Comments on: Sports Photography – An Introduction

By: Magnus

Magnus — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 23:59:59 +0000

Great article and great tips. I must agree with Andrew Boyd in his comments, practice is important and so is the understanding of the sport you are watching and shooting. Not only should you place yourself at the right place, but you should also know the players enough to know who are the key players on the floor and who are more likely to take the important shots at the end of the game. I mainly shoot a lot of basketball here in Norway for my basketball blogg, and are now experiencing a lot of people contacting me, asking for permission to use my best pictures for local newspapers, club web sites etc. I hope this means that I’m doing something right with my camera.

By: Andrew Boyd

Andrew Boyd — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 16:10:04 +0000

The key to shooting sports, once you have the right equipment, is PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE! Great sports photographers got that way by shooting LOTS of sports over a period of time. This does not come fast but if you’re dedicated, it will come! Other keys are really UNDERSTANDING the sport you are shooting. This is key since so much of sports photography is being in the RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME, in other words, prepositioning yourself for what you think will happen. Finally, if you want to shoot big league sports, start with biddy league–go out to the local park and shoot the younger kids, gradually working your way up to high school, college and pros. Like most photography, the proof really is in the pudding, or in this case, the portfolio!
I’ve been doing this for 30 years and these things have always been true.

By: Karen D.

Karen D. — Thu, 21 May 2009 02:29:49 +0000

thanks, this is fantastic! I often take photos at horse shows, and this has been great insight! :]

By: Eric Mesa

Eric Mesa — Tue, 19 May 2009 16:10:07 +0000

Awesome, Awesome! Did some photography last month of the Baltimore Orioles and used two camera bodies – it was very nice not to have to switch lenses. I’ve also done some hockey shots through glass and it’s tough, but doable.

My Orioles shots are in this set http://www.flickr.com/photos/ericsbinaryworld/sets/72157606410734191/
and my hockey shots start on page two of my cornell set http://www.flickr.com/photos/ericsbinaryworld/sets/209772/?page=2

I really need to make a Sports Collection.

By: Douglas J

Douglas J — Sun, 17 May 2009 16:33:30 +0000

Great article.

I’ve been trying to get into sports photography. I’ve been shooting tennis matches more recently, and since I have to stand outside of the fence surrounding the tennis match I get a lot of shots with the fence in it. Luckily shooting at a lower aperture lets me blur it out. Now I just need to save enough for an f2.8 lens.

By: jmonhollen

jmonhollen — Sun, 17 May 2009 06:56:08 +0000

I love the pictures….especially since the first one in this article is from a Washington State game, and WSU is my alma mater! ;)

By: George F.

George F. — Sat, 16 May 2009 20:03:00 +0000

Tiffany,
If you are shooting indoors, i suggest that you shoot around 2.8 or lower, depending on what kind of lens you are using. 5.6 is too slow, and the pictures will be blurry. Also, try shooting in the AV mode (depending on your camera) that way you can adjust the speed manually. You should try a 85mm 1.8 lens for indoor, just “zoom” with your feet, and your pics will come out great.

George

By: Tiffany

Tiffany — Sat, 16 May 2009 06:05:48 +0000

Glad this is posted. My son is in karate and they have a “demo” team. They always do their demos inside and I have no idea where to start and what settings to have my camera on. I bumped my ISO to 3200 and my aperture was around 5.6 and my shutter speed was around 1/8 (don’t really remember). I tried to shoot in manual and then shot in sports mode. I’m still wondering what kind of settings to use. There is always a really dark yellow cast inside in the gym. I will practice some more because I’m determined. Thanks for this info!!

By: enrico

enrico — Sat, 16 May 2009 02:40:17 +0000

good tips i’ll apply it. maybe you can also give tips on shooting swimming. i would like to learn more about it because my kids are into swimming.

By: ChrisBatDell

ChrisBatDell — Fri, 15 May 2009 17:32:04 +0000

Great tips:

Putting some to action this weekend, starting small with baby steps and shooting my sons T-Ball game. =)

Chris Byrd
Dell Digital Life Evangelist
Follow me on Twitter @ChrisBatDell