October 1st, 2009
How to take better sporting event photos
Sporting events can be some of the most difficult events to photograph, but there are some techniques and tricks to getting it done. Here are six tips to taking better sports pictures.
1. Fast shutter speed: At many sporting events, it is difficult to capture the actions of the players without blurring them. To combat their speed, set your shutter speed as high as possible in relation to the allowable aperture based on the light. Otherwise, your subject will be blurry, you could be susceptible to camera shake, or both.
2. Dealing with shutter lag: If you anticipate photographing a lot of sporting events, invest in a faster camera that has doesn’t have a reputation for shutter lag. If your camera tends to be slow, switch from auto focus to manual focus to speed up the shutter process a bit. Also practice counting how long it takes your shutter to snap a photo under the lighting conditions you’ll be working in.
3. Shoot in JPG: JPG files are smaller than RAW or TIFF, so it will shoot faster and also save you more room on your memory card. Usually, JPG files are just fine for professional use.
4. Capture different moments: It’s not all about the action. While it can be quite the photo to catch a movement of one specific player, also try capturing the interaction of the team to tell a larger story. Also pay attention to what happens off the field. It’s not only the players involved, but the facial expressions and emotions of the coaches as well as the fans can provide provocative photos.
5. Use a long lens: Unless you have a press pass or front row seats, chances are you aren’t very close to the players. If you can manage it (meaning there aren’t rules against it) and afford one, bring a telephoto lens (around 80 mm to 200 mm). They’ll bring you far closer to the field than a stock lens would. But, quite often telephoto lenses can be heavy, and therefore cause camera shake. If you’re going to a darker venue, you’ll probably need some sort of tripod, so research what you’re getting into so you know what equipment to bring.
6. Extra Tips: Check what kind of equipment you can bring into the venue (especially if you don’t have special clearance already). Get to the event early to secure a good spot. Make sure your camera batteries are charged, especially if you anticipate using a lot of flash. Test the settings in relation to the available light at the venue before the event starts.
Do you have any additional tips from experience with sports photography?
Rachel started playing with her mother's old Brownie camera when she was just a toddler, working her way up from a Hello Kitty point-and-shoot to training on both film and digital SLRs. See her full profile and disclosure of her industry affiliations.
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