Comments on: 7 Beginners Tips for Shooting Sports and Action

By: Katie

Katie — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 07:16:39 +0000

I have found that while shooting basketball even at a high school level, a flash is not permitted under the net or against the wall. With the action being under the net a flash can interfere with a player’s shot. Also with the action under the net the closest you can usually get is to the right or left of the court. Sitting to the left of the basket is a good place to start because most players’ layup with their right hand and it’s best to shoot the players face. When considering the poor lighting in most gyms and the limit’s on flash use, a F2.8 lens or lower is necessary for this sport unless your gym has great lighting or it’s daytime with windows. A flash also limits your ability for continuous shooting which for a beginner it is helpful in getting the best shot. A good lens and a camera that shoots at 3200 ISO will get you the shots you want. I would invest in a better lens before spending the money on a better camera. Trade your camera up later. If an F2.8 lens is out of you reach,you can shoot with a flash but stay on the side of the court so you are not shooting into the players eyes under the net. In some Gyms, you will be restricted anyway without a press pass. Good luck, be respectful of rules and have fun.

By: ossme

ossme — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 09:37:05 +0000

I usually keep both my eyes open, one on the viewfinder and the other watching the field. This way, whenever I switch from one eye to the other I’m always tracking the same subject. It is hard at first but it really get easier once you get used to it. One other thing is to get to the location as early as possible to decide and book the best places for the shots.

By: ori

ori — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 11:43:03 +0000

thank you for your great explanation

By: Dave A.

Dave A. — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 19:16:33 +0000

This article is for beginners, but the first tip is to get very expensive lenses (f/2.8 * 135~300mm). That doesn’t really help a beginner, and would probably deter many from reading the other very useful tips in the article.

FL should be chosen based on how close you can get to the action and/or what perspective is required. For most amateur sports, it’s quite possible to get close to the action. Often a lenses in the 28 ~ 50mm equivalent focal lengths are enough. A beginner should focus on getting as close to the action as possible, and after that using what lenses they have to get the most out of them.

Get close to where the action happens. For example, in a bicycle-race the riders will almost always take the same line through a tight corner. Therefore, pre-focus and pre-meter on the spot that they will pass through. Get on the inside of the corner and the rider will be almost equidistant from the photographer for several seconds. Same applies for a lot of other sports, especially any sport on a track. For basketball or hockey, most of the action happens just in front of the basket or net so set up there.

For equipment, a really powerful flash (GN~50)is a best first investment (althought the power is not the point). Using flash as primary light source allows best freezing of action and shooting at smaller apertures (~f/8) gives greater leeway in DOF than shooting f/2.8 (and more in focus images) and those smaller aperatures are acceptably sharp on even beginner lenses. The reason a powerful flash is important is that the power can be harnessed. A stronger flash can be used at a smaller aperture which not only improves DOF but may be necessary for outdoor flash usage. A stronger flash also recycles faster and most flashes in that level support second-curtain sync.

Nothing makes me chuckle like going to a local bike race and see photographers, amateur and pro alike, struggling to back up enough to use their 300mm lenses.