NHinote Loc: Tennessee

I've got an opportunity to shoot photos from the sideline at our local university's football games. The next home game starts at 6 pm while the following game starts at 1:30 pm. I plan to shoot with my Nikon D810 with the Nikon 200-500/5.6 and Nikon 70-200/f2.8 (I may take my old Nikon D300).

My question to all is, recommended settings. I realize that in all instances, my primary concern will be shutter speed. Accordingly, I'll shoot shutter priority. I'll probably shoot both Raw and JPEG in order to provide the University with the photos. Please give your thoughts about settings in daylight and stadium lighting (SS, F- stop, ISO, ab, etc). All comments and or suggestions are certainly appreciated.

Noel

rjaywallace Loc: Wisconsin

I'm sure you can appreciate how hard it is for any of us to predict what the lighting conditions and exposure values would be at game time, your best bet might be to invest in a quality light meter - Sekonic and Gossen are two good choices - and balance higher shutter speeds (to capture action) with the necessary depth of field.

tramsey Loc: Texas

I would go early to see what kind of lighting system is used and then set accordingly. The SS for a basketball game, I use 800 and sometimes a 1000 is plenty fast. The rest depends on the lighting system. Good luck

SharpShooter Loc: NorCal

I suggest you PM Mongoose and ask him what the pros use.
SS

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

Noel, I'd suggest that, if you are using shutter priority, set you shutter speed, then decide what aperture you are going to want, then dial in the appropriate ISO to give you a good exposure.
--Bob

Ched49 Loc: Pittsburgh, Pa.

Exactly...rather than see what other people will do, find out for yourself. Take a few shots and see how they come out. The D810 will handle any situation and you should have no problem with your lens.

PaulR01 Loc: West Texas

Keep your shutter speed above 1000 try not to ever drop below that as long as the game is going on. Below that you risk hands and feet motion. I shoot the highest speed I can to maintain the lowest ISO. I drop the shutter speed till I get to a 1000 then I start raising the ISO when I loose lighting.

jim quist Loc: Missouri

I shoot manual and jpeg at collegiate sports and on exposure I want the faces in the helmets to be correct. Keep the shutter as close to 1/2000 as you can and shoot wide open unless there is a reason not to. Know ahead of time the acceptable noise level for your camera.

I do a custom white balance with one of these, there are different sizes, I carry the credit card size one in my wallet
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/768395-REG/WhiBal_WB7_PC_G7_White_Balance_Pocket.html

You can get some cool shots with a 24-70 http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-382267-1.html

Photographers have gotten injured on the sidelines so be careful

Look for emotion shots...coaches, cheerleaders, fans, players on the sideline, etc
If you give the athletic director some really great shots you may get a media credential that's good for the season in exchange for pictures of each game.

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

Is the D810 a good choice? Just a couple of days ago there was a heated debate about having to hold it steady to get a decent shot. Now it is being considered for football games and I would presume hand holding and moving etc. Would not the D300 work better in this situation? I just seems ironic that the need for rock solid steadyness was just discussed for this camera to get a sharp image and now the use proposed is at the opposite end of the spectrum where a D5 would be the first choice or perhaps a D750.

cidbearit Loc: Canton, MI, USA

I'm not a pro, but I have shot a good number of my kids' football, baseball and basketball games over the years. You probably realize this already, but I haven't seen it mentioned. With fast paced action shots like these, burst mode is your friend!

NHinote Loc: Tennessee

Thanks.

PaulR01 Loc: West Texas

Of the first choice Nikons listed, the D810 is you best choice for low light. You really need a body that has a native ISO of 24,000 so when you have to shoot in the 12,800 ISO range your images are not grainy. I wont shoot anything that has a max ISO under 50,000 Any of them would shoot well under well lit conditions.
As for camera shake, at shutter speeds over 1000 it isn't much of an issue. That's why image stabilization on a lens is worthless at such a high shutter speed.

mas24 Loc: Southern CA

The Nikon D810 is not the preferred camera for either NFL games or top Division I NCAA football teams. Like Alabama, Ohio State, Stanford, and others. The #1 choices are the Canon 1DX(II) or Nikon D4s/D5. The 70-200mm 2.8 is a must lens for either Brand name photographer. And a prime too, one being the cherished Canon 400mm. The most expensive one that use to cost about 10K. Of course any good DSLR can capture sports with good fast glass and a skilled photographer. It is just some are better suited. Good luck in your football adventures.

Bullfrog Bill Loc: CT

I was fortunate to be able to shoot D1 Lacrosse for four years with many published shots and was able to discuss shooting strategy with a number of pros that I met. Like you, I have a D300 and D800. Here is how I would look at the problem. The goal is to catch peak action and isolate it from the background with a tack sharp image. Therefore, frame rate and max arperture are important considerations in addition to shutter speed. I would put either the 70-200 or the 200-500 on the D300 (try both) so you can get the higher frame rate and set it on arperture priority wide open. The D300 resolution will be more than adequate for substantial cropping or enlargements. Some of mine went to poster size in the locker room. Set the ISO so that you get an absolute minimum 1/500 but 1/1000+ is better. For most conditions Nikon auto white balance works well but I would check it under the lights. I only had issues when shooting other sports in an arena. You can probably hand hold the 70-200 but would definitely need a monopod for the 200-500. Shoot in bursts of 3-5+ shots to catch peak action and improve in-focus percentage. Practice your panning. Put a 24-70 on the D810 and use it for sideline photos or pregame shots of the coaches and players interacting. As to jpeg vs. RAW, I usually shot in JPEG, remember they are sports photos not fine art or portraits and you will want to minimize the post process work. I would usually shoot 400-600 frames and would deliver 20-30 to the university and parents. Chimp, check exposure and delete as much as possible between plays or during time outs. The other question is do you move up and down the sidelines or generally stay in one general area. Try both by alternating between quarters. Since football generally moves in one direction, I would tend to move up and down the sidelines where possible while not disturbing players or coaches who couldn't care less if you get a great shot. There are usually rules for photographers so ask other sideline photographers or the person that hands out the sideline pass. Study rosters ahead of time and make a list of the players numbers of whom you must have. Good luck and have fun. The game is much more interesting from the sidelines.

cjc2 Loc: Hellertown PA

Although I have a D810, I find it next to useless for action sports. It's great for everything else! I use a D5, which is obviously not an option for you so I would pick your D300. I did own one of those as well, but I don't remember how well it adapted to action sports which is normally the territory of the single digit cameras. Possibly you could rent. That issue aside, I shoot all action sports wide open. Again, your 200-500 is a decent lens, but not my pick to night time sports. My shutter speed for football is either 1/500, perhaps higher if there is enough light. Finally, I either use auto ISO (almost always during the day) or, if I have the opportunity to meter the field under the same lighting conditions, an ISO that results from those readings. On the D5, I am willing to go to 25,600, but I do prefer to keep it at 12,800 or below. Always a monopod. My lens is a 400/2.8 with a 1.4 TC added during the day. I do use my d810 around my neck with a 70-200 for close action, cheerleaders, crowd, but even for that I find it's speed and buffer woefully lacking. When I was younger -- I wouldn't dare try this now -- I often had a third camera with a very wide (14-24) for venue shots, and back then my D810 would have been another D5. Presently I'm doing less of this work by plan and more of physically easier jobs like events and environmental portraits so the D810 is an awesome choice for that. Oh, I shoot ONLY RAW, although, occasionally I shoot jpegs as well. I've been shooting sports for almost 50 years, including NCAA D1 for over 20. I hope I have helped or at least given you a few things to think about.