football photos
Oct 15, 2013 06:56:58 #
I am taking pictures at high school football games using a Nikon D5100. Am having problems with catching the action without the pics blurring while in auto mode. Am in auto so I can take rapid shots.How can I correct this.
Oct 15, 2013 07:09:37 #
Welcome to the hog bill. Tell us a bit more, eg. the ISO you're set at. I don't know your camera but does it have other modes that may be best suited to what you are trying to achieve? Post one or two to show us please.
Oct 15, 2013 07:20:42 #
I have a D5100 and a D5200 and I always use the action choice on the wheel. The shutter speed is very fast there. It pays to get off of auto. Check your manual.
Oct 15, 2013 07:27:35 #
Bill; I have a 5100 and use the 55-200vr lens right now and it takes very good action shots. I do use manual, but I believe you can achieve the same results using the sports dial on the camera. Most of my shots are with 1/1000 shutter speed. ISO will vary, depending on the light. Start playing around with the camera and I think you will see some nice results. Ken Rockwell, among others, believe that the 55-200 is one of the best bangs for the buck and is very sharp for a very inexpensive lens. Like others have mentioned, please post a couple of photos to help. You have a wonderful camera. Just keep taking shots!
Granddaughters underhand fast pitch!
Oct 15, 2013 08:23:51 #
Set your camera to shutter priority, Select a speed of 1/250 to 1/350. Set ISO to auto. Set aperature wide open. If you are shooting daylight rather than at night under the lights you should be okay. ;)
Oct 16, 2013 07:18:46 #
blindman
Loc: Louisiana
bill in op wrote:
I am taking pictures at high school football games using a Nikon D5100. Am having problems with catching the action without the pics blurring while in auto mode. Am in auto so I can take rapid shots.How can I correct this.
I took a few football shots at our high school stadiums here. For night shots I had to use 3200 to 6400 ISO with 250 or 320 shutter speed with a 2.8 aperture on a 70-200 lens. Night was mostly 320 at 6400. http://blindman.smugmug.com/CaptainShreveFootball2011
Oct 16, 2013 08:59:38 #
I have some experience with sports including football. There is no simple and singular answer to the question. The only thing unique to sports is needing a high shutter speed if you want to freeze the action. Otherwise, all the other rules of the science of photography apply.
The closer the action, the faster the shutter speed to capture it. The higher the ISO, the greater the noise. The less the light, the slower the shutter, the bigger the f/stop, and the higher the ISO to capture the shot. No one here can tell you what settings to use. They depend upon lens, lighting, distance and movement. You have to figure these out when shooting.
Another problem occurs if shooting in the afternoon. The sun sets earlier creating a lot of shadows and high contrast on sunny days. Find a spot with the sun to your back. Walk up and down the sideline to capture your action. Look for interesting sideline shots too. Set your autofocus to follow the action (AI-servo on Canon) and the capture rate to high speed. Follow the action with your finger on the shutter release. You do not have time to anticipate the best shot so shoot the whole sequence. "Film" is cheap and you can pitch the wasted ones later.
This all deals with the science of photography. Master this so you can concentrate on the art of photography. Good luck and post some pictures.
The closer the action, the faster the shutter speed to capture it. The higher the ISO, the greater the noise. The less the light, the slower the shutter, the bigger the f/stop, and the higher the ISO to capture the shot. No one here can tell you what settings to use. They depend upon lens, lighting, distance and movement. You have to figure these out when shooting.
Another problem occurs if shooting in the afternoon. The sun sets earlier creating a lot of shadows and high contrast on sunny days. Find a spot with the sun to your back. Walk up and down the sideline to capture your action. Look for interesting sideline shots too. Set your autofocus to follow the action (AI-servo on Canon) and the capture rate to high speed. Follow the action with your finger on the shutter release. You do not have time to anticipate the best shot so shoot the whole sequence. "Film" is cheap and you can pitch the wasted ones later.
This all deals with the science of photography. Master this so you can concentrate on the art of photography. Good luck and post some pictures.
Oct 16, 2013 10:12:19 #
bill in op wrote:
I am taking pictures at high school football games using a Nikon D5100. Am having problems with catching the action without the pics blurring while in auto mode. Am in auto so I can take rapid shots.How can I correct this.
Bill I assume you are talking about night stadium photos. Most are poorly lit and a challenge. If you are shooting from the stands you may be out-of-luck except for a few lucky shots. I have shot many night games and here's what I recommend. Set camera to aperture priority. Focus on the darkest area and set the ISO high enough so that you get a shutter speed of 1/300 at least but 1/500 is better. ISO will probably be 1600 or more. I also use a 70-200 f2.8 lens. You can also help yourself by positioning so that the action is coming toward or away from you, not across but even with this hands and feet may be blurred and you will miss many good shots. Another choice is to shoot in shutter priority with a high ISO but you may need to post adjust the lighting for every photo.
In short, high ISO and f2.8 lens.
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