many ways to skin a cat but freezing action is the key to a technically amazing sports picture unless you are dragging the shutter for effect. To accomplish this, I tend to shoot on Av on sunny days as the light is always changing and Manual when indoors or at night. Your settings should not change if the light is not changing. I shoot mostly all the way open but leave a little wiggle room at 3.5 to still be able to open up or stop down if need be. At 3.5, you should generally have enough depth of field to freeze the entire athlete and not have blurry feet or out of focus heads.

For action sports. I live and breathe my subject matter. It’s the only way to become a great photographer. We can learn our equipment and know every single spec on a sheet but if we don’t know the slant is coming when the defense is sitting in a cover 2, what difference does it make. The shot will be missed. For portraits, understanding light and your equipment is a must. Only way to truly be creative and develop a look is to be consistent in your set up and build from there. Subject matter is equally as important. Hard to shoot a dancer with a lighting set up for still life.

Practice makes perfect. From playing the game as a kid and studying the game, and also having equipment that is very reliable, I’m very confident that when the ball is thrown my way, I’m going to get the shot.