When people think about sports photography, they usually think about speed: following the action, reacting quickly and trying not to miss the decisive moment.


Baseball photography feels different to me.


Funny enough, I've never really played baseball myself. I enjoy the sport more as a spectator and photographer, but over time I've really grown to love it. Whether I'm watching a game in person or on TV, baseball has become one of my favorite sports alongside football.


And photographing it has only made me appreciate the game even more.


The action can be incredibly fast, but it doesn't happen constantly. There are moments when everything happens in a fraction of a second, followed by periods where you can slow down and observe what's happening around you.


As a photographer, that gives me something I don't always get when shooting other sports:


Time to be creative.


Time to move around the field, look for details, experiment with different techniques and think about the next photograph instead of constantly chasing the action.


That freedom is one of the reasons I've grown to enjoy photographing baseball so much.

Baseball batter swings at pitch during night game with catcher and umpire positioned behind home plate on dirt infield.

© Alger Lazo / Perubiano

Baseball is slow… until it isn't


Baseball is difficult to compare directly with another sport because its rhythm is so different.

If I had to make one comparison, it would probably be football because both can be somewhat predictable.

You can read the game and anticipate what might happen next. But baseball has its own unique actions.

A pitch. A swing. A stolen base. A diving catch. A play at home plate.

Those moments don't happen every few seconds. You might spend quite some time waiting for one particular play — and then suddenly everything happens in a fraction of a second.

That's part of the challenge.

It's also part of what makes photographing baseball so rewarding.


My favorite place to photograph baseball: Home Plate


If I had to choose one position around a baseball field, I'm going to home plate.

And there's one situation I'm always hoping for.

A runner is heading home.

The catcher is waiting for the throw from an infielder or outfielder.

The ball is coming.

The runner is getting closer.

And I'm waiting to find out:


OUT or SAFE?


For a photographer, there can be so much happening in that one small area.

You have the runner. The catcher. The ball. The umpire.

But what I really love is what happens immediately afterwards.

The umpire makes the call.

The catcher reacts.

The runner reacts.

The dugout reacts.


Suddenly one action gives you multiple photographs and multiple layers of emotion.

Baseball player slides into home plate as catcher reaches to make the tag, with umpire watching closely.
Baseball player sliding into home plate as catcher attempts a tag, with umpire watching closely during a night game.

© Alger Lazo / Perubiano

© Alger Lazo / Perubiano

One of my favorite baseball photos came from exactly this situation


One of my favorite memories from photographing baseball happened during the 2025 Euro Baseball final.

A Kingdom of the Netherlands player was running toward home while the catcher received the ball just late to not make the tag.

Then everyone went crazy.

Players reacted. The dugout erupted. There was emotion everywhere.

I managed to capture the moment, and the photograph was later shared on the official Instagram account of the Dutch team.

For me, that made the photograph even more memorable.

Baseball game at Rotterdam Topsport stadium with batter, catcher, and umpire under bright lights during a night game.

© Alger Lazo / Perubiano

What makes the story even better is that I got the opportunity to photograph a very similar situation again.

During Game 3 of this year's Honkbal Hoofdklasse Holland Series final, another play developed at home plate.

This time, I captured it from another angle.

That's one of the things I enjoy about baseball photography: certain situations repeat themselves, but no two photographs have to be the same.

Baseball player sliding into home plate while catcher attempts tag, with umpire watching closely during night game.

© Alger Lazo / Perubiano

Missed the shot? Learn from it and try again


In many sports, if you miss the moment, it's gone.

Baseball can be more forgiving.

Missed the perfect photograph of a pitch?

The pitcher is probably going to throw again.

Didn't get the timing you wanted from a batter?

There might be another swing.

That gives me the opportunity to look at what went wrong and change something.

Maybe my timing needs to be different.

Maybe I need another angle.

Maybe I need to change my shutter speed.

Maybe I simply need to wait.

Instead of treating every missed photograph as a failure, baseball gives me another opportunity to experiment.

Baseball pitcher #30 in white pinstripe uniform winds up for a pitch during a night game on a well-lit field.

© Alger Lazo / Perubiano

My current challenge: freezing the baseball


This is also something I'm still working on.

One of my biggest technical challenges in baseball photography is getting a completely clean, frozen baseball during fast action.

I can freeze the player, but when I look closely at the ball, sometimes there's still a little motion blur.

The obvious answer would be:


Use a faster shutter speed.



In reality, it isn't always that simple.

A faster shutter speed means less light. Depending on the conditions, that means pushing my ISO higher.

At the moment I have to find the balance between shutter speed, available light, ISO and how much noise I'm comfortable introducing into the photograph.

It's something I want to keep improving.


And that's also why I don't think sports photography ever really becomes “finished.” Every game gives you something new to work on.

Baseball batter swings at pitch during a game at Curaçao stadium with catcher, umpire, and fans in the background.

© Alger Lazo / Perubiano

Sometimes I do the complete opposite


At the same time that I'm trying to freeze a baseball perfectly, baseball also gives me room to deliberately introduce movement.

I love experimenting with slow shutter speeds.

Instead of freezing everything, I can follow a player and allow parts of the image to blur.

When it works, the photograph communicates movement in a completely different way.

Not every experiment works.

But baseball gives me enough time and repeated opportunities to keep trying.

I also get a lot of inspiration from seeing the work of other sports photographers. Sometimes I'll see a technique, angle or composition that makes me think:


I want to try that.


The goal isn't to make exactly the same photograph.

I want to understand what inspired me about it and then recreate the idea in my own way and with my own style.

Motion blur captures a baseball pitcher in mid-throw on a dirt mound, wearing white uniform, with green trees in background.

© Alger Lazo / Perubiano

Don't stop photographing when the play stops


Some of my favorite baseball photographs aren't action photographs at all.

When there's no major play happening, I start looking elsewhere.

Shoes.

Team logos.

Baseballs.

Bases.

Gloves.

Uniform details.

Players talking to each other.

Someone watching the game from the dugout.

A player standing alone waiting for the next play.

These quieter moments help connect the action photographs.

Baseball base marked Game 3 with trident and red X symbols, partially embedded in dirt field.
Close-up of hands gripping a baseball with fingers interlocked, wearing a black bracelet and ring.
Close-up of a baseball player's Nike cleats and pinstripe uniform pants on a dirt field.

© Alger Lazo / Perubiano

© Alger Lazo / Perubiano

© Alger Lazo / Perubiano

Sometimes you get lucky


Not every good photograph is planned.

I once took what I thought was simply a normal wide photograph of the field.

When I looked at it afterwards, I noticed something.

Five players had naturally positioned themselves across the frame in a shape that almost looked like a diamond.

I hadn't deliberately arranged the composition.

It just happened.

Three different people later mentioned that photograph to me on Instagram.

Night baseball game with players positioned on a lit green field, scoreboard visible in the outfield.

© Alger Lazo / Perubiano

That image reminded me of something important.

You can learn composition.

You can anticipate action.

You can choose your camera settings.

You can study other photographers.

But sometimes sports give you something you weren't looking for.

You just need to have your camera ready when it happens.

Baseball gives me freedom to create


That's probably the biggest reason I enjoy baseball photography.

I can walk around much of the field.

I can anticipate certain plays.

I can experiment with shutter speeds.

I can photograph action.

I can make portraits.

I can look for details.

I can watch the interactions between players.

And when I don't get something right, there's often another opportunity to try.

I'm still learning every time I photograph a baseball game.

I'm still trying to get that perfectly frozen ball.

I'm still experimenting.

And I'm still looking at other photographers and thinking about how I can take an idea and make it my own.

That's exactly what keeps it interesting.

Because photographing baseball isn't only about following the ball.

Sometimes the best photograph is the play you've been waiting for.

Sometimes it's the reaction immediately afterwards.

And sometimes it's five players accidentally forming the perfect composition while nothing is happening at all.


That's sports photography.