Sport Photography

[jewels inet]

Our local Footbal Team, Boise State University (http://www.boisestate.edu/), is headed for the Fiesta Bowl (http://www.fiestabowl.org/) in Arizona. Thanks to my sister I will be there with camera in hand. Any suggestions on taking good shots of both the fans, and the team in action? I'll be in the stadium, hopefully in good seats. :D

[Joshua Schroeder]

Lucky you! I haven't had the opportunity to shoot a football game, and since the season ended about three weeks ago here in Canada, I'll have to wait until next year.

If you want good action shots, I recommend long, fast lenses if you've got 'em. From shooting some conference championship rugby recently, I determined that 200mm is not enough to get in close on a large field. Preferably, you'd want a minimum of 300mm, and that's if you're on the sidelines. If you're up in the bleachers, you'd need more for good close-in action shots.

The most important thing in shooting the sport is to know it well enough that you can anticipate what's going on. I think it was Michael Zagaris (49ers photographer) who used to get tipped off by the assistant coaches prior to a play so he knew ahead of time where the play was going to go. That's a rare case, but for example, if the play is third down and 10, you should know to expect a pass, and it helps to know who the QB's favourite target it. If you can anticipate where the play will be, you'll be in good position to capture the good action shots.

I'm not sure what your level of expertise is, so I'll state what might be obvious. Use shutter speed priority, and I would shoot with a shutter speed of no longer than about 1/250s to get a good freeze on the action. Sometimes I use 1/180 for hockey, but that's necessetated by low light conditions and slow lenses.

For the fans, get a good scan of the sections near you and try to spot any groups or individuals that look exceptionally animated. These are the ones that you'll get the best reaction shots from. Get shots of them during intense moments, or as they celebrate a score.

Most importantly, have some fun! I find that shooting the event, I feel a part of it. I've likened shooting varsity hockey to being a part of the game without the bruises, the practices, and the frustration of losing (I rarely played on a winning team :) ). And of course, be sure to share some of your pictures with us!

[jewels inet]

I think I'm going to take my Canon PowerShot S1 IS instead of my Minolta Dimage 7i because the action shots will be easier to take. One of these days I'll invest in a new camera, but for now that is what I have to work with. I took my Minolta to the booster luncheon and tried to get some shots of cheerleaders and the band. It didn't turn out very well, but I didn't use the flash.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/33251593@N00/318339240/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/130/318339240_800b79c66e_m.jpg" width="218" height="240" alt="cheer" /></a>
Here are a couple examples, I needed image stabilization.

[jewels inet]

Not sure what happened there. My image is not showing up.

[Joshua Schroeder]

This board works a little different than Flickr. You can't use HTML on most bulleting boards.

Try it like this (without the extra spaces in the img tags):
http://static.flickr.com/130/318339240_800b79c66e_m.jpg[/img ]

it results in this:
[img]http://static.flickr.com/130/318339240_800b79c66e_m.jpg

The links work the same, but use url instead of img.

Can you adjust the ISO on your camera? Try bumping that up to 800 or so, as that will let you use a faster shutter speed.

[jewels inet]

The image copy issue seems to be resolved now. It worked on the "pink" thread.

Here is the other photo taken with the Minolta.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/33251593@N00/318339236/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/143/318339236_3aa8d38c54_m.jpg" width="240" height="147" alt="cheer2" /></a>

Joshua, what I did is the same thing we usually do, and unless Darren changed the instructions, I followed this the other day and it worked. I went to my flickr page, clicked on the image, chose small size, copy and pasted the HTML from flikr.

So if I need to fix this, oh I see I copy the URL of the image
http://static.flickr.com/143/318339236_3aa8d38c54_m.jpg
No, that didn't work either. See if this works. Did you have to manually key in the img tag?
http://static.flickr.com/143/318339236_3aa8d38c54_m.jpg

[Joshua Schroeder]

I'm a web programmer, so I like keying things in manually :) You can use that little yellow icon with the mountain on it to insert images as well, though.

[jewels inet]

I'm a web programmer too. I'm just asking questions, so others can see what to do. I found Darren's instructions:
How to Post Pictures in Assignment Threads Using Flickr - 12-04-2006, 07:52 PM
To post a picture in in comments follow these instructions:

1. you need to be a member of flickr. You can sign up at the top of each flickr page. Flickr is a photo sharing site that lets you upload your shots and then share them.

2. upload the photo you want to share with us to your flickr account.

3. go to the photo's page - click on the 'all sizes' tab.

4. Choose the 'small' or 'medium' tab

5. Under your picture you'll see it says 'Copy and paste this HTML into your webpage' - copy the text in the box under this.

6. Paste that text into the 'reply' box in the assignment thread that you wish to participate in. Feel free to add some words about the image.

7. Press 'post preview' to check it worked and then 'submit reply' to post it live to the forum.

[jewels inet]

Can you adjust the ISO on your camera? Try bumping that up to 800 or so, as that will let you use a faster shutter speed.

Yes, I will give that a try. I don't have any cheerleaders hanging around, but I can get my dog to move about. Well, that didn't work. It took forever to take the shot.

I'll probably bring both my cameras to Arizona, but the PowerShot has image stabilization, so I think I'll get better shots with it at the football game.

I dont' even know if I'll get very good shots. It's hard enough to figure out where the ball is watching the entire field. Maybe I'll just get some pictures when they beat Oklahoma :o

[Joshua Schroeder]

I found some prints this morning of some photos I took at a Calgary/Montreal football game about 4 years ago on my film SLR. I was only 19 then, so I couldn't afford anything more than the kit 28-80mm lens, and even from the sixth row, that doesn't get you very close to the action. I'll see about scanning some of those pictures and posting them on here.

What you'll probably want to do is focus on capturing the atmosphere of the game rather than getting in close to the action. Try to move to the section below the players bench and get some shots of what's happening on the sideline if you can. Watch for fans celebrating touchdowns, cheering, or showing any kind of emotion. Those are the pictures that are interesting.

[jewels inet]

Thanks for your input, Joshua. We aren't leaving until later this month, so I'll try to get out and practice with both of my cameras.

[henryscat]

I shot my local BAFL team earlier last year using my sigma 70-300 lens on my D100:
http://static.flickr.com/72/202018586_6834014607_m.jpg http://static.flickr.com/74/202017474_2689334786_m.jpg

I would should using aperture priority and use the lowest F-stop you can. My lens is crap for that because it only goes to F5.6 and i would like a shallower depth of field than what it provides. But I can't afford a faster lens... Donations should be sent to ian_is_broke@gimmecash.com

p.s. full set can be seen here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/henryscat/sets/72157594217478952/

[jewels inet]

According to the list of things I cannot bring to the Fiesta Bowl (http://www.inet-success.com/FiestaBowl/), I cannot take a camera with a detachable lense. So I guess I'll be content with the Canon PowerShot S1 IS. Sure looking forward to the warm weather.

[Joshua Schroeder]

According to the list of things I cannot bring to the Fiesta Bowl (http://www.inet-success.com/FiestaBowl/), I cannot take a camera with a detachable lense. So I guess I'll be content with the Canon PowerShot S1 IS. Sure looking forward to the warm weather.

That's a shame. Please do share the photos you get with the camera you're permitted to bring.

[Joshua Schroeder]

henryscat, I feel your pain on the slow lenses. I've got 2 f/2.8 lenses, but they're both old, used manual focus lenses ... and my eyesight makes it terribly hard to focus them. Looking forward to getting a split image focusing screen to help with that.

Good shots despite the unfavourable gear. I always love seeing nice sports photos.

[DRC]

These (#2,3,4,5,6,7) http://rcrampton.com/Sports.htm were at ISO 1600, 1/500 at f2.8 on a Canon 200L lens. Taken from top row of arena, near the blue line. Little pp needed.
Rick

[jewels inet]

These (#2,3,4,5,6,7) http://rcrampton.com/Sports.htm were at ISO 1600, 1/500 at f2.8 on a Canon 200L lens. Rick

Rick, love the photos and the website gallery. What program did you use to create the gallery?:rolleyes:

[tigerlily]

I'll be shooting gymnastics meets this spring. I have a good DSLR camera, and a decent 70-210 AF zoom lens, but I'll be far away from the action (I'm not allowed on the floor), and the light in the gyms is notoriously less than optimal for good photography without flash and at a high enough shutter speed to catch the action. I've tried pushing the ISO as high as I can (sacrifice noise for a sharper, stop motion shot), but I haven't been too successful so far. I'd love a faster zoom, but short of shelling out more bucks for better equipment....any suggestions?

[henryscat]

henryscat, I feel your pain on the slow lenses. I've got 2 f/2.8 lenses, but they're both old, used manual focus lenses ... and my eyesight makes it terribly hard to focus them. Looking forward to getting a split image focusing screen to help with that.

Good shots despite the unfavourable gear. I always love seeing nice sports photos.

Thanks!
The autofocus on my sigma is painfully slow and always seems to be hunting in the wrong direction. I frequently switch to manual focus but trying to do that AND zoom is not an easy task with a very large man running towards you... lol

[Joshua Schroeder]

These (#2,3,4,5,6,7) http://rcrampton.com/Sports.htm were at ISO 1600, 1/500 at f2.8 on a Canon 200L lens. Taken from top row of arena, near the blue line. Little pp needed.
Rick

Those look pretty good for 1600. How much noise do you get when they're full-sized? My *istDL has some pretty harse noise, but it's to be expected of a camera at this price point :)

[NaturesPixel]

The image copy issue seems to be resolved now. It worked on the "pink" thread.


Joshua, what I did is the same thing we usually do, and unless Darren changed the instructions, I followed this the other day and it worked. I went to my flickr page, clicked on the image, chose small size, copy and pasted the HTML from flikr.



Very possible that the HTML coding is set to only work in the assignments forum..?? as you can turn on/off html for any or all sections

[Nicole]

Very possible that the HTML coding is set to only work in the assignments forum..?? as you can turn on/off html for any or all sections


You're 100% right about html being turned off in this forum. You can see on the very bottom of the page what you can use in the particular section of the forum. e.g.
vB code (http://digital-photography-school.com/forum/misc.php?do=bbcode) is On
Smilies (http://digital-photography-school.com/forum/misc.php?do=showsmilies) are On
[IMG] (http://digital-photography-school.com/forum/misc.php?do=bbcode#imgcode) code is On
HTML code is Off

So, if you want to post a picture, you have to do so either as an attachment or using [IMG] code. If you want an easy way to link your pictures from flickr using [IMG] and you're using firefox, use the Greasemonkey (http://greasemonkey.mozdev.org/) extension with the AllSizes+ (http://www.flickr.com/groups/flickrhacks/discuss/72157594303798688/) script and you should be able to click a button to get the proper [IMG] code for your picture :)

[Fraggleroxer]

vollyball!

20d
70-200 f2.8 lens
800iso

http://static.flickr.com/111/280315346_a4c29b2518.jpghttp://static.flickr.com/111/280314718_20c84c6184.jpghttp://static.flickr.com/97/280313615_fbf76adb7c.jpg

[Gromguitar4]

I have been doing sports photography for a couple of years now (Yes, I know I am young but still) and this biggest thing that helps me is learning to watch the game throught the view finder. If you can learn to also anticipate your shots, you can get the ball, the players face or hands, and some amazing expressions. Fraggleroxer has some amazing shots and hopefully I can post some of mine when I get the chance!

[Fraggleroxer]

I have been doing sports photography for a couple of years now (Yes, I know I am young but still) and this biggest thing that helps me is learning to watch the game throught the view finder. If you can learn to also anticipate your shots, you can get the ball, the players face or hands, and some amazing expressions. Fraggleroxer has some amazing shots and hopefully I can post some of mine when I get the chance!

you got to get into the players head. for example, with vollyball, i follow one girl around for awhile. if she is in the back, i know she will prolly be doin the diving. if she is up front, i hold the camera vertical, cause she will prolly be jumping up. its just a matter of predicting what they could do, its not always. you dont always know what is next, but there is always a 50/50 change that somthing will or wont happen, if u know what i mean.

[henryscat]

Some very nice pix there fraggleroxer!
Nice lens too - I would love an F2.8 zoom!

[Fraggleroxer]

Some very nice pix there fraggleroxer!
Nice lens too - I would love an F2.8 zoom!

yah. i saved my pennies for along time to get that baby

[Joshua Schroeder]

I have been doing sports photography for a couple of years now (Yes, I know I am young but still) and this biggest thing that helps me is learning to watch the game throught the view finder. If you can learn to also anticipate your shots, you can get the ball, the players face or hands, and some amazing expressions. Fraggleroxer has some amazing shots and hopefully I can post some of mine when I get the chance!

I follow a team a lot before getting any pictures of them. I don't want to be following a hockey game through the confines of a viewfinder, peering over the glass where I can get hit by a wayward puck :-) I've had a few close calls ... I block enough shots when I'm playing, I don't need to block them when I'm photographing as well.

Know who on a team is likely to do what, and in what situations. When I'm covering the U of L hockey team, I know that Kris Deines is a big hitter on the forecheck, especially during penalty kills, so I'll follow him to try to get a big hit. I know that Roberts, Norrie, Shefchyk, and Zmudczynski are the goal scorers, so I can get good action shots of them near the goal. I know that Featherstone and Langager often let a good slap shot go from the blue line, and that's an easy action shot. By knowing these things, I know where and when I have the opportunities to get good action shots.

[Fraggleroxer]

crazy Canadians and their hockey

[Darren Rowse]

did you get the IS version of that lens Fraggleroxer or the non IS version?

I'm seriously upgrading my f/4 70-200 and cant work out which one to go for. Got to do it in the next week or so because the Australian open tennis is coming up :-)

[Fraggleroxer]

nope. i got me the non IS lens. ive used both, but i didnt really like IS....it doesnt really do anything that i can tell from my own personal tests...plus i hear stories about is making images soft..and not sharp... weird eh

[Darren Rowse]

yeah - have heard the same thing and at f2/8 it's pretty fast so I wasn't sure if I'd need the IS anyway... hmmmm......

[Englishteacher]

One thing I have found in sports photos is isolation. When I take shots for our yearbook, I focus on a single individual and follow that individual through the entire play. I take shots as I see them ... anticipating as much as possible what will be happening. On the next series, I look for another player, etc.

Also, use the delete button between plays. Why take up valuable memory with junk shots (out of focus, bad color, etc.)?

Happy shooting!

[jewels inet]

focus on a single individual and follow that individual through the entire play. ....

Also, use the delete button between plays. Why take up valuable memory with junk shots (out of focus, bad color, etc.)?

Happy shooting!

Good idea. I have a 2 gig card so I think I'll be OK, but deleting between plays is a good idea. I just hope my batteries hold up. I'll bring plenty of extras on the trip and bring the charger along to Phoenix.

In addition to the sports photography. I want to get plenty of pictures of beautiful scenic Arizona.

[Gunsotsu]

Being new to the whole sport photography (specifically hockey) bit myself, the best advice I can give is to shoot yourself stupid. I shoot exclusively in RAW, so at games I fill two cards worth (about 180 shots) then look at the shots that worked for me, and the data for each shot. Then I have a good idea what will work for the next time.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/98975253@N00/326701787/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/137/326701787_dbbb1c07e9.jpg" width="500" height="362" alt="P-Box skating" /></a>

[ron.richardson]

another tip i've used when shooting sports is to actually have both eyes open. this was important when i was standing on the sidelines shooting my sister-in-law's football game, because when you're looking in the viewfinder at 200mm+, it's tough to judge where they are exactly when coming at you on the sidelines.

it took some practice, but by having my other eye open, i was able to see the action through my lens, and still able to get a good idea of where the players were when they got close. nothing sucks more than getting blindsided by football players and getting knocked to the ground and seeing your thousand-dollar camera/lens hit the ground.

[Joshua Schroeder]

crazy Canadians and their hockey

Gotta be passionate aboot something, eh? :D

[KJMarino]

I took this pic as well as a lot more during last nights Saints playoff game

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/156/356615546_fa9432dd79.jpg

anyone else get some pics form the NFL playoffs?

[Gunsotsu]

Hockey shots from the nose-bleeds aren't easy.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/138/356489460_3fc8cfa60f.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/142/355860698_50f3b29327.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/131/357361364_9845abe96c.jpg

[mpeterke]

Hi, I take photos on handball matches (as a semi-professional, meaning, that I take pictures for the official website of the team, but I'm not a professional photographer). As the teams official photographer I can go very cloe to the actual game, and I found, that my Canon F1.8 50mm prime lenses do the job, but I would really like some 55-200 zoom lens. Anyone having an opinion about the Tamron lens of this kind, for indoors sport photography purposes?

Here are some of my pictures taken during practice (so, not an actual match):

[Gunsotsu]

Ok, so I'm a junkie.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/gunsotsu/365109153/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/140/365109153_4ce255aeea.jpg" width="500" height="400" alt="Duzzi" /></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/gunsotsu/365109159/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/163/365109159_d0ea7f6969.jpg" width="500" height="400" alt="P-Box" /></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/gunsotsu/365109163/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/176/365109163_6f6e51e006.jpg" width="500" height="400" alt="The Rookie" /></a>

[Gunsotsu]

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/gunsotsu/384239509/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/177/384239509_cd60a1f993.jpg" width="357" height="500" alt="The 'Duzzi" /></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/gunsotsu/384239836/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/126/384239836_70e0ea21b8.jpg" width="357" height="500" alt="Puck play" /></a>

[hoges]

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/hoges/369425437/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/151/369425437_1aea5fcf66.jpg" width="332" height="500" alt="DSC_0880" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/hoges/369425408/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/155/369425408_2c1021c6eb.jpg" width="333" height="500" alt="DSC_0873" /></a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/hoges/369425366/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/186/369425366_479668aa1f.jpg" width="333" height="500" alt="jan25" /></a

[hoges]

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/hoges/385124966/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/158/385124966_5addaa9c20.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="sample1" /></a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/hoges/369441821/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/178/369441821_ed30c5d3e7.jpg" width="332" height="500" alt="DSC_8862" /></a>

[hoges]

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/hoges/385125028/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/138/385125028_3554a07da2.jpg" width="332" height="500" alt="DSC_7743a" /></a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/hoges/385124998/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/142/385124998_25d87818f9.jpg" width="500" height="332" alt="DSC_7704" /></a>
1 against 5 doesnt seem quite fair does it?

[The Mighty2006]

http://digital-photography-school.com/forum/%3Ca%20href= (http://www.flickr.com/photos/97123899@N00/283412634/%3C/a%3E)[/URL]<a href="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/121/283412634_f3cddcbc54.jpg">http://farm1.static.flickr.com/121/283412634_f3cddcbc54.jpg
</a>
[URL]http://farm1.static.flickr.com/121/283412634_f3cddcbc54.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/97123899@N00/283412634/%3C/a%3E)

Ok so this is my shot from 5 rows back in the stand.

I have a few others where you can see the ball in motion as well.