Jubilation: noun   A feeling of great happiness or triumph.

Jube

Shots of 'Jube' or jubilation are vastly underestimated in importance for many sports photographers.  If you are submitting your photographs to a newspaper, magazine or even a high school yearbook, don't be surprised if an image of celebration gets top billing over your action shots.   A good way to check and see what images are selling is to check the ESPN photo wire.

espn.go.com/espn/photos

You may be surprised to see how often it is the reaction rather than the action that is the image that gets chosen to tell the story.

If you are shooting a hard fought or important game, there is a good chance there will be good jube shots near the end of that game.  It's often more important to position yourself to capture that than to shoot the last minute of the game.   So, position yourself to capture jube. In some sports, that's relatively easy.  In volleyball, there is usually one or two players who are especially expressive.  When a close game gets near the end, stay focused on those players  and be ready to react as they do.  The players will often face the bench as they react in pure jubilation.

They will react individually:

Or in groups.

And it can be in any sport.

Jube photos tell the story of the game as well as action photos.  Be sure to include them in your gallery of the game.

Phil Zivnuska