If there’s one regret I have about my kids playing sports, it’s that I didn’t take enough videos. Of course, a few years back, I didn’t have the availability of a phone, which makes it super-easy today to capture the memories.
So, don’t “should” on yourself: Dang, I should have recorded more of my child’s games! If you’ve got a phone with decent video capability, use it!
Here’s some practical tips for shooting video in youth sports:
- Before you begin, watch some sports on TV. Watch a game, watch the sports news. Don’t pay attention to the content; just watch how the story develops visually. Obviously, you are not a pro like them, but you can take away this: notice how they focus on the athletes to bring a type of intimacy.
- Buy a hard drive for extra space on your computer. If you want to record full games, it can take up lots of memory.
- Find one parent on the team that is willing to coordinate recording games for all of the parents. Once the video is edited, he or she can share with the whole team. Or share first, and you edit yourself. You may want to find 2-3 parents that will share the responsibility so one person is not stuck behind the camera at every game.
- If you are recording, focus on the game through the viewfinder. It’s tempting to get pulled away from your job as a recorder to watch your child hit a home run, and then realize that you didn’t capture it on camera. You may simply have to make a choice: will you enjoy the game through your own eyes or through the viewfinder to get great footage?
- Use the zoom without going crazy. Zoom until your hand trembles to stay still. But don’t over-zoom either. Try combining a slow zoom with panning the camera.
- The next time you are at your child’s game, try recording at various levels. Hold the camera at chest level, using the tilt function on your camera or hold the camera over your head, elbows straight, and point almost straight down. This is a great angle to look down on players working hard near the sidelines. Another way to get a great shot is putting the camera on the grass, tilted up. This angle focuses on footwork and jumping.
- Record from different locations during the event. Endzone, outfield, behind home plate, by the soccer goal.
- Look for opportunities to capture the emotion of the game. Does your child’s team do a pre game cheer? Get up close, stick your camera over their heads looking down or get underneath looking up.
- Don’t pay for professional video editing. Instead, check out tools like Vibby, a free and easy video editing and enhancing tool. Wth Vibby, you can easily find, pinpoint and share specific moments in the game with friends, family and coaches.
Now, it’s time to point, shoot and push that record button! You will be recording memories that will bring watching pleasure for many years.
This post is sponsored by Vibby, a user-friendly video-editing tool that allows you to find and focus on the moments that matter to you. Vibby is a video platform that enables users to highlight, comment, and share the best parts of any online video.