Reporting, photography at the same time

I identify with your term "money shot" used earlier. Challenged myself to try to get those. Made it kind of an internal competition. However, my stat-keeping system got blown to bits.

 

Been doing it most of the last 20 years.
First, get your ass on the sidelines. Second, get a couple yards past the first down marker so the offense is coming at you. If you're covering the team on defense, get a few yards behind the line of scrimmage so you're looking at the D.
Because you're shooting, you will follow the ball. That means you'll likely have the ball carrier (or passer and receiver) in view and be trained upon them.
You've got time between plays to note line of scrimmage, player carrying/passing/receiving, yards gained, etc. Don't let anybody drag you into a protracted conversation. In other words, you don't have time to kill between plays because that's when you're taking down what just happened.
When the offense breaks the huddle, make sure you're where you want to be to take the next picture.
Shooting/writing at the same time really isn't as hard is it sounds. I've done it on deadline for high school and college games (when news hijacked the photog).

 

I agree, especially with the last part. With time and practice, juggling the two isn't rocket science. Having said that, the photos I take aren't quite as good as what a FT photog would get, but they seem to be sufficient.
I'll add that when your team is on offense, when they get to about the 20 or 25 of the opponent, I head to the end zone. And like others have said, be best buds with your team's stat guy.
Bank, what kind of camera do you have and what kind of budget do you have (if any) for photo gear? If you're stuck with a point and shoot without the budget for a low-level DSLR or highly used DSLR, the off-field shots could be your best bet. Include fan shots in that. If the camera allows, go with the highest ISO and shutter speed you can. Look at your photos quickly at half; if they're not much play with some settings and do test shots at half of the band, cheerleaders or whatever else is going on.
Oh and one more thing: hope it stays dry! They're calling for rain here tonight possibly after the games are over. I'm shooting our cross-town rivalry game and writing about it, so I hope the host AD has been doing some heavy-duty rain dances.

 

I do all of those every Friday night except to sell ads.

Mostly good advice above. One key advantage of shooting early is so you can simply keep a play-by-play and then catch up on stat totals at halftime. If the game is close in the fourth quarter, you can always go back down to the field for a few more shots in an attempt not to miss a key play.

 

This.

My first five years were spent shooting/covering games. I was money in soccer, when there's no play-by-play to keep. I wasn't great in football, but the key is to take as many photos as you can so your odds are increased to get something good. Get the coaches when they talk to the group on the sideline. Get him grabbing a kid's facemask and getting in his face. Get post-touchdown celebrations. And try to get whatever action you can.

I'd have my camera up during the play, usually 10 yards downfield, and that way you can tell who's carrying because you're focusing on that play. After you take your pic, while they're lining up, I'd jot down "33 run" and then flip over to add their 6 yards or whatever to my running total of each guy's stats. Then jot down 2-4-42 (second and 4 from the 42) and get the camera up.

It's all about practice. It will get easier, but it will never be easy. Good luck.

 

I'm happiest on the sideline with a camera and a notebook in my hands.

 

I mostly do my own shots for picture stories, because our photogs are idiots and never have gotten right what I wanted in 10 years.

But for gamers, I draw the line. I got my hands full enough live blogging, updating the live scoreboard and keeping stats.

 

Don't do it anymore, but loved it when I did.

I became pretty comfortable with prep football within a few months. Like others have said, anticipate plays and try to get a mess of shots before the sun goes down.

As for stats, the time between plays usually gave me enough time for running individual stats and play by play on the next page. And don't get me started on high school stadium lighting.

Obviously, basketball was a little tougher. You usually had to write quickly before the ball got to the other end of the floor. I kept individual and team shooting/rebounding/turnover numbers myself and left assists and things like that for the stat folks.

As for the minor sports, volleyball was by far the most difficult. After a while, I just gave up doing individual stats.

 

Truer words have never been written.

 

I'm pretty sure volleyball stats are all made up anyway.

 

I could give you a ton of advice but I'll just stick to this: pay attention when you're shooting football.
It's not like I've shot a thousand games, but I know that no stat is worth losing your knees over.

 

Well, I'm not so sure you want it get easy. Once you get your system for taking a shot, and writing the stat down, and just being comfortable doing both, the challenge is to expand your photographic eye. Always challenge yourself with the camera. It takes time.