Interesting Ideas for New Sports Photographers
If someone wanted to create a photo gallery of human emotions, he or she would be well served to hire a sports photographer. Photojournalists who cover sporting events may even be able to capture an impressive range of emotions on a single afternoon. Anyone who reads Sports Illustrated or the sports section of a daily newspaper that has a talented sports photographer on board has seen stunning photos of anguish, determination, elation, despondence, confusion, anger, frustration, surprise, and bewilderment on the faces and in the body language of athletes, onlookers, referees, and coaches. In fact, these images routinely win awards in big-stakes photo competitions. And many sports photographer pros have no interest in the sporting events they cover. After all, its not about sports ” its about permanently suspending an intensely focused soccer player in mid-air as she sends home the winning goal or capturing a pitchers outstretched arm as he winds up to deliver the decisive fast ball.
Anyone can learn sports photography if it interests them. Advice from the pros is plentiful on the internet often accompanied with dramatic photos to demonstrate the value of their opinions. Unfortunately, these recognized photojournalists have advantages that usually are not available to their less experienced counterparts. For example, they usually have direct access to the playing field or press box of the event. Joe Lightbox, on the other hand, will need to have a few extra tricks in his camera bag for when he finds himself restricted to the stands. Zoom, speed, and light levels will all be very different for him.
Some popular advice from the pros is this: You must have a good SLR camera either digital or 35mm. A 7x or higher optical zoom is essential for a digital camera. You will have no control of the poor lighting at sports events so come prepared to deal with it.
So how does Joe deal with it?
Shutter speeds of 1/250 to 1/500 work best to achieve sharp action shots. If possible Joe needs to get to the event early so he can adjust his shutter speed to match the event lighting; a faster shoot requires more light. If the lighting is good an aperture opening, or f-range, of 8-11 is allowable (more about aperture shortly). A faster shutter speed requires a larger lens aperture to allow more light. (Note: Larger apertures usually make for a heavier and more expensive lens)
Two or even three types of photography camera lenses are recommended by the pros for varied shots.
Telephoto lenses are usually described by their focal length, in mm, and their aperture, which is an f number: The Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8-32 for example. A smaller f number translates to a larger aperture opening and a faster lens, because of the reduced exposure time. Another example is the Nikkor 200mm f/2 and the Nikkor 70-300mm f/4-5.6. With the different situations that are encountered while shooting a sports event one pro photographer covers all of his bases by using three lenses: an 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5, a 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6; and a 50mm f/1.8. These allow him to snap fast clear action shots and the lower activity ones as well.
The maximum aperture (minimum f number) for digital cameras zoom lenses is typically f/2.8 to f/6.3. A constant aperture of f/2 or f/2.8 is usually found on faster lenses.
To help compensate for low lighting levels, Joe should increase the ISO ” the measurement of a cameras sensitivity to light ” to 200 or even 400. Unfortunately, the higher the ISO, the grainier the result. However, a very fast lens can somewhat reduce the ISO. Shooting at f/2.8 or f/4 will give him a lot more leeway as far as shutter speed and ISO.
Shutter lag time is something else that Joe needs to understand. Basically, shutter lag time is the amount of time that elapses between the time Joe presses the button to the moment the picture is actually snapped. Auto focus can be a great resource at times, but it can significantly increase shutter lag time. For action shots it may be necessary for Joe to use manual focus mode if it is an option on his camera.
One last thing for Joe to do: Call the venue ahead of the event date to learn their policy for picture-taking. Photography could be prohibited and, at the very worst, he could be barred from entry if hes carrying a camera; or he could be allowed in but forced to leave his camera in a back room, which may not be a palatable option for Joe; or limitations on camera size and flash use could be posted. Any of these consequences would be a painful disappointment for Joe.
Tags: Cameras, lenses, Photography, pictures, sports photography, sports photography ideas, tips for new photographers Posted in
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