Pictures you should definitely take of your Little Baseball Player

It’s fall ball here in the south and there is nothing I enjoy more than a little shade, a pina colada flavored snow cone and being able to watch my little guys play baseball.  Will is playing short stop with his 7-8 team and outfield with a travel team that we love and Weston has decided to get out there too!

I may have cried a little seeing how much bravery Weston mustered up to be on the field with strangers!  Both Jeremy and I were holding our breath.  We had no idea what our little Munch would do….throw the bat and run off the field crying from shyness overload or actually be able to show those big kids what he could do…..fear can make kids very unpredictable!  Well…it was a huge success!  He loves his practices and coaches and the other kids and Jeremy and I literally may get matching Tigers tattoos to commemorate his accomplishment!  #proudparents

In our part of the county, baseball is really competitive – it may have something to do with the fact that our local high school – The Loganville Red Devils – are really good!  They were 2017 5A state champs even!  WAHOO!  Shoutout to those big boys!  And I also wanted to give a little virtual fist pump to my nephew Braden who is rocking out with his high school team (STOP GROWING) and is such an inspiration to my little guys on the field!

The fact is…these kids grow up super fast and play, act, and look different in such a short amount of time that you will want to remember their sweet innocent firsts.  One of those being – their first time really playing a sport that they love.  SOooo I thought it would be helpful to some of you mama-razzis out there to list some of the photos that I recommend snagging while their belts are too long, their pants are too baggy and their size XS shirts still hang low 🙂

AT BAT

Kids in their first at bat always sport different expressions and hold their body with so much inexperience, this is a definite must-have when it comes to photos.  Will already has changed his at-plate stance and I am so glad that I can look back and see him in all his stages.  This one is one of my favorites – his calm serious face is very typical for his personality and clean white pants means he is ready to start this game….it’s just moments from him getting them stained with the red dirt.

CLOSEUP PORTRAIT

We try to do different portrait stances for each season…it can be simply sitting solo in the dug out, holding equipment, through the fence, etc…..whatever portrait you choose, I always like to get a smiling version and a serious version.  My favorites I always take with my 50mm or my 85mm.  You can read about my camera gear here.

OBSERVING PORTRAIT

Most of baseball is being ready for your turn, your ball or your at bat.  Capture that ‘wait’ by snapping a few while other kids play.  I can’t generally zoom in during a real game this close or not get another kid in the background…so right before a scrimmage I snagged these pics while other kids were warming up.  It’s one of my favorites!

NAME & NUMBER

It’s a photo that really does transcend age….the photo of your little baller’s back of the uniform!  It is one of the easiest to snag (anytime they are at bat – just go to the side behind the batter) and make sure you get a little bit of fence in the foreground for extra drama.

A HIT OR CATCH

This photo is a little harder to get in focus but with a little prep, you can get it!  I like to make sure my shutter speed is at least 1/400 and my aperture is from 6.0-9.0 depending on my angle.  Then I burst shoot to get the ball coming at him, his swing and the ball flying.  The catching requires a little more prep – but my best tip is to have the camera set up and if you see one coming his way, then get that camera up in a hurry!

FULL LENGTH

Styles and equipment and everything changes so quickly – especially in the world of sports.  Capture their entire full length shot and make sure you include it in the scrap book.  You can do this at the back of an empty field or right after a game.  The point of this photo is to have something to show the grandkids one day 🙂

WITH THE COACH

Jeremy gets to help out at times with the teams and snagging a photo of Will & his daddy doing the thing they love, well, that is priceless.  It also shows the size of Will which is important.  A lot of times, these little kids look big when they are solo in a photo….but when they are next to an adult, it shows that they still have a lot of growing to do!

ARTISTIC ACTION

Your child may never hit the ball, never catch a ball or never get to run home….but that doesn’t mean that you can’t get them in action!  One of my favorites is of Will running back across the field after game time was called.  He was excited about snacks! Ha!  But he looks like he is intensely focused on winning!  The point is – no matter what the kid does or doesn’t do…capture it.  You can make it artistic as you want!  Will was never the kid who danced in the outfield or did cartwheels but if he was, I would have snagged a photo because as they get older, more than likely, they won’t be that carefree!  One thing that I learned is that no matter what happens, document it because they are only little once!

 

And the best part of capturing these photos will be seeing your little one react to his or her picture!  They love it!  My kids love seeing themselves and seeing me or Jeremy in our old sports photos.  They think those are the funniest ones!  So if you are a new baseball mom or a veteran who finally decided it was time to get some pics…I hope this helps!  Now let’s play ball!