Toby

I agree with this advice but would add don't worry about dark photos on the screen and try to correct by reducing shutter speed. You can probably lighten in PP

E.L.. Shapiro Loc: Ottawa, Ontario Canada

What am about to explain is no secret, however, for some reason it is seldom discussed when the subject of freezing motion in photography arises. Of course, using the fastest possible shutter peed will solve many "action stopping" problems. What also factors in is the angle at which the subjects are moving toward the camera- straight on, at an angle such as 45 degrees or parallel to the sensor or film plane- this is referred to as the DIRECTION OF THE SUBJECT MOVEMENT. The DISTANCE from the camera to the subject, the FOCAL LENGTH of the lens and the DEGREE OF ENLARGEMENT all have significant influence on motion stopping methodologies.

I am posting a excerpt form an old Kodak Professional Photoguide- which also appeared in my old military field instruction kit. There is a handy chart and a pretty concise explanation of the theory as well a some mathematical formulas to accommodate specific focal lengths and enlargement factors. Be sure to read the part about wide angle and telephoto usage.

Of course, you are not expected to stand there with a calculator or chart in hand when you are trying to shoot a sports event- this theory just gives you some insight into the concept.

In shooting sports events you may require both expanded depth of filed AND fast shutter speeds but sometimes if you need to compromise shutter speed, it's good to know the minimum speed you can use for certain conditions.

Nowadays, with a good DSLR you can really run up the ISO index without too much noise (grain) and shoot at a fast shutter speed AND still be able to enable more depth of field with smaller apertures.

If you read into the guide, it also mentions PANNING WITH THE ACTION.

Another option- If flash is permissible, and the primary exposure is based on the flash, the sensor only "sees" the flash and most current speedlights boast a duration of 1/1000 sec or faster.

In amateur sport situations I often go in and shoot a practice session where I can work, up close with flash and get some nice tight action shots.

The guide is old and based on film photography, however, I find most of it works consistently well in digital work.

I hope this helps and good luck- I'm sure your results will improve one you grasp the program

E.L.. Shapiro Loc: Ottawa, Ontario Canada

Stop Motion Guide.

gvarner Loc: Central Oregon Coast

Use Auto-ISO. Keep your zoom as short as practicable, 100mm and a shutter speed around twice that. The shorter the focal length, the slower you can go on the shutter with hand holding. Or use a monopod. I generally try to shoot a little wide and crop in post. And check your camera for various focus modes that can help to follow the action.

KankRat Loc: SW Chicago Suburbs

What you are trying to do is really hard. Even with pro gear.

Shot #1 (labeled 2) is a fantastic shot of the railing. That is what is in focus. The rest are all a combination of motion blur and out of focus.

It sounds like you don't understand the fundamentals of exposure, and please don't think thats a dis. I am tired of typing it out, when nobody really cares.

Here would be an easy fix. Super cheap. Get the fantastic plastic 50 f1.8. Sub 100 bucks.
I would put the camera in "sports mode" if the 7d2 has one. Get your ass up and get up close.

If your pics still suck, it's you or your expectations are too high, or you need to apply yourself to to squeeze better pics out of your existing geaR.

How much time do you spend shooting, and learning photography outside of that realm.?

KankRat Loc: SW Chicago Suburbs

I was wrong, it's $125 new. Still a great deal. I would get the refurb,
This lens will let in over 4 times more light than your zoom. It will double as a bomb diggity portrait lens and give you nice blown out backgrounds. Everybody needs a nifty fifty.
https://shop.usa.canon.com/shop/en/catalog/ef-50mm-f-18-stm-refurbished?utm_source=google&utm_medium=Product_Search&utm_campaign=Google_Product_Feed&cm_mmc=GA-_-Uncategorized-_-G_Canon_Product+Listing+Ads-_-37415&gclid=Cj0KCQjwmPPYBRCgARIsALOziAPHWiqb-z9QgdYKx217UcwcVevVLZVS7s9RsO54MFPwfwmDDEDa7YcaAkLlEALw_wcB

Pixeldawg Loc: Suzhou, China

Hello. This is going to be a bit long, and I am going to suggest several articles that I have written about sports photography for PopPhoto and the Adorama Learning Center. I think this should be pretty useful to you. Let me know if I can help you further.

I wrote these a few years ago, but the information is pretty relevant. I shot TONS of sports while working as a photojournalist. Some weeks, 8 football games.

Here is one from ALC. It is a lens review, but some of the information deals directly with sports photography:
https://www.adorama.com/alc/0011928/article/Product-Review-Sigma-150-500mm-f56-63-lens

Here is 30 tips about sports photography- mostly football, but it translates to other sports as well:
https://www.adorama.com/alc/0011962/article/How-to-photograph-football-games

And one from PopPhoto- In this article, I discuss the "5 P's" of good sports photography:
https://www.popphoto.com/how-to/2008/12/how-to-photograph-football

In looking at your images, I would say your problem is 2 fold. First, get closer to the action. On the first row of bleachers or by the goal. Next, use a faster lens. You could pick up a 50mm F1.8 for next to nothing used. A great lens for basketball- particularly if you have a crop sensor camera. By using a lens like a 50, you can open up to a much wider aperture and increase your shutter speed at 1000 ISO. I personally use 1600 ISO and newer cameras handle the noise much better than they used to. You should also NEVER shoot sports at less than 1/250th of a second. I would also recommend you shoot on MANUAL mode. If it is soccer or football, meter on the grass, which is middle gray. If in the gym, I recommend using an Expodisc. This is a filter-like object that will allow you to get perfect color from your shots AND you can use it as an incident exposure meter as well. They are a little pricy, but worth their weight in gold, IMHO. I can't tell you how many hours I have saved not having to do color correction because of this. Here is an article I wrote about them several years ago:

https://www.popphoto.com/gear/2008/12/field-test-expodisc

I hope this is helpful- lots of reading, but things that I think will assist you in improving your shots. And again, should you have any questions or would like me to look at your images and give you (free) advice, by all means, contact me. My e-mail is mark.lent@xjtlu.edu.cn. I teach photography and 3D animation at a college in China.