Photograph Sports

Have you ever seen sports advertisements in magazines and wondered how you could take pictures like the pros? After reading this article, you'll be well on your way to producing quality sports images.

Steps

Buying Equipment

  1. Acquire a Nikon or Canon DSLR. DSLRs have many advantages over point and shoot cameras that are crucial in sports photography, including: high ISO capability, fast shutter speeds, no shutter lag, faster auto-focus, interchangeable lenses, increased battery power, and higher frame rates. Professionals almost invariably shoot Canon or Nikon cameras, but this is not an excuse to wait until you buy new gear before getting out there and shooting if you have a digital SLR from some other brand.
  2. Acquire a lens. There are many factors you'll want to consider, detailed below, and probably some compromises you'll want to make depending on your budget.
    • Focal length: Obviously, a larger zoom range is better, all else being equal; if your zoom range doesn't cover a good part of the track or field and you are limited as to where you can stand, it'll mean there are some shots that you just can't get. Of course, they're also more expensive (once again, all else being equal), so depending on your budget you may think this is a worthwhile tradeoff.

      The following figures will tell you at what distance you will be able to fill a 1.8-metre (6 foot) high subject using a lens of common telephoto focal lengths, while holding your camera horizontally. Adjust them accordingly for what you think your shooting scenario will be.[1] These numbers are for cropped-sensor digital SLRs, so multiply them by about 1.5 to get a figure for a full-frame digital SLR. You'll also want to multiply them by about 1.5 if you're holding the camera in the vertical position.
      • 85mm: 8.5 metres (28 feet)
      • 200mm: 20 metres (65 feet)
      • 300mm: 30 metres (100 feet)
      • 400mm: 40 metres (130 feet)
      • 600mm: 60 metres (200 feet)
    • Maximum aperture: If you're planning on shooting in daylight, then don't worry about this; a lens that is f/5.6 at the long end will allow you to get a shutter speed of 1/250 on even a heavily overcast day, at ISO 200.[2] If you want to be able to shoot in any light at all, though, you probably want a professional f/2.8 telephoto lens, for much more money.
    • Vibration reduction (Nikon)/image stabilisation (Canon): The fast shutter speeds you'll be using for sports will allow you to hand-hold reasonably-long telephoto lenses, which renders VR partly unnecessary. On the other hand, as Nikon and Canon's vibration reduction is built into the lens, it helps stabilise the image in your viewfinder while you are composing a shot, which is very useful for telephoto lenses. So VR is a nice feature to have, but if you're shooting from a monopod, or if buying a non-VR version of a lens will get the lens you need within your budget, then you can live without it.
  3. Learn how to use your digital SLR. You can have the best camera in the world and all it would be is an expensive paperweight if you don't know how to use it. In order to increase your knowledge of cameras, you can attend classes or workshops that teach about cameras, or you can spend time online looking at different tutorials, tips, and examples of people's work for free. Understanding camera exposure is the most important thing to learn. The internet is a valuable resource when learning about photography or solving problems.
  4. Find a place to take pictures. Action doesn't come to you, you go to the action. You can find sports almost everywhere; try going to high school or little league games, or try to step it up and get into professional games (see Warnings).

Set Up Your Camera

  1. Set your exposure mode. You can use any of the four PSAM (Program, Shutter-priority, Aperture-priority, Manual) modes, detailed below. Whichever mode you choose, don't use the "sports" mode (present on some cheaper cameras); this will lock out some critical controls like ISO and white balance.
    • Shutter priority (S on Nikon, Tv on Canon): This will allow you to set your shutter speed and the camera will choose an appropriate aperture to get a correct exposure.
    • Aperture priority (A on Nikon, Av on Canon): If you're shooting under fading light and just want to grab the fastest shutter speed you have available, then use this mode and set the largest aperture you have available (which is to say the smallest f/ number, e.g. f/2.8). Your camera will then select the fastest shutter speed possible.
    • Manual mode: Many professionals prefer to set a manual exposure for consistency (for shooting in high-contrast lighting, for example). If you know better than your camera then by all means use manual mode if you have to.
    • P(rogram): Many professionals avoid using this mode, which sets both your aperture and shutter speed automatically. But if you're not comfortable using one of the semi-automatic modes, you can always use this and shift the program towards faster shutter speeds and smaller apertures (see below).
  2. Set your shutter speed. This is needed when using (M) manual mode. A fast shutter speed is what actually stops the motion; speeds above 1/200 of a second begin to stop a lot of action, but for sports it is recommended that you shoot with a speed of 1/1000 of a second or higher. This is your goal, unless you are using your shutter speed to accomplish more Take a Still Photograph With A Motion Object effects.
  3. Set your ISO. ISO (the sensor's sensitivity to light) will directly affect how fast the shutter speed on your camera can be set while maintaining the correct exposure. The higher ISO (ex. 3200 or 6400) allows for a faster shutter speed. High ISOs come with a trade-off; the higher the ISO, the more noise will be present in the image.
    • With modern SLRs, don't be afraid to crank up your ISO as high as you need it to get the shutter speed you want. A noisy sharp photograph is always better than a clean blurry one, and recent digital SLRs look great at ISOs that film shooters could only dream of.
  4. Set your auto-focus to continuous. In this mode, the camera will track and predict subject motion, as opposed to locking the focus as soon as it acquired (which will result in most of your photos being out of focus). Canon cameras call this AI Servo, and Nikon cameras call this C or AF-C.



Tips

  • Use a monopod. This will decrease camera shake and vibration, giving you sharper images. Monopods also take the weight of the camera off you, allowing for a more enjoyable experience.
  • Shoot on continuous mode. This will allow you to capture an action sequence and increase the probability of getting a good image. A battery grip (available for many DSLRs) will increase the battery power of the camera and also increase the frame rate.
  • Capture facial expressions. Some sports, like track and swimming, get very repetitive after a couple hours of shooting, so to get more interesting shots, zoom in further and capture their facial expressions.
  • Sports-and-Fitness. You will get better shots if you know where the action is going to take place instead of wandering around the field aimlessly.
  • Turn off your flash. Flash should rarely be used when shooting sports, as it distracts the athletes and usually isn't powerful enough to have any effect.
  • Get additional interesting shots by rotating the camera 90 degrees.

Warnings

  • Stay out of the athlete's way. If you interrupt a game while trying to get a shot, you will not be liked and will most likely get kicked out.
  • If you want to shoot professional sports, you will need a press pass to get onto the field.
  • Mind the type of event you try to shoot. Nobody will question a person who shows up at a high school game or professional sporting event. On the other hand, if you show up at a sporting event for children and you don't know anyone there, people may feel you are creepy, ask you to leave or call the police.
  • Try not to change lenses outdoors. This allows dust, water, dirt, etc. to enter the camera and onto the sensor. If you want to use two lenses, get an additional camera body if possible.
  • Keep the camera secure at all times. It can be very expensive to replace.

Things You'll Need

  • 1-2 Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR) cameras
  • Telephoto Zoom lens
  • Optional: Monopod, press pass

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ Or use the focal-length-required calculator: http://www.sceneplanner.com/tool2.php
  2. ↑ Available light photography exposure calculator, http://www.calculator.org/calculate-online/photography/exposure.aspx

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