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Getting the Shots Nobody Else Thought Of

© David Bergman Loading...

© David Bergman

Nikon D3, Manual, f/4, Focal length 14mm, ISO 3200

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It wasn't the choicest of assignments for a sports photographer, covering the NFL draft. But there he was at the massive Jacob Javits Center in New York, and David Bergman had to come up with an idea.

"Most photographers stand in the pre-assigned position, they shoot a picture of the handshake and go home—I can't do that," said David, a New York sports and entertainment photographer whose images regularly appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated and other magazines.

"The first time I covered the draft I found a high angle to shoot from where you could see the green room, where the players were waiting with their families on one side, and the other players and the audience and all the excitement on the other sides. It ran as a two-page picture. Since then I've become SI's NFL draft photographer."

What's that about no good deed going unpunished?

"I feel like I have to get something new and different and unique every time," David said. "I take it upon myself to go the extra mile and make things just a little different."

David has worked hard to build a reputation as the guy who will come up with a shot that nobody else thought of.

"It's a big risk because you have to put yourself out there and maybe leave the safe position to get something different. Sometimes it doesn't work. But it's worth the risk because when you get the shot, it's a great feeling."

Case in point. David had been sent to University Park, Pa., by Sports Illustrated to cover a big game between Penn State and Notre Dame. David, the lone SI photographer, took plenty of action shots in the first quarter, then began to look around. What was different about this game?

"On a normal big game at Penn State, they do what they call a White Out. Normally it's just the student section—a big swath in the stadium that's all white."

But at this game, Bergman noticed, everyone was wearing white. "They called it the White House," he said.