singleviking Loc: Lake Sebu Eco Park, Philippines

Unfortunately, to get those SI money shots you really need that Nikon $2600 lens and a D3, D4, D600 or D800 so you can crop down to the action portion and still get good resolution, accurate colors and good focus. But you can get close with the suggestions presented for higher shutter speed, ISO, and slightly higher F-stop and a bit of PP.

Jan_dalton Loc: NC

That is a great shot...I'm sure that your friend is very thankful...

MCP Loc: Austin, TX

Hi Jan, I shoot quite a lot of girls (and some boys) basketball. Middle and high school as well as select. Until recently I'd shoot a lot of it at 1/400, but have found, especially as you move towards varsity level that anything below 1/500 is inconsistent at best. In most HS gyms I'll use my 50 or 85mm 1.8 primes and work off the baseline or close to court side with f/1.8 1/1000 and an ISO of no higher than 3600 for varsity girls or any level of high school boys.

I'm not sure what the 3100 is capable of but thought I'd share what I do with my 7000. I'm having a blast shooting my kids sports and the hobby is slowly turning into a side business. Best of luck to you!

Attached image had no PP and was reduced in size.

PNagy Loc: Missouri City, Texas

If you can go court side your lens should be just fine for basketball. If you set it at 1/320 seconds all blur is avoided in human action and nearly all from the ball. Of course you set for burst mode to capture as many frames per second as you can. Take practice shots to determine the ISO you need. When ISO is close, make the final adjustments with exposure compensation.

Track may be more difficult to shoot with that lens, because some of the action will be much farther away. Track is usually outdoors, when even overcast conditions give you far better lighting than indoors. The shutter speed and burst mode remain the same, but the ISO could be much lower, which yields cleaner pictures. If I had only one lens for this job I would use a 28-300mm lens. Mine is Canon, but I have looked enough at Nikon to know they have a similar one.

Jan_dalton Loc: NC

Great Shot!! I think it is a sport illustrated shot...I hope to get that good soon...

Jan_dalton Loc: NC

Thanks...I did move in closer to the action and that helped...I set the speed to 1/500, I will go down the next time.

TTKBJR Loc: Kansas

They already look better! Great... Like everyone else has said move as close as you can to the action and you will find you get some great action shots. Sometimes corners of the court are good and yes you have to deal with the people walking in front of you but that can't really be helped. Directly behind or slightly to the side of the basket is also a spot but it will depend on the school and the refs if they will allow that. Good luck...your kids will appreciate the pictures for sure.

photeach Loc: beautiful Kansas

I shoot with a d3100 and the 85mm lens or recently a 35mm. Not very expensive lenses. I stand close to a basket and let the game come to me (great advice from a fellow UHH reader). Don't shoot until they are close, take into account whether you kid is left- or right-handed. Shots in the stands are rarely very good. Remember that your trouble will be worth it in 20 years when they show their kids what a great photog Grandma is.

jam Loc: Beaufort, NC

I may have missed this in all of the comments but do you use back button focus on your shots? This is very important with sports.

dasloaf

Check out the Sports Photography section of the board, you might find it useful!

Michael greiner-marcotte Loc: Meze,France

basketball photography can be difficult,the 55-200 lens is slow and the depth of field is shallow even when wide open and the speed tends to be slow. My suggestion for moving shotsis to make panning shots (follow the player you want to shoot using your whole body) when the players are going from side to side. the background will be blurred, but the players will be sharper. Also look for non playing shots-like on the bench and the reaction of the players on plays they made or missed. emotion can really make a shot great. ask the coach if you can go to their practice and practice your shooting-a lot less presssure.

Jan_dalton Loc: NC

Sport photos

MCP Loc: Austin, TX

You're a quick leaner! Those shots are already looking much better then the first ones you posted!

ebrunner Loc: New Jersey Shore

Where you are standing when you shoot can matter also. I shoot lots of motorcycle races. If I'm on a bleacher to get a point of view above the action, the shots are much more challenging because bleachers are not very stable platforms. I get better results when I'm standing on the ground. I rarely shoot in sports mode. I prefer manual. Racing is a bit different than basketball because I shoot at slower shutter speeds while panning with the subject to get a blurred background and enhance the impression of speed. In track, I think, this would also produce some nice results. Because of the slower speeds, I get quite a few blurry pictures; but when it works it can be spectacular. I think for your upcoming playoff games you might want to try to shoot as fast a shutter speed as you can to get as many sharp photos as possible since these games are obviously important. The faster the lens (lower number fstop) the more light you are going to get and the faster your shutter speed can be. There is a local photo shop that I go to that rents lenses. In my case, he has a 70-200 f1.8 lens that he rents. This would be a good lens for shooting indoors I think. Maybe this is an option where you live. Those lenses are way out of my league for purchase; but renting.....well that sound like fun to me.

dasloaf

game pics!