toni1005

I am having troubles with taking indoor photos. They seem washed out. And I want to have the background fuzzy and it isnt happening/ I am not sure if maybe im too close to the background or what.

ReFlections Loc: From LA to AL

What kind of lens are you using. Are you shooting Manuel?
Aperture priority or what. I believe when you say fuzzy you are talking depth of field. Send a sample photo.

tom hughes Loc: Phila Pa

Maybe this will give you an idea. My neighbor son wrestling match indoor gym, WB setting (white lights) ISO 4000, !/250 sec, f4.5 95mm Canon 70 200mm IS, hand held shot

BigD Loc: The LEFT Coast

Aside from composition (faces) I would say that the "washed out" look you describe to me looks like blur. I would say it was motion blur but it looks more like ghosting from a slow flash sync. Did your on camera flash fire? I don't see alot on noise so your ISO seems acceptable, did you do any processing with the image at all?

As for the background your subjects are far enough away from it but your aperture of f/4.5 is too small for the effect you are looking to achieve. I'm not sure if your 70-200 is the f/2.8 model but if it is try opening that baby up since the larger the aperture (remember smaller F/stop #) the shallower your depth of field is going to be (yep this is why the pro's use the big buck lenses). This will give you the "fuzzy" background you are looking for which is actually a "blurry" background know as "Bokeh". A large aperture will also allow more light into the camera that will allow you to increase your shutter speed which will freeze the action better and minimize motion blur. All that will produce a sharper image with a nice Bokeh which makes your subjects more isolated from the background and standout well.

I would suggest that you shoot in Aperture Priority Mode, open the lens up as wide as you can and crank the ISO until you get at least a 1/500's Shutter Speed. Get back as far as you can since the longer the focal length the more pronounced the bokeh effect will be which will isolate the background even better. Since your color is off a bit If your shooting in .jpg then you need to figure out your white balance by either shooting a grey card and using it for a manual balance, trying the other modes for artificial lighting, or setting auto and fixing it in post later, although in .jpg your limited to the amount you can fix, which is why so many pro's shoot in RAW. And if your on camera flash is firing turn it off for now as that is a whole other conversation. The "demon" is getting sufficient Shutter Speed while holding the ISO to a level that does not produce too much noise which looks like a fine grainy effect in the images. Since your camera seems to do well at ISO 4000 (which is up there) if you use fast lenses (f/2.8 or faster) you should be able to get some awesome shots just practice practice practice while trying EVERYTHING!!!

Now shoot when they face you, get lower to the ground or high up in the stands and shoot down, make sure to get their faces in the midst of a great struggle, and have fun because sports are just so cool to shoot, hope this is of some help :thumbup:

dasloaf

might want to set ISO to its fastest point and work backwards. I have a 7d and take sport pictures at 6400 with camera set on AV setting with F2.8 setting. remember that there is no such thing as white lighting in gym. It is either fluorescent bulb or tungsten bulb. If your camera has an automatic white balance setting, use it. lighting changes in gyms changes every few feet and you have to find a sweet spot to take pictures from in every gym.

ReFlections Loc: From LA to AL

Agree with Big D. You are in a gym which is notorious for bad lighting.(High ceilings). Lighting will affect your color, aperture and speed. He is correct. Stop your lens down to maximum aperture (f4-4.5). Most of us have invested in Fast lenses (F1.8, 1.4, 2.8 etc. ). This is a must for what you are trying to do. OR you will need a really good camera (with low noise at high ISO) OR get more light.
It appears that you were able to stop the action very well. Over all, this is not bad. If this is the type of photography you intend to do, get a fast lens.(f 2.8)

dasloaf

we also have a sports section on the site, check it out!

tom hughes Loc: Phila Pa

On the 5D markIII WB 2 of the settings are White fluorescent lighting, and or tungsten. Ie reference white lighting .

rpavich Loc: West Virginia

Background blur is a function of how close the subject is vs how close the background is...get close to your subject and try and keep the background as far away as possible; and as was said...a large f/stop will help. You are right on the edge with f/4.5....not quite large enough.

BUT...that is a pretty good shot considering how gyms are lit. You did a good job. There is a SLIGHT amount of motion blur in their legs but all else is nice and crisp...I wouldn't complain at all.