I have excuses! First, my shots today are not held to the high standards they once were. The moderator of the photo club would have me wind a roll of TriX, which would be about 44 shots, plus or minus. Ihad to get some from the JV game and more from the Varsity game. More often than not, I would leave the Varsity game before it was done, and go develop the roll of film, and have a couple of 8x10s printed and in the basketball sports case before the band started playing at the post-game dance.

Sometimes the media would ask for a copy and the athletic director would open the case and give away the prints before the dance was over.

Today, I head home and copy the video to a DVD, and print 3 for the coaches. One of them will get the DVDs early on the morning before practice. If the kids are tired, the last part of the practice will be watching their game. Few consider that fun, and all will see mistakes they made. The DVDs will not have the excitement that a Saturday or Sunday morning print on the front of Section D in the paper has.

Second, the winder on my Minolta was a knob on top, and it took painfully long to wind to the next frame. I didn't get a decent camera until my school photographer gig was nearly over, and I worked at a local optics company and made enough money to get a Nikkormat.

Third, I only had 44 shots, plus or minus, and I needed to get at least 5 to 8 printable shots out of that. So it was the land of scarcity, and one could not take 500 shots and see if there were 5 usable ones. I am sure that the digital revolution in photography has changed the constraints and allowed higher production. But back then, if I wanted the assignment of the rival school BB game, I had to produce more and please more than the next kid who wanted some "free" film.

Last, there were only 44 shots, the gym needed lights, but the school was marginally financed, so lights weren't happening while I went there. And Diafine normally gave me ASA 2000.

So that's what you get with an old dog, who learned some of the tricks of the time, and manages to survive shooting some photos today. But he is really cheap on the click button. The picture better work out.

My suggestion...since most high school gyms don't feature Madison Square Garden quality lighting...
For starters, acknowledge the first quarter is to help you shoot effectively over the remaining three.

Initially set your ISO at 4800, and SS at 640/700 on shutter preferred. Point the camera at your nephew's face, and see what f-stop your camera determines. If you get a underexposure warning, then up your ISO until you're at least at f2.8. At this point I throw my camera into manual at these readings. This is your baseline.

Shoot several shots, and then determine if you need to adjust. SS 640 will generally stop most action at the high school level. If you think you need more speed just remember for every addition in speed you will need to have a subtraction in f-stop. I have no idea how "noisy" your camera is, so I'm giving you what I'd do if you pulled my Nikon from my hands, and replaced it with yours.

The 70-200 is a great lens, but can get a little unwieldy in a cramped gyms. I usually have one on a body, but I'll also have a 50mm on another. As a pup sports shooter I was continually admonished by my editor with the following words of wisdom: "IF you think you are too close, get a little closer."

So, I tend to camp out underneath, or around the basket. The 50 is used when action is next to me, and the 70-200 when it's at the the other end.

For autofocus I use AF-continuous and the 9 setting. Again, you will need to experiment. I'm so old I still sometimes turn off the autofocus and go manual. It's fun, but not for everyone. And, honestly my kill rate isn't as good as when using autofocus.

One more hint...for the first game, instead of "spray and pray," concentrate on your nephew (maybe not too obviously) and develop a knack for tracking his movement. If he gets subbed, zero in on one of the bigs around the basket and follow them.

Although the best action shots almost always have a big orange ball somewhere in the frame, consider shooting reactions, and scenes around the bench. If I'm shooting an unfamiliar team I'll angle across the court from the bench and focus on the coach. Some are extremely animated. Also, your nehpew's coach might appreciate a print of him "in action."

Since I brought up the 50mm, below are some shots with one from last night. The publication requested B&W. Nikon D7200/D750--Nikkor 50 f1.4--SS 640--ISO 6400.

Most importantly, have fun!