The Easiest Photos

Had a conversation today with a parent about making photos of kids’ baseball. She proffered respect for me and other sports photographers who can capture the precise moments of spectacular action and she assisted in getting me clearance to shoot inside the fences.

I’d chosen to stay outside the fences explaining to her that I was looking for a photo that wasn’t action—a photo that told me more about baseball than the game. A photo that transcended common knowledge of the great American sport and told me more about this afternoon at this time with these WYBSL kids.

A player gets his coach’s signature on a game ball next to the signatures of the other players on his team. This was the last game of the year, a make-up for one that was canceled because of rain.

Only two names are visible, scrawled in the penmanship of youth more concerned about spelling and spacing and not yet concerned with expressing the owners' personality. A scruffy cowhide baseball in the hands of a kid with bitten fingernails.

There’s more storytelling in this photo than the 11 runs scored in the first three innings, the line drive that bounced off a kid’s left arm for a hit, and the pitcher reaching his pitch limit a little early.

Sometimes the best photos are the simplest ideas. Tell the story in the simplest way. Occam’s photo razor.

My Final Photo News is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my photography and commentary, become a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe to The Westerville News and PhotoCamp Daily. My Final Photo News also recommends Civic Capacity and Into the Morning by Krista Steele.