Sports photo C&C

shakeydude

Hey,

I made my first attempt at sports photography recently to limited success and I was hoping that I could get some C&C from people here. I have already had a look at this website:
http://www.photography.paul-walsh.net/sports.html

....but maybe I didnt apply all of Paul's tips:)

The camera that I have is a Canon 1000 D and the lens I used was a 75-300mm f5.6 Ultrsonic.....my budget wont be extending to much more expensive kit.

The settings I tried to use was for aperature width of f5.6 to get a shallow depth of field, ISO setting of 200-400....

The problem I had was trying to get the exposure right. I wanted a quick shutter speed but the results were very dark. If I allowed the camera to chose the results became very blurred as you can see.

If there are any tips and tricks that people could suggest I would really appreciate it because I really enjoyed my "maiden voyage":D

Shakeydude

Paulw

Ok, it looks, from the images, that you didn't take too much of my advice.

#1 - Image horizon isn't straight. The backs of players tend not to be too interesting. The real action is very far away.

#2 - Blurred. A much faster shutter speed might have given you a better shot. But, you still have one player with his head cut off, even though he's key in the action.

#3 - Too dark, too far away, ball too far from the players, and there's no main focal point.

So ... get the camera out, and try, try again. Bump up that ISO. 800 to start, and try higher if it gets darker.

shakeydude

Thanks Paul,

I looked at your website a while ago but when I went to the match I totally drew a blank and all I could remember was about the aperature width.:o

I was afraid to boost the ISO more than 400 in case the picture became too grainy.

I tried to change the exposure to get a better shutter speed but to no avail.

Do you use any filters or those that complicate matters to much?

I have read lots but that one evening trying to put theory into practice was priceless......I was expecting to have pictures in the paper on Monday.....and I have a further appreciation for the pictures in the paper.:D:D:D:D

Thanks,

Shakeydude

Paulw

shakeydude wrote: »

I was afraid to boost the ISO more than 400 in case the picture became too grainy.

Do you use any filters or those that complicate matters to much?

Grain is better than blurred. Having an image is better than having none.

No, I don't use any filters for sport.

Next time, bump up the ISO. You really want a shutter speed of 1/400 where possible and as open an aperture as you need to get that shutter speed.

Trial and error -- so keep trying.

kelly1

Hello Paul, while we on the subject of sports shooting, would you generally use a centre focus point or multiple points?

Shakey, it looks like you were shooting in poor light and with an f/5.6 lens that is going to be a problem. It means whacking up the ISO which
means lots of noise. So you either need to shoot in better light or get a faster lens which will allow you use a lower ISO or faster shutter speed.
Ideally you'd want an f/2.8.

Having said that, noise can be improved but shake can't so bump the ISO if your shutter speed drops below 1/500.

Best of luck!

Paulw

kelly1 wrote: »

Hello Paul, while we on the subject of sports shooting, would you generally use a centre focus point or multiple points?

Centre point only. Otherwise, the camera can hunt for subjects that you don't always want to focus on.