Sport Photography


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Hi all,

Could any fellow 350D / 300D owners offer any advice for photographing sport. I'm struggling to get a nice and sharp picture. I've only photographed the one game so far, but this weekend i have another chance to have a go at it.

What advice could you give any advice in terms of modes, settings and techniques for photographing football for example.

I use a Canon 70-300mm USM lens (Non-IS).

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doesn't the 350d have full time AI servo? i know my 300d doesn't. i have to trick it or use the hacked firmware.

you most likely want to have this on, unless you know how far your subject will be when you shoot.

next, with sports, you want FAST shutter, and NARROW depth of field. you want the subject to be sharp, and the background to be blurry (bokeh).

start with you ISO low, 100 or 200, and increase depending on the lighting conditions. try to stay below 1600.

monopods are good for sports.

setup your white blance properly. bring a grey card if necessary.

practice practice practice.

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doesn't the 350d have full time AI servo? i know my 300d doesn't. i have to trick it or use the hacked firmware.

you most likely want to have this on, unless you know how far your subject will be when you shoot.

next, with sports, you want FAST shutter, and NARROW depth of field. you want the subject to be sharp, and the background to be blurry (bokeh).

start with you ISO low, 100 or 200, and increase depending on the lighting conditions. try to stay below 1600.

monopods are good for sports.

setup your white blance properly. bring a grey card if necessary.

practice practice practice.

What he says! But you may need to increase your ISO alittle bit more than you usually would to get those higher shutter speeds.

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What he says! But you may need to increase your ISO alittle bit more than you usually would to get those higher shutter speeds.

well for indoor sport yeah, but usually this is outside, I hope for him

Because for indoor sports, there is no miracle, you better shoot with a f/2.8 lens :(

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well for indoor sport yeah, but usually this is outside, I hope for him

Because for indoor sports, there is no miracle, you better shoot with a f/2.8 lens :(

Yeah, I shoot Motocross photos (Dirtbike racing) and I've noticed most of the pro's use an f/2.8 lens. Unfortunatly, they tend to run on the high side ($700+) so I haven't invested in one (yet) but hopefully soon I can get one ;)

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Yeah, I shoot Motocross photos (Dirtbike racing) and I've noticed most of the pro's use an f/2.8 lens. Unfortunatly, they tend to run on the high side ($700+) so I haven't invested in one (yet) but hopefully soon I can get one ;)

yeah kinda expensive hehe
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Yeah I've got the 70-200 f/2.8L USM for my 20D it works well but sometimes I could do with something longer.

Sam football is IMO one of the hardest things to photograph, it's damn hard to get a decent shot with the ball moving about the pitch so much.

Try sticking your camera in the sports mode and take note of the sort of shutter speeds it's giving. "Generally, to freeze action, you need at least two full shutter speeds if not more faster than the hand hold speed. So for a 300mm lens, you will need at least 1/1200 to 1/2400 to freeze action with this lens".

Have a look at this:

http://www.photo.net/learn/sports/overview

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Ok for sports, I suggest shooting in Av Mode and wide open (largest aperture available) which would range from f/4-5.6 for your 70-300. Watch the shutter speed and keep it a MINIMUM of 1/300 to keep motion blur to a low. Better speed would be 1/500. If you can't get at least 1/300, kick up the ISO a bit. The 350D has no problems with high ISO, so don't be afraid of using ISO 1600 or 3200 even. ISO3200 is fine as long as you expose correctly.

Make sure you're using AI Servo for focusing, and burst mode instead of single shot for higher FPS.

Also to help focusing, change Custom Function 4 to Option 1 or 3, so instead of pressing the shutter button to focus, use your thumb to press the * button to focus. Might take some time to get used to but it will help tremendously. It helps because you can release focus if something runs in front of your subject and then lock back on when things are clear.

I started with the 350D and 70-200 /4L but have upgraded to a 20D and 70-200 /2.8L IS.

Check out these bball photos I took last Saturday. I shot in manual mode f/2.8, 1/400s, ISO3200 using my 20D and 70-200. I was able to slightly overexpose by 2/3 stops and then bring it back down in PS to help keep noise levels to a minimum.

54272443-L.jpg

54272462-L.jpg

54272449-L.jpg

54272453-L.jpg

54272457-L.jpg

If you want to talk more about it, email me.

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Oh and your 70-300 just won't cut it for indoors but can do really well in good outdoor lighting. Indoor, f/2.8 is minimum unless you're shooting with strobes. A very very good indoor lens that's inexpensive is the 85 /1.8 which can be had for $350US + $25 for the hood.

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