The magic of emotions in motion

Hello everyone! I am Rafael Figueiredo Rosa, a Luso-Brazilian photographer living in Porto Alegre, the most southern state capital of Brazil. Originally, I am a photojournalist working in covering shows and street events, as well as street photography, especially when I am traveling, a very pleasurable hobby, something almost vicious.

Working for a few years in different areas of photography allowed me to develop my technical skills and sharpen my senses, creating an almost intimate relationship with my set of equipment, which shows essential in sports photography.

Photographing sports professionally, far beyond mastering technical skills, which seems obvious, also requires a considerable level of knowledge related to the sports you are photographing.

It is essential to know the basic rules, tactical aspects and the most important movements of each sport, which will be decisive in predicting the athletes’ actions, allowing the capture of the most impactful photos in terms of action and emotion – and these unique moments can be the scoring of a point, an almost unpredictable maneuver, a decisive blow or that exciting overtaking that takes place almost at the finish line.

The magic of capturing actions and emotions is as fascinating as it is challenging – and this happens regardless of whether you are photographing renowned professionals, a competition between amateurs or the simple fun of those weekend athletes.

I often say that to be a good photographer, as is the case in the world of sports, it is not enough to simply be endowed with an innate talent – both a good photographer and a good sportsman add to their talent a level of training that makes it possible to achieve differentiated technical expertise in relation to their peers.

And in sports photography, technique is not just limited to knowing the rules of exposure, the lenses and camera body used, technical excellence also encompasses understanding the rules and specificities of each sport, the ability to identify the main actions and actors who are on stage, all in order to enable the construction of a narrative that can capture the attention and stir the emotions of those who will see the images immortalized by us.

Having the right tools and ideal settings are almost essential conditions for not missing unique moments, hence the importance of being prepared for everything here, as every detail matters when we talk about capturing images with a wealth of detail in high speed – and the Fujifilm X System gives me, in a small and featherweight set, everything I need in to present, with very high quality, the true magic of sports.

Examples of the importance of knowing the needs of each sport and the differences between various equipment and configurations are easily noticeable when comparing photographing a skateboarding competition and a football match – in a football match, everything is in constant movement, so it is necessary to anticipate some movements or progressions to take the best photos, such as the moment of a ball steal, while in skateboarding we need to be aware of the obstacles present on the track and the ramps and platforms that serve as a boost and that will precede the athletes’ acrobatic movements.

When covering sports, especially in football stadiums, where there are a series of restrictions regarding the movement of photography professionals, I usually use telephoto zoom lenses, as they allow me a varied range of framing of the athletes, allowing, even from long distances, clearly capture all the emotions and tensions of decisive moments, bringing me closer to both athletes and the public.

Finally, is important to always keep in mind that sports photographs have a significant emotional impact on spectators, not only because of the photos of exciting moments, such as that of an athlete winning a competition or performing an impressive movement, but because they also serve as inspiration and motivation for other people enter the world of sports (or, why not, sports photography) and make their dreams come true.