Sports photography camera settings

1 year 1 month ago #749297 by Esseff
A follow-up to my lens recommendation thread:

What camera settings are best for sports photography? I typically do landscapes... everything is set to manual and I can take my time to get the shot. But I reckon that's a terrible strategy for sports where everything is very fast paced. So if you have experience shooting sports events (in my case it'll be football) I'd love to hear your process. I'll leave it at that for now and expect specific questions to arise as the responses come in.

TIA


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1 year 1 month ago #749298 by TCav
Continuous AF.
Continuous shooting, but not too fast. (10 fps is a waste.)
Aperture Priority.
Stop down a bit from the maximum aperture to get better sharpness but still get bokeh in the background.
Set the AutoISO to insure reasonably noise free images.
Keep the shutter speed fast enough to minimize motion blur due to subject movement, but not so fast as to eliminate it. (Some motion blur demonstrates the action in an image.)
Center weighted exposure.
Practice.
Practice.
Practice.

Sports/Action/Wildlife is the toughest discipline in photography. In every other discipline, you can try again. In Sports/Action/Wildlife, you do the best you can with the gear, capabilities, and experience you brought. The athletes won't re-enact a play for you.


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1 year 1 month ago #749303 by Esseff

TCav wrote: Continuous AF.
Continuous shooting, but not too fast. (10 fps is a waste.)
Aperture Priority.
Stop down a bit from the maximum aperture to get better sharpness but still get bokeh in the background.
Set the AutoISO to insure reasonably noise free images.
Keep the shutter speed fast enough to minimize motion blur due to subject movement, but not so fast as to eliminate it. (Some motion blur demonstrates the action in an image.)
Center weighted exposure.
Practice.
Practice.
Practice.

Sports/Action/Wildlife is the toughest discipline in photography. In every other discipline, you can try again. In Sports/Action/Wildlife, you do the best you can with the gear, capabilities, and experience you brought. The athletes won't re-enact a play for you.


Cheers mate. The max aperture... is it better to use a prime to get a better bokeh? What sort of max aperture are we talking her? My sigma 150-600 has max 5.0, that'll be too little I reckon.


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1 year 1 month ago #749309 by TCav

Esseff wrote: Cheers mate. The max aperture... is it better to use a prime to get a better bokeh?


That's not necessarily so. I get pretty good bokeh with my Tokina 100-300/4.0.


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1 year 1 month ago #749313 by Shadowfixer1
Best settings depend on what wildlife you're talking about. If you are talking birds, I set aperture and shutter speed with Auto ISO. I'll deal with the noise later. If you are talking about deer or something, then you could go aperture priority and use Auto ISO or set the ISO. Depends on the light.
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1 year 1 month ago #749441 by Hoss
I don't do a lot of sports myself.  I have shot some football games where people are running from side to side and I've gotten some cool panning shots.  That's all about continuous AF and Shutter priority speed.  Set shutter speed on speed of the moving object, move your camera (pan) left to right or right to left, depending on the direction the subject is moving.  It's fun, try it.  


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1 year 1 month ago - 1 year 1 month ago #749443 by Peter P
Sports photography can be challenging due to the fast-paced and unpredictable nature of the action. Here's a few tips/camera settings off the top of my head that can help you capture great sports photos:
  1. Shutter speed: Set your camera to a fast shutter speed to freeze the action. A shutter speed of 1/1000 or faster is usually recommended for sports photography.
  2. Aperture: Use a wide aperture (small f-number) to blur the background and isolate the subject. A low aperture value like f/2.8 or f/4 can help achieve this effect.
  3. ISO: Increase your camera's ISO setting to get a faster shutter speed in low light conditions. However, be careful not to increase the ISO too much, as this can introduce noise into your photos.
  4. Continuous shooting mode: Set your camera to continuous shooting mode to capture a series of photos in rapid succession. This can help you capture the perfect moment in fast-paced action.
  5. Focus mode: Use continuous autofocus (AI servo) mode to track moving subjects and ensure that they remain in focus as they move around the frame.
  6. White balance: Set your camera's white balance to match the lighting conditions of the scene. This can help ensure that the colors in your photos look accurate.
  7. RAW format: Shoot in RAW format if possible, as this will give you more flexibility when editing your photos later.
Remember that the best camera settings for sports photography will depend on the specific sport, lighting conditions, and equipment you are using. Be prepared to experiment (as someone already stated above, practice, practice, practice) with different settings to find what works best for you.  Hope this helps!


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1 year 4 weeks ago #749446 by icepics
I've done mostly hockey, and indoor and outdoor events. Indoors I need to notice where the lighting seems best and avoid dark corners in an arena. Outdoors shooting I try to notice the direction of the light and the shadows, which can change during the game/event.

Usually for indoors, or for outdoors in cloudy/late day conditions, you might need a higher ISO to get fast shutter speeds. Hard to tell you exact settings because you'll need to meter the scene and settings will vary with the light.

Mostly you'll need a fast shutter speed to freeze action. I usually use a midrange f-stop to get enough of the field of play or group of players in focus. I use a larger aperture to get a close up of a player. If you pan, keep moving the camera after you release the shutter (for maybe a second) to avoid shutter blur.

Go early. Find good vantage points. Frame and notice what the background will look like. Watch for visual distractions, like cones and trash cans and piles of equipment; frame shots to keep those out of your pictures. Make sure bleachers and signage look straight.

Move your feet - meaning move around and set up at other good vantage points during the game, remember you're not glued to planet Earth. Anticipate where the play will go next. I sometimes like to get focused on the net and let the players skate into my viewfinder. Know the sport.

Sports photographers may use continuous short bursts, but do that sparingly so there aren't a million shots to go thru. In sports they want it good and they need it fast; usually photos are on websites before games are done. So sports photographers usually shoot JPEGs but I often shoot Raw since these days I don't need to provide photos. Shooting for yourself you can just have fun!

Sharon
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1 year 4 weeks ago #749448 by TCav
I'd like to point out that a LITTLE BIT of motion blur can add a dimension to a sports photo. If the action is entirely human and unassisted, 1/125 is fine. If the action has any mechanical advantage (as in swinging a bat or golf club) then faster is better.

I shoot a lot of equestrian sports, and find that a bit of motion blur in the hooves is good. The same can be said for a runner sliding into second, or a wide receiver catching a pass.


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