While some sports photographers work in exotic, glamorous locations, sports portrait specialist ?ukasz Skwiot can often be found in a small dressing room with just a few minutes available to capture a striking cover image.
?ukasz's career has taken him from the sidelines of football, handball and basketball games to intimate portrait sessions where, with time usually limited and expectations always high, he must produce compelling pictures in any setting. "It is up to me, as a photographer, to create a concept that will produce an amazing final effect," he says.
"I like working with harsh, contrasting light, to create sharp, saturated photos," he continues, "and I often use special effects like smoke, dust or water to create images that are difficult to pass by without noticing."
However, ?ukasz emphasises that each shoot concept is shaped by both the sport and the personality involved. "Each sport is different, each discipline is different, so each session is created from scratch," he says. "I try to capture the dynamics of both the athlete and the discipline."
Behind the action: a guide to sports portraiture
The personal touch
While his images have a distinctive, bold look, they are always personal. "In my opinion," he says, "emotions are 60% and light is 40% of a perfect photo."
How does he capture the emotions and the personality of his subjects, though, especially under pressure of time?
"I work with athletes, not models," ?ukasz admits. "It is different from working with professional models. Athletes don't know what to do with their hands or how to stand, so it can be hard to capture natural emotion. The most important thing is to build trust, then it's easier to control and pose the player."
To do this, ?ukasz takes a personal approach. "It's important to know the athlete. What are the habits they are best known for? If they have tattoos, maybe it's worth showing them. Maybe they have a trademark goal celebration? I always prepare and know something about the person because I need to make a connection with them to remove the shyness."
?ukasz's approach grows out of his experience of overcoming his own inhibitions in order to establish himself in the industry. "I've always been a very shy person and avoided taking pictures of people, but being a photojournalist at the magazine Pi?ka No?na convinced me to continue with sports portrait photography.
"I just needed to take photos," he explains. "The first time I took a portrait of a football player was very uncomfortable for me. It was like jumping off a rock into water, but I needed to do it. It wasn't perfect, but it opened me up for the next session and the sessions after that."
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Planning and lighting
As his confidence grew, ?ukasz was tasked with increasingly demanding commissions, including the ultimate test – front-cover shoots. "I tend not to tell athletes that we are taking a front-cover photo, because it usually stiffens them up, which I want to avoid," he says. He has also learned not to focus too much attention on shooting with a particular layout in mind. "You have to remember your framing and leave space for the magazine title and coverlines," he explains. "But it has happened that the planned cover shot wasn't the most interesting and editors can change the magazine layout, so I try to keep all my material at the same level."
?ukasz's attention to detail begins well before the shoot itself. "An important stage is planning the session and creating a mood board," he explains. "My girlfriend Angelika, who is the artistic director on many of my sessions, helps me a lot. The type of lighting, the number of lamps and the type of modifiers are selected according to the session concept and the effect I'd like, or the effect the client would like to achieve."
?ukasz prefers to work in the studio, where he has control over lighting, but also frequently shoots on location. "Outdoor sessions are weather dependent and usually more mobile, so I take less equipment," he says. "Working in a gym or fitness club means it is often challenging to select a composition that doesn't distract from the athlete. Gyms are created for exercise, not photography, so it's the photographer's job to make the final effect as interesting as possible."
The best Canon lenses for portrait photography
Choosing equipment for the job
When image size isn't the priority, ?ukasz opts for the Canon EOS-1D X Mark III. "Its amazing speed of 16fps combined with fast studio lamps helps me create incredibly dynamic images," he explains.
Lately, however, ?ukasz has been opting for Canon's full-frame mirrorless 澳门现金网_申博信用网-官网 System technology, with his favourite combination being the Canon 澳门现金网_申博信用网-官网5 with the Canon RF 85mm F1.2L USM lens. "The 45MP sensor provides the brilliant resolution needed for advertising campaigns, and great tonal dynamics," he says. "The biggest difference for me, though, is the autofocus, which allows me to concentrate on framing rather than on the focus. I can put the athlete in the corner of the frame and be sure it will focus perfectly. Having autofocus points across the whole frame is so much easier – I now have to think only about the framing, and because of this I work faster.
"The RF 85mm F1.2L USM lens gives me the perfect distance from the model to help communication, and it has no distortion, which makes the proportions perfect. More importantly, it is a brilliant optical design – I love the sharpness of this lens. I also use strong counter light directed towards the camera, so I appreciate the lack of glare and flares."
When a moving subject is involved, ?ukasz adds, the AF's ability to follow the subject across the entire frame, combined with the 澳门现金网_申博信用网-官网5's 12fps continuous shooting speed, "gives me the biggest chance to succeed at the first attempt."
Changing minds
Successful shoots with the captain of Poland's national football team Robert Lewandowski and Polish American Football League champions Panthers Wroc?aw have certainly boosted ?ukasz's profile. But he's not slowing down.
"If you want to achieve something, you have to believe in it and keep improving," he says. "At the moment, the market is very dynamic, so you can't rest on your laurels. I try to make each successive session better than the previous one. I'm constantly trying to broaden my knowledge, improve my use of light and perfect my way of processing photos in order to provide my clients with the best quality."
?ukasz's passion for photography is matched by his pursuit of new challenges and opportunities. "I haven't had a chance to photograph athletes with a disability yet, but it's very important to show diversity in sport. I hope in the future I'll have a chance to work with one or two disabled athletes from different disciplines, perhaps as part of a personal project. I think it would create very powerful images."
?ukasz Skwiot's kitbag
The key kit that the pros use to take their photographs
Cameras
Canon EOS-1D X Mark III
The EOS-1D X Mark III is the ultimate creative toolkit, with superb low-light performance, deep learning AF and 5.5K RAW video.
Canon 澳门现金网_申博信用网-官网5
The 澳门现金网_申博信用网-官网5's uncompromising performance will revolutionise your photography and filmmaking..?ukasz says: "The 澳门现金网_申博信用网-官网5 provides me with great image quality, high resolution and dynamic range, while the Eye AF makes your work easier by letting you concentrate on the framing, not on the focus."
Canon EOS 5DS
Providing critical sharpness when it really matters, the Canon EOS 5DS will transform the way you look at the world. "The EOS 5DS offers a powerful resolution – up to 50.6MP. The sharpness and detail is incomparable," says ?ukasz.
Lenses
Canon RF 85mm F1.2L USM
The ultimate portrait lens for next generation imaging. ?ukasz says: "I love the sharpness of this lens and, as I often use strong counter lighting directed towards the camera, the Air Sphere Coating, which eliminates glare and flares."
Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS III USM
The successor to the lens in ?ukasz's kitbag is a favourite with professional photographers – it's fast, flexible and built for any assignment.
Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM
With its fast maximum aperture and rapid focusing system, this compact, high performance 50mm standard lens can be relied on for superb performance in any field of photography.