!!SPOOORTS! ! Are these photos any good?

What about these?

Sports is about STRUGGLE and CONFLICT

Where to shoot from Shooting from the end of the field: Always get faces Capture the play no matter where it comes from Longer distance to background = better bokeh Not all fun and roses! Cannot follow along with action Less useful with short focal lengths

Where to shoot from Shooting from the end of the field: Always get faces Capture the play no matter where it comes from Longer distance to background = better bokeh Not all fun and roses! Cannot follow along with action Less useful with short focal lengths

Sun! Hard to see dark stuff Human vision is naturally drawn to brightest stuff Ideally, shoot with the sun on "your side" with respect to the player, so subjects are directly illuminated BadAWESOME

Vantage Point Like most photos, avoid standing-level vantage point! Usually, get lower (getting higher often isn't physically possible)

Clean Backgrounds

Equipment Modes of Operation Static lighting: Manual Dynamic lighting: Aperture Priority Lenses Typical field sports involve shooting over long distances Telephoto lenses (>200mm equivalent) are preferred Some exceptions: smaller court sports (e.g. basketball), fixed-track sports (e.g. track) Larger apertures are preferable – isolate a subject and blur distracting backgrounds Continuous Shooting Bursts of photos can be more effective than precise timing Many DSLR types have at least 3fps, some going up to 11fps If action is predictable and you only need one shot: time it If action is unpredictable: shoot in bursts

Settings Autofocus Moving subjects require continuous focusing Canon calls this AI-Servo, everyone else calls it Continuous AF

Settings Shutterspeeds 1/500s is often given as a rule of thumb Certain types of movement are much faster than 1/500s

Settings Shutterspeeds 1/500s is often given as a rule of thumb Certain types of movement are much faster than 1/500s

Settings Shutterspeeds 1/500s is often given as a rule of thumb Certain types of movement are much faster than 1/500s

General Sports Photography Tips Shoot tight, crop tighter –Many sports photos are too wide. The viewer cares about the athlete, not the area around him/her. Bad Good

General Sports Photography Tips Be sure to include the ball –The photo is much less interesting if people are running around without any context Bad Better

General Sports Photography Tips Have the subject facing into the scene –The image is compositionally better if the subject is not looking out of the frame. Bad Good

General Sports Photography Tips Don’t cut off arms/legs –It’s just awkward Bad Good

Panning A useful technique that can be used to convey motion within a scene. Shutter speed is critical for the effect. Fast shutter speed (1/1000) Subject is frozen Slow shutter speed (1/50) Subject is blurred

Slower shutter speed + moving the camera with the subject = panning effect. Shutter speeds around 1/60 to 1/250 are common, depending on the subject and its speed. Take bursts of photos, since the subject will often be blurred. Panning usually results in a lower “keeper rate” than just freezing the subject. Some cameras have different image stabilization modes. Depending on the camera/lens model, one of the modes may be intended for panning. This stabilizes up/down camera movement, but not side-side.