How to shoot soccer in snow?

[mcdeegan]

I was taking photos last weekend in NC when a snowstorm came through. I kept shooting (camera was covered) but had trouble staying focused on the action through the snow. The camera wanted to focus on the snowflakes. Any tips? I tend to follow the ball not a particular player so not sure the back button AF would have worked. I was using a 200-500 lens and was shooting in aperture mode.



Camera Sony DSLR-A350
Exposure 0.001 sec (1/1600)
Aperture f/6.3
Focal Length 210 mm
ISO Speed 3200
Exposure Bias 0 EV
Flash Off, Did not fire

[Jensers]

Wow... Ummmmm... No clue.

You could try to use the snow to create dramatic black and white images where you actually are trying to shoot the snow with the action as a ghosting effect in the background. Meaning that the purpose of the image is to give a feeling of the grit of the game.

But - to actually capture the action of the game in a consistent way with all the snow clogging up the shot... Someone far smarter than me needs to speak up.

[mcdeegan]

Thanks -- I have a website where I sell the photos to parents so capturing the action is important. I have not experienced the same problem with large raindrops -- maybe because they are clear. I always see great pro and college football photos in the snow but those photags have way better lenses and cameras than I do. The snow actually started falling at a much heavier pace as the second half progressed. This photo just happened to be the one I put up on Flickr for my 365 group and doesn't show how intense the snow got. There are more at the end of the second half here:

Maggie Deegan Photography | U17G Fury 93 v Concorde Fire Elite (12-4-10)

[Jensers]

Ok - well - I do something similar as far as sports photography goes - I have not been in this situation, but since nobody has said anything, here is my hypothetical:
If I were shooting in this situation I would go to manual focus and spend my energy getting shots when the action slows or stops. Increase the f-stop to give me a little more wiggle room with the focus and grab whatever I could.

Also - in an effort to get some action, I would try to make some predictions about where the action is going and set my focus to that area and then hope it goes there and spray and pray.

[ilookalot]

Hi . i am not sure about your camera but check your manual for the section about Focus Tracking with Lock on.Nikon have this feature, basically you can set long, normal ,short, off, on your auto focus so that when something passes between the lens and subject this prevents the camera from refocusing on the object . I hope this helps out .kym

[Jim Bryant]

On the MKII are various focusing speeds:
Standard, slow, moderately slow and moderately fast and fast. I have mine set at moderately slow as it will still track on your subject and not tempted to focus on anything moving in front of my lens. Such as a ref coming into the frame of the photo where I'm taking pictures of a receiver catching the ball. Maybe your camera has those functions as well.

[mcdeegan]

Thanks all for taking the time to read the post and offer the tips. I will pull out the Sony camera manual and see if I have the ability to set focusing speeds. I lucked out this past weekend and just suffered through extreme cold and low light. Next tournament is in Orlando right after Christmas -- there better not be snow there!!!

[Jim Bryant]

Originally Posted by mcdeegan

Thanks all for taking the time to read the post and offer the tips. I will pull out the Sony camera manual and see if I have the ability to set focusing speeds. I lucked out this past weekend and just suffered through extreme cold and low light. Next tournament is in Orlando right after Christmas -- there better not be snow there!!!

Oh yes there's snow in Orlando, you just gotta know where to find it!

[mcdeegan]

As long as it does not find me I am good ...

[Jim Bryant]

I shot a Green Bay vs. Seahawks game in a blizzard that started right before the first quarter ended.........got some great pictures. Here's one.