Basketball Photography Tips

[ElCapitan]

I am renting a Canon 100-400 f/4.5-5.6L and a 70-200 f/2.8L USM II this week and will be going to my former high school's basketball game. I've shot football games before and know the best places to shoot, but never basketball. I'm guessing since there is little to no room at all along the sidelines, that the best place to be is underneath the goals and the corners.

I also have a 24-70 f/2.8L and 100 f/2.8 that I plan on using as well. Any tips on which lenses will be best for basketball or anything else I may want to keep in mind? No IS, faster shutter speed the better, AI servo, etc. Mainly just where to be and which lenses will work best.

[Krusty79]

No replies? You can try contacting Jim Bryant and see if he's willing to give up some tips of the trade.

I know you're going to need those fast lenses and crank up the ISO to get a decent shutter speed. I would guess the best spots will be along the baseline. You should be able to get some shots of guys going for rebounds or trying to block shots there.

[lputman]

Since it is a high school gym, they tend to be of the poorer lit variety. More than likely, you will have to crank your ISO. I'm now shooting a 7D and I have to shoot ISO 4000 I keep my shutter speed at 1/500. I use my either the 100 f/2.0 or 135L. They are a bit long for under the basket shots, but great for the action coming down the court towards you. I used to use the 85 1.8 until I sold it. The 24-70 might be too slow for focusing, I tried it one time and quickly put it away when shooting basketball. I use AI Servo and center focus point. Hope that helps. Your best option will probably be the 70-200 but more than likely, you'll really have to crank up the ISO.

You are correct in where you want to position yourself. Not necessarily because of lack of space on the sides but because you have the best opportunity to get faces included in the photos.

[BlackRockBacon]

This video should prove useful...YouTube - Photography Critique and Tutorial
the first 9 minutes is a Skype call, but around 9:20 he starts critiquing some pictures of a game. Really informative video...Jared is full of useful tips, and is fun to watch and learn from.

[ElCapitan]

Thanks for the tips. I ended up using the 70-200 f/2.8L USM II on my 5D MkII. Shot pretty much entirely at 1/500, f/2.8, and ISO 4000. I tried the 24-70 f/2.8 briefly, but it was just way too wide.

I posted some photos and the link to my flickr page in the Sports SYS section, but here is the link again.

BGA Basketball - a set on Flickr