Photographing Cricket – DPS Community Workshop
In this post I’m going to ask you to help a DPS reader improve their photography.
I’m Looking forward to your answers!
One of the reasons I started Digital Photography School was because I wanted to see what would happen when digital photographers of all levels of expertise came together to share what they know and learn together.
For this reason – today I’d like to try a new type of post here on the DPS blog – a DPS Community Workshop.
In this post I’m going to share a real life photography question from a reader and then open it up to you the wider DPS community to share your tips and suggestions for the reader.
Here’s this week’s question:
“I’ve been asked to photograph my Son’s cricket team’s first match in a few weeks and I was wondering if you had any tips for me? What size lens will I need? What settings should I use? Any other tips?” – submitted by Sean T.
(note: for those of you from non Cricket playing countries – it’s an Summer sport, played outdoors on a large field. It has some similarities to Baseball in that there is a team that fields and a team that bats).
So what advice would you give Sean? What gear would you recommend? What settings and techniques would you recommend he experiments with?
I’m looking forward to seeing your responses.
PS: if you have a question that you’d like us to workshop as a community please get in touch via our contact form with your question. If you’d like us to workshop a particular image please include a link to it in your Flickr/Zoomr/photosharing account.
29 Responses to “Photographing Cricket – DPS Community Workshop” - Add Yours
November 7th, 2007 at 1:06 am
Personally, the longest fastest lens you have. I’m assuming that you wont be able to get close to the action. idealy somthing along the lines of a 70-200 f2.8 would be the best but thats up there quite a ways in price.
i personally have shot quite a few events with my 70-200 f4 just be prepared to bump the ISO. a consumer level 70-300 f4-5.6 isn’t a bad choice as you only lose one stop of light at the long end.
all in all, shoot alot, of images.
November 7th, 2007 at 1:27 am
Bat speeds tend to be high, so I’m going to echo the “use a fast lens” mantra. An f/2.8 (or faster) is ideal, bump the ISO to around 400 (I usually use auto ISO with 400 as the max, centerweight metering) and you’ll have shutter speeds anywhere from 1/2000 to 1/4000, depending on lighting conditions.
November 7th, 2007 at 1:29 am
Also make sure you get shots of non-cricket action: boys padded up and waiting to bat, batsmen returning from the crease to the pavilion after getting out, crowd reaction, people sitting around the boundary, the scoreboard, cucumber sandwiches, etc etc. It’s all *cricket*, even if it’s not explicitly someone whacking the ball or bowling, if you see what I mean… When I’ve photographed school sports days and similar in the past, those are the shots which I really prize – in addition to someone striking a good shot – and which definitely add to the feel of the day.
November 7th, 2007 at 1:30 am
There are two things i like to do when shooting action.
1. Fast shutter speed wide aperture: Really stop the action in its place and prevent blur for really good action portraits. The picture above is a good example of this but i would have increased the shutter speed a bit more and opened up the aperture even more as there is a little blurring there.
2. The exact opposite, slow down the shutter speed a bit and close the aperture and use the blur to really show the action.
I would bring your son out to a park beforehand and try out some of these things pre game so you know what to expect.
As Bryan said, take lots of shots. If your camera supports it use ai servo often. High speed shooting with lots of shots. The faster the better.
As always, shoot in raw and bring lots of storage space.
When im shooting something i know i will be taking ALLOT of photos of i hook my laptop up to the cam and have it save the photos directly to it.
Good luck to you and your son!
November 7th, 2007 at 1:36 am
When shooting any sporting event. Know your subject well and try to anticipate where the action will be. Batting is a good place to start.
The next thing to remember is don’t try to take that one good shot. Sports happen too fast to ever think you could capture the right thing in one click. Just assume you’ll blow through your memory cards. If your camera has a fast burst shutter mode…use it.
Also, if your camera supports it, uses the continously updating focus mode in burst shutter speed. Your subjects are moving and your distance from them will always be changing.
And most important…cheer for your son’s team! I always remember…I’m a Dad first and formost. Pay attention to the game.
November 7th, 2007 at 1:48 am
You’re going to need a long lens unless you’re able to be out on the pitch with them.
While a fast shutter speed is nice to stop the action ( as suggested above ) I would also consider a slower shutter speed for some shots to capture the motion. For example the blurring the bowler’s arms slightly during their delivery or the batter’s swing. I expect a 60th of second would be about right.
I would also think about panning the bowler during delivery and the batter while they’re running. Use a moderate shutter speed for this too ( 30th to 125th depending on how fast you’re panning the camera.
If you have a full sun you’ll have some fairly hard shadows ( especially if they’re wearing hats ) so bring along a flash and use it as a fill for the closer shots.
If you have a monopod ( or can borrow one ) you might consider that. You can respond more quickly and move around more easily than with a tripod but they will reduce camera shake at the slower shutter speeds with that long and heavy lens you might be using.
I would consider using the widest aperture you have so that you can isolate the subject from the background form some shots.
If they’re wearing white and the background is darkish be careful that the automatic metering of your camera doesn’t let the highlights blow out — consider under exposing 1/2 to a 1 stop so you can keep the details in their clothes.
As usual, keep the camera to your eye as much as you can ( like almostt always ) so that you can follow the play and anticipate the critical moment ( like the shot above ).
As well as the long lens you might take a wider lens ( 28mm ) and look for a way to capture the whole scene — perhaps by climbing a scoreboard and looking down.
If you can wander through the locker room pre and post game that’s a great place to capture candid shots and tell a little about the emotion of the game and not just the mechanics of the play.
That’s all I can think of.
November 7th, 2007 at 2:08 am
Well, just getting into the whole photography thing, let me show you what I accomplished with some of the basics.
My son is an 8 year old soccer player, and one of the things I really want to get into shooting is his games. At this point, he is young enough to where I can get really close to the fields.
Now, I have a new Olympus E500 with only the standard 14×45mm lens (hopefully the 40×150 is coming for Christmas). Like one response said, I am at the point of watching the games where I can anticipate the action a bit, but not always. When it looks as if something is about to happen, the camera goes up, and I start shooting in burst mode.
Quite often I get nothing, and sometimes I think I’ve gotten nothing, but a few little gems have popped up.
Take a look at some of my shots. And please, if anyone has any comments or suggestions, comment on the pics in Flickr. Trying to learn everything I can.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/brianmullnl/sets/72157602766964926/
November 7th, 2007 at 2:26 am
Gear wise, I agree with the above posters. You can rent lenses too.
Also, practice shooting in burst mode with continuous AF. In sports, it’s all about timing and no amount of gear will give you that sense of ‘here comes the shot!’.
Having a look through the sport magazines will give you ideas for composition and what sort of action shots look the best.
Good luck!
November 7th, 2007 at 2:30 am
You an start with batting shots, You will have to anticipate the motion though as things will happen pretty fast. Take lots of pictures and you will get some which you may like. I like square cuts the most in photos. Capturing the bowling action can also be fun, you can get good shots of fast bowlers with good action, try capturing them during the jump at the poping crease (Like some Kapil dev photo’s u might have seen). capturing a wicket fall in the photo was the toughtest I found, you will have to miss other shots and concentrate till the stumps are ratteled and expect that someone will get bowled every delivery only then u will be able to get one..if ur lucky. All The Best!!!
November 7th, 2007 at 3:11 am
Well, basically:
– A fast telephoto lens
– A tripod
– Front row seats, if possible
– High shutter speed
– Widely open aperture
– A higher ISO, probably. Experiment with this one.
November 7th, 2007 at 4:01 am
A remote shutter release is a really useful addition to the tripod, as is a camera with a fast “motor-drive” (5 fps or better would be nice). And a large memory card. Make that “cards”.
I found my 70-300 f4-5.6 IS USM worked fine, giving my 480mm effective with the 1.6 multiplier from my EOS-400D’s sensor. Obviously I would prefer a faster lens but one has to compromise. And I’d “compromised” as much cash on the lens as the camera cost.
November 7th, 2007 at 5:01 am
I love my 70/300mm lens for softball and soccer. The burst action is going to be your friend, but don’t miss the game, either. Take some of the kid who’s daydreaming in the outfield (do you have an outfield?), or the kid who’s on deck to bat. (Forgive me if I’m using the wrong terms here!) Kids cheering from the bench are fun to take as well. The stop-action shots are great, but sometimes the peripheral shots tell more of the real story of the game.
Have fun!!!
November 7th, 2007 at 5:18 am
Manual focus, you want to be able to hit the shutter button (I’m not really technical) and get the shot exactly when you want. You don’t want to wait for auto focus or risk someone walking in front and the camera re-focussing.
I see people here recommend 400ISO, but if you can’t afford the lens (I got my Sigma 400mm off eBay, not the greatest but a great step up from my Canon 70- 200mm), try 800 or 1600 ISO and living with the grain or going black and white.
Don’t worry about missing a picture, a 50 over game will give you 300 chances to get a good batting shot. It’s a bit like golf, you only need one good shot to forget all the others ;-)
Tripod is essential, I use mine as a monopod when I’m sitting down. A little bungy rope around the legs and I tuck it between my knees when I’m sitting down.
I tried searching Flickr and other websites and looking at ‘professional’ photographers camera settings for tips on how to shoot subjects; ISO, focal depth, aperture and speed. But I realised over time that these guys you better kit than me, so I have to sacrifice a little quality (higher ISO and more grain) to achieve the shot I want. And for me it’s more about the moment than the quality of the image.
November 7th, 2007 at 6:17 am
I photograph my grand childern at their soccer matches and use a Nikon d70 with an 80 to 400 VR lens. The lens suppress the virbations so I can use a monopod instead of a tripod. The pictures come out clear and the telephoto gives you the choice of long face shots or whole body shots.
November 7th, 2007 at 6:24 am
I use a combination of continuous shooting and anticipation. I always have to end up taking the shot a second earlier than I would have thought. For batsmen, I like to get some of the slips in the shot as you get some really great expressions.
The other think I love doing is taking pictures of the crowd. There are always a lot of characters around and you can get some real atmosphere from an old scoreboard.
November 7th, 2007 at 8:32 pm
If it is digital camera, shoot in continuous frame mode. We never know which shot comes out great.
November 7th, 2007 at 10:28 pm
Dont delete any shots unless your sure theyre unsalvagable – remember that you can always crop, sharpen, alter exposure levels and saturation afterwards.
November 7th, 2007 at 10:40 pm
Being a cricket player myself….i can tell that best place to grab action is just outside the rope and between 6o clock to 8 o clock from a batsmen perspective.
Also try being at 9 or 3 to the pitch to get the overall shot using a wide angle lens.
Being a learner in photography all i can say is …burst mode…high shutter speed and wide open aperture and a tripod and loads of memory card’s.
Also Coin Toss, and after match awards are best places to capture moments.
a lot of fun happens in during lunch time,s if u have access to the the players pavilion area..u can capture the mood and tension there.
Note: Don’t go near the side screens else you will irritate the batsmen.
November 8th, 2007 at 1:02 am
I’m a big fan of using a monopod during an event like that so you can have a fairly stable platform and still be able to move around quite a bit and reposition quickly.
November 8th, 2007 at 2:42 am
After two soccer seasons shooting with my Sony Alpha 100, using a 70-300mm 4-5.6f, games during the day using a shutter priority with an ISO of 400 and a shutter speed of 800 to 1000, I get incredible pictures in burst mode. As the sun goes down or in the stadium at night, I have to stop shooting. One really needs a 2.8f lens to be able to stop the action and get the detail I like. Now I agree that there is a place for a little blurr to show the action. But increasing the ISO to 1600 leaves more grain than I like. As mentioned, take a lot of pictures and you will be surprised with what you get. Experiment with your camera. You will learn a lot. And most of all, have fun.
November 8th, 2007 at 4:32 am
The biggest suggestion wuld be to get the right spot in the ground – which is behind and to the left of the pitch umpire…thts the point where you wil be able to capture all the strokes….
also try to release the shutter right at the time when the ball is at the highest point on the bowlers hand to capture the position of the seam on its way to the batsmen…nothing better than tht…
also when a spinner is bowling try to chase the ball so as to capture any spin and the batsmen getting beaten…
last tip is to capture the batsmen after he has played the shot – during his follow throu….tht is a picture perfect shot…
November 8th, 2007 at 8:10 am
While my first inclination was to suggest a long/fast lens, after seeing many similar responses I wanted to make sure something else is considered, and that is to slow down your shutter and decrease your focal length for some of your non-closeup shots. It’s nice to be able to have that soft out-of-focus depth of field, but if you’re capturing a team shot or a wide shot you want to be sure that you’ve got everything in focus. Using a smaller aperture, like f8 or f11 (or higher), a shorter focal length, and an appropriate shutter speed will certainly give you a crisp photo with everything in focus. Remember what Harold said:
http://digital-photography-school.com/blog/photographing-cricket-dps-community-workshop/#comment-18212)
Good luck! :-)
November 8th, 2007 at 8:17 am
hey,
Interesting post, here’s my two cents!
I think the best places to photograph a batsman would be from the boundary line between deep extra cover and long off. The best place to get shots of the bowler would be from the fine leg boundary (assuming its a right hand batsman and a right hand bowler!) If you shoot from these positions you will be able to get a shot of the players face, which i feel adds a lot to the image.
The good thing about shooting cricket is you’ll get plenty of chances to practice over the summer!
A quick question of my own, does anyone know if i’ll be able to take a DSLR to the SCG for an internataional game? are there any copyright issues etc?
November 8th, 2007 at 8:36 am
I think there are some wonderful suggestions here and I definitely agree that fast glass and location are going to be your biggest friends. One other tip I would offer is to keep a watchful eye on your backgrounds. A busy background, though sometimes unavoidable, can really take away from a great shot.
November 8th, 2007 at 10:53 pm
As a number of people have already said “use a faster lens”, & have given tons of advice, hardly anything left for me to say. Just follow the action through your lens & be quick on the shutter since you will have less than a moment to click, so a fast shutter speed would also be required & if necessary then you can boost up the ISO to 400 or 800(if you can get away with the noise at that much). I took this photo while on a weekend vacation a couple of months back with my Panasonic FZ50 at 469mm(in 35mm terms) at 1/1000 shutter speed and 200 ISO. :)
And while taking photos, enjoy the game as well, you will find that you are able to take better photos! :)
November 9th, 2007 at 12:19 pm
re wijews question about DSLR at the SCG I took my canon 350D to the last test at the MCG and got some great shots of Simmonds making his 100 runs with Hayden.My understanding is that if you are not a professional and photos are for personal use only it should be ok.I would advise you not to get in the way of other spectators if the complain you may be asked to leave.
November 9th, 2007 at 6:50 pm
Excellent discussion!
Here in Ireland Cricket matches are rare but we had Ireland play India and South Africa in north last summer. I am reasonably new into the photography, but had heaps of fun shooting Ireland playing India. A few shots here in flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chunangadan/sets/72157600462304989/
I used Canon 400D with 300/f2.8L IS coupled with 1.4x TC on monopod. I was shooting from behind the boundary line. Canon 400D’s continous shoot was just about enough (3fps), but only barely. 300/f2.8L IS is a sweet lens, and its really fast with a 1.4x TC. However, depending on the size of the ground, you might need a 400/f2.8 to avoid cropping. A good monopod is important too – especially when you are out shooting all day!
Happy shooting!
November 11th, 2007 at 10:45 am
I photograph my grandsons matches (under 12) with a Canon Powershot S3 – not as flash as most of the previous posters, but it does an excellent job.
You need reasonably flat lighting, so keep the sun largely behind you. On telephoto a tripod is a must. I zoom to get the composition I want, then prefocus on the spot where the action will occur. I use the sports setting, which gives continuous shooting, and ignore the viewfinder. I start shooting as the bowler releases the ball, and get about 3 frames each time. Usually one of them is well worth keeping.
August 12th, 2009 at 3:38 am
I thought Ashok M’s images were excellent. I recently covered a cricket final in herts and took my D70 and 170-500mm Sigma lens which bumps up to about 650mm. I was shooting with a monopod as couldn’t find my tripod coupling. I shot using the sports setting, which I think may have been a mistake as many of the images were blured apart from those shooting to the side of the site screen, long off and long on, or at third man/fine leg. It’s a big heavy lens with no VR, so it’s possible the images were blurred due to the fact there’s more movement than on a tripod. Next time I shoot on a monopod has anyone got any suggestions to improve and get shraper images. The sigma lens isn’t that fast. I have a 50-150mm, which is f2.8. I’m wondering if I stuff a 2x converter on that I’d get sharper images like Ashok M’s, with a much lighter lens. Has anyone got any thoughts on this?
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