Olympus Visionary Jim Sugar offers 10 Tips on Photographing Little League and Kids' Sports Like a Pro
Photography is part of Jim Sugar's being, whether shooting a high-flying aerial scene or a little leage baseball game
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“Being a photographer is in my DNA,” says Jim Sugar. “I feel like I was meant to be a photographer. I feel like it found me.”
Advertising and editorial photographer Jim Sugar has shot more than 50 magazine covers and done work for some of the biggest commercial clients in the business. With a range of specialties that spans everything from aviation to little league baseball, Sugar is an extremely active photographer who credits his inextinguishable drive to fitness. “I’m able to do a lot of what I do in photography because I’m extremely fit,” he says. “I hope to work right up to the end, and then if I’m really lucky, I’ll die in my sleep.”
Sugar got his first big break over 30 years ago when he was hired as a summer intern at National Geographic magazine. He had gone to Europe during his junior and senior years of college and shot an independent project on the micro-republic of Lichtenstein. When he submitted the images to National Geographic, they called him up and offered him a summer internship. His association with National Geographic was a life changing event that would shape much of his future as a photographer. “In many ways, I was formed by my experiences at National Geographic,” says Sugar. “Bob Gilka, the legendary photo editor who was in charge at the time, gave me a chance and I worked really hard for him. He sent me to a lot of crazy places. For almost 10 years after college and grad school, I traveled. There was a three-year period that I didn’t come back to the States at all. I was photographing constantly, and that was a great way to learn photography. I learned it by doing a lot of it. Total immersion.”
During this time of heavy shooting, it wasn’t uncommon for Sugar to shoot between 1000 and 1200 rolls of film a year. He equates that experience to a musician who always has his instrument with him and is always playing. “I always had my camera with me, or if I didn’t have it, I was thinking about photography,” he says. “That’s the way you get better. You learn by always thinking about images.”
Not very informative. basic knowledge should not have to repeat. Here are afew of my tips
Anticipate location where a play will develop(base runners)I get a lot of great shots this way
talk to coach most of the time you can get on the diamond closer to the action
