DonOles

As sports are slow to return I am looking for some feedback on sports photography. What is the best way to shoot thru protective netting. The auto focus wants to grab onto the netting and not the action. I'm using a sigma 120-300 2.8 sport lens on a canon folder 1DC. Any feedback is appreciated

newsguygeorge Loc: Victoria, Texas

Clearly a time for manual focus, right?

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

If you can get really, really close to the netting... right up against it if possible.... that should prevent it from interfering with focus and, so long as you use a fairly large aperture, not have too significant effect on images.

Still, it would be better to relocate to place where you can shoot through a gap or where there are no obstructions at all. There's always some loss of image quality shooting through fencing or netting.

imagemeister Loc: mid east Florida

If you can get close enough to the obstruction - and maybe adjust the focus range on your lens to exclude the obstruction distance .......

Mac Loc: Pittsburgh, Philadelphia now Hernando Co. Fl.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

GoofyNewfie Loc: Kansas City

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Say Cheese Loc: Eastern PA

Manual focus is how we did it years ago. No auto focus with my Canon AE-1 or A-1. Lots of baseball games through the back stop.

Hasslla

Thanks almost spilled my coffee.

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

I am always allowed in front of this netting. A simple check with those in charge should surface in allowing you in the photo pit. Yes, it is that easy.

Thomas902 Loc: Washington DC

DonOles as so many others have mentioned... get closer, the closer the better...
Your f/2.8 aperture works in your favor here to isolate the player(s).

I shoot league soccer and my client's always cherish having their player shown in the goal area near the netting...
This presents a challenge since I'm tracking their player (usually a striker) on a scoring run...
To prevent the protective goal netting from pulling AF away from the player I set Focus tracking with lock-on to AF 4 or AF 5 (Long) to force AF to stay locked on the player I'm tracking.

Sorry I shot Nikon and the settings above are appropriate and apply for this vendor, however I'm certain Canon has a similar feature.

Below is how commercial sports shooters handle the soccer goal netting...
It helps if you have credentials albeit these may be extremely challenging to come by...

Hope this helps Don...
Wishing all the best on your journey...
Please stay safe and always wear a mask in public...
Sadly the President of the United States and his wife have just tested positive... both are now in quarantine.
covid19 is not going away, it is a constant and ever present threat at this juncture...
.

Protective Netting? No problem...

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rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

Don, get as close to the protective netting as possible, right against it is best. The lens won't see it at that point.
--Bob

skidiver8

Get as close as you can and set your f/stop to wide open. In this case, f/2.8 .

Somophoto Loc: Phoenix

I don't understand how it works or why but like others have said, your best bet is to get as close to the netting or fence as possible. It seems to work better with longer focal lengths as opposed to wide angles and use the shallowest depth of field possible. The netting or chain link fence magically disappears. Make sure you have your lens hood on so you don't scratch your glass. This photo was taken through a chainlink fence.

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Thomas902 Loc: Washington DC

Epic sports/lifestyle editorial Lance...
Superb capture of dynamic motion..
Fabulous color harmonies latent within...

btw, Your Sony Alpha a7R III with an FE 70-200mm f/2.8 at f/3.5 at it's max FL of 200mm has a very narrow DOF That's likely why the chain link fence disappears... at f/22 you would probably see it degrading the image...

Impressive dynamic range on the transition from sunlit to shadow on her face... your Sony rocks!
Thank you for sharing... looking forward to more of your sports artistry Lance...