67skylark27 Loc: Fort Atkinson, WI

Here's another round of volleyball shots, some include my daughter
who has now moved on to college at a D2 school. I miss shooting
her games! Here are a few tips from this past season:

You don't always need the ball in the shot find an expressive player
and shoot their expressions after a point win.

Find the libero and shoot from the floor, they dig a lot of balls.

Don't always try and freeze the ball when it's being hit, serves
look better with just a floating ball on the toss up and you can
easily focus on the face.

Pick a player on stay on them, this gives you a better chance of
catching them at their best.

Get the scoreboard or teammates in the background after a crucial
point, coaches too. They all love great shots of the coach cheering.

Shoot from the ends through the net, you'll get a lot of backs
and get blocked a lot, but when you get a face through the net
it's gold.

Ask to sit on the bench, coaches will always say yes if you share
your pictures. Seriously - ask. I have never been turned down.

Shoot from behind the bench as the players sub, great faces, slow
action. The libero's and subs usually jump as they sub.

When you get a cool angle or something different take lots
of shots.

Take pics during the warm ups for practice.

Settings wise, shoot wide open, continuous single point focus,
1/500th or faster and auto iso. Auto ISO is your best friend!
Shoot manual! Use a photo editor - allows you to crop and
correct and add that professional feel. I use Lightroom, it's awesome.

Photos attached are low res for sharing with parents, they are meant
to show the action and angles captured, not for quality.

Thanks for looking!!!

BassmanBruce Loc: Middle of the Mitten

Excellent thread, thank you. Your shots are excellent
I shot my daughters charity tournament this summer and could really have used this advice. I will put it to work next year.

Edit: if I may ask, your preferred aperture?
Also, shot no. 3 is beyond excellent

tom kf4wol

Fantastic Action Photos..

Thanks for sharing.

tom

chuckrem Loc: Katy, Tx

Great series!

PattyW60 Loc: Northwest Illinois

Excellent photos!! Thank you for all the great tips!!

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Excellent work!

RichardTaylor Loc: Sydney, Australia

Great set.

Joe Blow

Very impressive.

Two things I would add; If you are a parent, don't be too greedy. Take lots of shots of everyone. The assistant coach, trainer, bench warmers, etc are team players too. Unless someone asks not to have their picture taken.

Don't post embarrassing shots, especially of the coach.

Thanks for sharing.

billyc46 Loc: marcus hook pa

all i can say is a
AWESOME would you let me have your setting im geting ready to shoot my grand daughter for the frist time i could use your help thank you so much bill c

tshift Loc: Overland Park, KS.

These are really nice skylark. I want to shoot more volleyball this year and with these shots I can really use to get my angle and shots down. Thanks please post more.

Tom

raymondh Loc: Walker, MI

Professional images & instruction - thanks for sharing!

Jules Karney Loc: Las Vegas, Nevada

I don't shoot much volleyball but I will shoot more. You have given me the courage by your tips and tricks. Great info. so fellow shooters can be better. Love the shots.

67skylark27 Loc: Fort Atkinson, WI

Thank you. I am pretty sure that most of these shots are taken with the Nikon 85mm f1.8
which I usually shoot at f2, auto ISO and 1/500 or faster shutter. I try for 1/800 and
back down to keep the ISO under 2000.

67skylark27 Loc: Fort Atkinson, WI

Absolutely, throughout the season or even a tournament, I make sure there are shots of every player. If a player doesn't play much, but is currently in the game I shoot them exclusively. I will take time to shoot all the coaches interacting with the players, and bench players reacting and jumping around cheering too.

As far as embarassing shots go (and there will be plenty) I have found that sharing them first with the player only is okay, then they can decide if they want to share it. (They always do by the way, typically asking the teammates to caption it for them-especially later in the season after they have bonded as a team.

67skylark27 Loc: Fort Atkinson, WI

I would say for starting out, use fast glass, meaning something with a f1.8 aperature, even if it's just
a 50mm. I use an 85mm mostly. This way you can shoot a fast shutter speed and get rid of a lot of blur which often gets mistaken for bad focus. Focus will be the challenge. Go early and shoot the freshmen or JV games, shoot the warm ups and peak at your pictures all the time. Then once your granddaughter starts, just shoot! If you feel you are getting a lot out of focus, switch to 9 point instead of single point. Feel free to message me picture when you are done and need help.