Best Golf Photography Ideas and Tips

Golf is a game that combines skill, strategy and luck. It is played on a course of 18 holes with a variety of hazards, including sand traps and water hazards. The object of the game is to drive the ball into the hole in as few strokes as possible.

Golf photography has become increasingly popular over the years. A professional golf photographer can be hired by the PGA Tour or other golf organizations to capture images of famous golfers such as Tiger Woods at tournaments around the world. You can also take your own photos of friends or family playing golf to capture their excitement and joy while they are playing this exciting sport.

Golf photography is one of the most challenging types of photography. There are so many things that can go wrong, from shadows to poor lighting, from golfers who don’t want to be photographed to elements like wind and rain that can ruin a shot.

But if you follow these best golf photography ideas and tips, you can shoot great golf photos even with your smartphone.

Table of Contents

Golf Photography Tips

1. Shoot during the Golden Hour

The Golden Hour is the hour after sunrise and before sunset when there’s no direct sunlight or harsh shadows on the course. This makes it easier to capture the course in its full glory without having to worry about shadows or harsh light ruining your shots.

2. Use a wide-angle lens

Use a wide-angle lens like 24mm or less for your shots if you want to capture more of the scene around you than just what’s in front of you — trees and other obstacles in the background will make it harder for viewers to see what’s going on in front of them unless they’re looking at an extremely large TV screen!

3. Use a tripod

Without one, it’s impossible to take clear photos because your hands will be shaking too much from nerves or excitement or fear (or all three). Tripods are also essential if you want to take long exposure photos during dusk or dawn when there’s not much light available.

4. Get close to your subject.

Don’t just stand far away and snap away like you would with other types of photography. Get up close and personal with your subject so that there’s room for expression in their face without it being distorted by distance. You want to be in a position where you can see the details of each shot, but also be close enough so that when the golfer swings his club, he makes contact with the ball before it gets too far away from him.

5. Take several shots before choosing one as the final image.

Golfers often miss putting the ball into the hole, so don’t assume they’ll make it every time! If possible, ask them to smile when they swing;

6. Get creative with angles and perspective.

You don’t need to stand directly behind the golfers or look over their shoulders at every shot; there are lots of other interesting angles that can make for great photos! Try shooting from above (from a hill behind them), below (from below their feet), or off to one side (use trees and bushes as foregrounds).

7. Use a wide angle lens

Use a wide-angle lens to capture as much of the landscape as possible. If there aren’t any trees blocking your view, then use a telephoto lens to get closer to your subject (and avoid having to stand on top of tall grass).

8. Use natural light

Use natural light whenever possible because it creates beautiful shadows and highlights. However, if you want more control over the light direction (and don’t mind using flash), then use flashguns instead of relying solely on natural light.

9. Get interesting backgrounds.

Don’t just shoot with plain white backgrounds — give your viewer something interesting to look at in the background besides grass or trees! Try using greens behind players, leaves blowing in the wind, or even mountains behind green-side bunkers when shooting hole-in-one shots at sunset.

10. Get close to the action.

You can get some great photos by moving in close to players on the green or when they’re teeing off. If you have a long lens, use it to capture groups of people playing together in one shot.