Raise your hand if you’re lusting after a new camera (*raises hand*). No worries. It’s perfectly normal. Nothing to be embarrassed about. I’m certainly not. I mean, it’s not like I pathologically search eBay and Facebook for new camera deals multiple times a day or anything (you know...in case that’s what you were thinking). Ahem...anyhoo, camera gear lust has been an common affliction among photographers almost since cameras were invented. But before you shell out hundreds (or even thousands) of your hard earned dollars, there are three super important things you need to do first. I know, I know. You’re really anxious to get your hands on that awesome new camera but hear me out first. You’ll thank me later.

A kids sports team is kinda like a neighborhood. In an ideal world, everyone would be friendly and get along but in the real world, it’s usually a quirky—sometimes volatile—mixture of cliques, controversies and confusion. On the surface, none of this would seem to have anything to do with your photography, right? But if your team is like most, coaches and parents are probably interconnected through a web of various social media platforms. If you happen to post some of the awesome action shots you’ve taken of your son or daughter—and maybe one or two of their closest friends on the team—things might just get tricky.

Let me know if this sounds familiar: After a long day of work, you haul ass back to your house, pick up your kid and race to the local ball diamond or soccer field because they have practice (AGAIN) where you’ll spend two hours NOT getting anything done even though you have a TON of stuff you need to get done. It’s the life of a typical sports parent and it can be frustrating to say the least. But rather than getting bitter, we have a better idea. Since you already have to be there anyway, why not bring your camera along? I know, it sounds kinda weird to take pictures at practice but it can actually be a perfect opportunity to capture some truly unique shots. Don’t believe me? Check out these ideas...

Many, many eons ago, my college roommate and I decided it was time to leave dorm life behind and move off campus. We were completely psyched to find a great apartment that was clean, roomy and best of all, affordable. But about halfway through our first semester in the new place, we discovered another benefit we hadn’t anticipated: we’d both lost weight and gained muscle tone from walking the extra distance to campus every day. Wouldn’t it be great if there were more unexpected benefits like that in life? Well, if you’re thinking of taking pictures at your kids sporting events, we have five benefits you probably never even considered and might just ensure you’ll grab your camera when heading out to the next game.

I know what you’re thinking “Yeah, I know there are programs like Photoshop that can do all kinds of amazing things but I barely have time to even download the photos off my camera much less learn how to use super complex software for editing them.” Fair enough. But what if the edits were super simple and quick to apply? Wouldn’t you have to at least think about it? Keep in mind, no one is saying you have to edit every photo. Maybe just pick out a few favorites to share with family and friends online, include in a holiday photo book or make a framed print. It’s completely up to you. My guess? Once you see the dramatic difference these simple edits can make, you’ll be using them on a regular basis.

If you’ve found your way to this blog, I’m going to guess you’re a parent (or maybe a grandparent) with a son or daughter who plays sports. I would further speculate that you’ve tried to take a few photos during their games and were disappointed with the results. Maybe you even Google’d up a few photography websites with articles about shooting sports. Unfortunately, you probably discovered that many of them use lots of technical photography jargon and recommend equipment that can cost more than your monthly mortgage. Frankly, it can be a little intimidating and a lot frustrating. All you want to do is take some nice pictures of your child playing a game. Seriously, does it really have to be so hard?

No. No, it doesn’t.