# Sports Photography



## canonbraden (Jan 29, 2013)

Alright I really need people to talk to about sports photography, preferably Canon users because I have a Canon, so I can know what steps I need to take to get better


----------



## Rahb (Jan 29, 2013)

Step 1:
Shoot a sporting event

Step 2:
edit the photos

Step 3:
ask for c&c or help and post them here. Good bad or indifferent, you will learn something

look forward to seeing some photos


----------



## The_Traveler (Jan 29, 2013)

Rahb said:


> Step 1:
> Shoot a sporting event
> 
> Step 2:
> ...



This list above is missing a step

Step 1: Shoot a sporting event

Step 2: edit the photos

Step 3: ask for c&c or help and post them here. Good bad or indifferent, you will learn something

Step 4: go to step 1


----------



## runnah (Jan 29, 2013)

Practicing shooting anything that moves fast. Cars, dog, birds, etc..

They key to sports is getting the subject in focus and the action capture as fast as possible.


----------



## MitchStrp (Jan 29, 2013)

go watch this it will help tremendously


----------



## canonbraden (Jan 29, 2013)

Ok, thank you! Should I shoot in sports mode or manual?


----------



## MitchStrp (Jan 29, 2013)

he will comment on that but i personally shoot in manual


----------



## runnah (Jan 29, 2013)

MitchStrp said:


> he will comment on that but i personally shoot in manual



Really? I always shoot in shutter priority.


----------



## MitchStrp (Jan 29, 2013)

runnah said:


> MitchStrp said:
> 
> 
> > he will comment on that but i personally shoot in manual
> ...



but what are you shooting? why do you shoot in that particular setting? Im very particular about each and every setting I want to be able to change the shutter speed along with the f stop and adjust if im not getting the results i like because with shutter priority the camera gets to make those decisions for you and they will adjust sometime without you noticing based of the light.. wwhich means you may not get the same shot as before because your f stop is a stop higher or lower.. I dont believe your wrong or im right just a different way of doing something.


----------



## runnah (Jan 29, 2013)

Well for example I like to shoot winter sports. More often I don't have more than a few second with the subject in frame. So I want to action and focus to be sharp.


----------



## DBA (Jan 29, 2013)

runnah said:


> MitchStrp said:
> 
> 
> > he will comment on that but i personally shoot in manual
> ...


I also shoot manual as I want to control both the f/stop and shutter speed.

If you still want a semi-auto option in manual, try using the auto-ISO option.


----------



## canonbraden (Jan 29, 2013)

Seems like we all have different shooting styles. Im a big fan of sports mode mostly because I take rapid shots, but I will be trying other modes come baseball season.


----------



## gsgary (Jan 29, 2013)

canonbraden said:


> Seems like we all have different shooting styles. Im a big fan of sports mode mostly because I take rapid shots, but I will be trying other modes come baseball season.



Sports mode is a total waste of time dont have it on my cameras luckily


----------



## DBA (Jan 29, 2013)

canonbraden said:


> Seems like we all have different shooting styles. Im a big fan of sports mode mostly because I take rapid shots, but I will be trying other modes come baseball season.


Curious, what does "rapid shots' mean and what does it have to do with using sports mode?


----------



## SCraig (Jan 29, 2013)

What mode I use when shooting sports (primarily motorsports) depends on the conditions.  IF the light is not going to change (i.e. no clouds and I intend to face the same direction all the time) I'll use manual after metering on something neutral.  If it's any kind of cloudy or I may be shooting in different directions (which is about 90% of the time) then I use shutter priority.


----------



## manicmike (Jan 29, 2013)

DBA said:


> canonbraden said:
> 
> 
> > Seems like we all have different shooting styles. Im a big fan of sports mode mostly because I take rapid shots, but I will be trying other modes come baseball season.
> ...



I assume multiple frames.  I usually do shutter priority or aperture priority and adjust the ISO as needed.


----------



## DBA (Jan 29, 2013)

SCraig said:


> What mode I use when shooting sports (primarily motorsports) depends on the conditions.  IF the light is not going to change (i.e. no clouds and I intend to face the same direction all the time) I'll use manual after metering on something neutral.  If it's any kind of cloudy or I may be shooting in different directions (which is about 90% of the time) then I use shutter priority.


Ever try manual with auto ISO? I shoot motocross and I also have the same cloud issues as you. Auto ISO seems to work nicely in this situation as it still allows me to control the DOF (f/stop) shutter speed.


----------



## MitchStrp (Jan 29, 2013)

DBA said:


> SCraig said:
> 
> 
> > What mode I use when shooting sports (primarily motorsports) depends on the conditions.  IF the light is not going to change (i.e. no clouds and I intend to face the same direction all the time) I'll use manual after metering on something neutral.  If it's any kind of cloudy or I may be shooting in different directions (which is about 90% of the time) then I use shutter priority.
> ...


A

Auto ISO is nice but I cant enable it in manual mode and its inconsistent when shooting multiple frames like a sequence because the clouds could move someone could walk into the background ect and the ISO could change by 1-500 (stops?) and when photoshoping all the frames together you can see the change in the ISO. If you taking a single frame Auto ISO would probably not be a bad idea at all.


----------



## SCraig (Jan 29, 2013)

DBA said:


> Ever try manual with auto ISO? I shoot motocross and I also have the same cloud issues as you. Auto ISO seems to work nicely in this situation as it still allows me to control the DOF (f/stop) shutter speed.


No, I never have.  In fact I've never used auto ISO for anything.  Might be worth trying sometime though.

I never worry a great deal about aperture when shooting motorsports since I'm usually using a rather slow shutter speed anyway.  Even at moderate ISO I normally have more than enough aperture.


----------



## Tony S (Jan 29, 2013)

Wow... we all vary so much on how we shoot sports and action. 

 Here's how I go about it...  If the light is going to be unchanging I establish a manual exposure and I will make quick adjustments to that as I shoot depending on if the light is on the subject or if they are backlit.  I keep my white balance at one setting, so all the shots have the same WB and any corrections I make in post work carry over in opening images up by using the "previous" button in ACR.

  If the lighting is changing, like in spring time around here where I can shoot in bright sunshine to very dark rainy clouds within minutes, I will shoot in AV mode because I want to control my DOF, so I set my ISO to make sure I get high enough shutter speeds to stop the action. I then use a quick flip of the dial to use exposure compensation as needed for individual shots. 

  My focusing is usually set on AI Servo so it wil track movement and I am set to a single center focus point which if the light is good I may occasionally move it to one of the points off center for different compositions.

Although my camera can fire off a series of 12fps I rarely use that unless I am going to use the series of shots for a specific purpose or accidently lay on the shutter button too long getting two or three shots, but the first one is my shot I am looking for 95% of the time that happens.


----------



## canonbraden (Jan 29, 2013)

DBA said:
			
		

> Curious, what does "rapid shots' mean and what does it have to do with using sports mode?



Continuos shots


----------



## canonbraden (Jan 29, 2013)

SCraig said:
			
		

> What mode I use when shooting sports (primarily motorsports) depends on the conditions.  IF the light is not going to change (i.e. no clouds and I intend to face the same direction all the time) I'll use manual after metering on something neutral.  If it's any kind of cloudy or I may be shooting in different directions (which is about 90% of the time) then I use shutter priority.



Looks like I will be learning some new techniques.


----------



## Rahb (Jan 29, 2013)

The "sports mode" is just a generic setting for the camera and more of a crutch than a mode. Pick something like shutter speed and learn how the different settings are effecting your shots. Then advance to manual and learn to manage those things on your own. Put the camera in burst mode on drive for continuous shots. There is no other magic happening in your camera other than auto settings in a mode like sports. Just a suggestion. I'm learning this way as well


----------



## DBA (Jan 29, 2013)

canonbraden said:


> DBA said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Not sure on the exact technical details but I'd think that continuous shooting would be worse in Sport Mode as it has to reevaluate every shot, unlike manual mode.

I also started in Sport Mode until I got frustrated with the results. I then briefly used Shutter Priority mode until I finally stuck with primarily manual mode. I'd suggest trying Shutter Priority with single point focus and AF-C (servo on Canon) focus mode.


----------



## canonbraden (Jan 30, 2013)

DBA said:
			
		

> Not sure on the exact technical details but I'd think that continuous shooting would be worse in Sport Mode as it has to reevaluate every shot, unlike manual mode.
> 
> I also started in Sport Mode until I got frustrated with the results. I then briefly used Shutter Priority mode until I finally stuck with primarily manual mode. I'd suggest trying Shutter Priority with single point focus and AF-C (servo on Canon) focus mode.



Alright, thanks for the advice.


----------



## imagemaker46 (Jan 31, 2013)

Rahb said:


> Step 1:
> Shoot a sporting event
> 
> Step 2:
> ...



Step one:  Learn the sport, look at good sports photos.
Step two: Show up to the event and find your best spots to shoot from.
Step three: Get your light levels, shutter speed and f stop sorted out.
Step four: Shoot the warm ups, look at the backgrounds, find a clean one.
Step five: Start shooting the event.
Step six: Hope that everything is going your way(it doesn't always)
Step seven: look at the images on your computer
Step eight: delete everything that isn't sharp
Step nine: be happy with what you end up with
Step ten: Learn from the mistakes.


----------



## imagemaker46 (Jan 31, 2013)

For sports. manual everything, AI servo, depending on the sport, I usually use a single focus point on the chest of the player. Think before you shoot, having a camera that is capable of 8-12fps doesn't mean that it is necessary to use it, try 2-3 frames at a time.  It's all about seeing what you are shooting, a lot of people think they see, but they don't really, they point a camera and shoot, and the images end up looking like it.


----------



## canonbraden (Jan 31, 2013)

imagemaker46 said:
			
		

> Step one:  Learn the sport, look at good sports photos.
> Step two: Show up to the event and find your best spots to shoot from.
> Step three: Get your light levels, shutter speed and f stop sorted out.
> Step four: Shoot the warm ups, look at the backgrounds, find a clean one.
> ...



I'll do that. Thanks do much


----------



## imagemaker46 (Jan 31, 2013)

canonbraden said:


> imagemaker46 said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



You're welcome.  Sports is one of the hardest fields in photography to do well, consistently. It does take time and practice, but it's like everything else, the more you do it, the better you should get at it.


----------



## curtyoungblood (Jan 31, 2013)

> Step eight: delete everything that isn't sharp



There will be lots of these. Don't get discouraged by it.


----------



## canonbraden (Jan 31, 2013)

Thank you everyone for the great feedback. It's much appreciated.


----------



## brian_f2.8 (Jan 31, 2013)

What sport? Each sport varies. I have done PGA NASCAR Indy NBA NCAA. 

What's your assignment?


----------



## cgipson1 (Jan 31, 2013)

imagemaker46 said:


> You're welcome.  Sports is one of the hardest fields in photography to do well, consistently. It does take time and practice, but it's like everything else, the more you do it, the better you should get at it.



Glad to see you back.. seems like it has been a while.....   :thumbup:


----------



## canonbraden (Jan 31, 2013)

brian_f2.8 said:
			
		

> What sport? Each sport varies. I have done PGA NASCAR Indy NBA NCAA.
> 
> What's your assignment?



Baseball!


----------



## imagemaker46 (Feb 1, 2013)

cgipson1 said:


> imagemaker46 said:
> 
> 
> > You're welcome.  Sports is one of the hardest fields in photography to do well, consistently. It does take time and practice, but it's like everything else, the more you do it, the better you should get at it.
> ...



Thanks, I appreciate it. I had to take a break from a couple of the negative people on this forum that believed what they said was the only word.  Unfortunately there are times when being a full time professional photographer that makes comments based on experience is an easy target for those that pretend to understand.  

This is all in the past now.


----------



## canonbraden (Feb 1, 2013)

imagemaker46 said:
			
		

> Thanks, I appreciate it. I had to take a break from a couple of the negative people on this forum that believed what they said was the only word.  Unfortunately there are times when being a full time professional photographer that makes comments based on experience is an easy target for those that pretend to understand.
> 
> This is all in the past now.



Good for you to forget them. What do you shoot at?


----------



## imagemaker46 (Feb 1, 2013)

canonbraden said:


> imagemaker46 said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



What do you mean?  Camera settings or events?


----------



## canonbraden (Feb 1, 2013)

imagemaker46 said:
			
		

> What do you mean?  Camera settings or events?



Events. Sorry for not being clear


----------



## brian_f2.8 (Feb 2, 2013)

I don't know much about baseball but general rules apply such as, don't get in anyone's way n be respectful, sharp fotos, proper exposure, be different dont shoot at the same thing everyone else is shooting at. 
Also try this this, have a plan. This season create a shot list for your self. I am still 6 weeks away from Sebring but as I get closer I'm going to develop a shot list.


----------



## imagemaker46 (Feb 2, 2013)

canonbraden said:


> imagemaker46 said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



No problem.  have a look at my web site  Image Communications, Archive sports Images, and Photography | IMAGE Communications   There are lots of sports to look at.  Thanks.


----------



## jake337 (Feb 2, 2013)

imagemaker46 said:


> cgipson1 said:
> 
> 
> > imagemaker46 said:
> ...



Glad your back as well.

You should put your website in your sig so people can see what a sports photographer with knowledge in composition, lighting, technique and proper gear for the job can produce.


----------



## imagemaker46 (Feb 2, 2013)

Thanks jake337.


----------

