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Settings for sports photos?
Aug 14, 2011 14:08:38   #
Ugly Hedgehog Newsletter
 
Hi,

I have a cannon rebel xsi and take sports photos for the football team. last year, i took my pictures totally in automatic mode, last year they were good, but not great. this year, I really want to take the pictures in the manual mode (tv or AV) Most of the games are 11am early afternoon. I want clear pictures, with outstanding color.

Can anyone tell me what the best settings would be. ie av/tv f stop/ iso, white balance, etc. I shoot with a 300mm lense with no image stabilizer. I keep reading but there doesn't seem to be anything specific to what I am doing.

The other issue I have is even getting a decent pictures for basketball games inside, under florescent lighting. thanks a bunch. to me, there is NOTHING more special than getting an awesome sport photo!

Lisa

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Aug 14, 2011 15:39:14   #
BigD Loc: The LEFT Coast
 
Lisa, I'm betting that you want dramatic, larger than life photos like you see in Sports Illustrated and the like? If your shooting out at 300mm with good daylight you should be able to use either Shutter Priority Mode or Manual Mode to get your Shutter Speed up there. If you are looking for tack sharp images in sports you need to keep your shutter speed up there in the neighborhood of 1/640 sec. or higher to freeze the action. By using Shutter Priority or Manual modes you can choose a faster shutter and adjust the Aperture accordingly to get the exposure correct. Another thing you should consider is a Monopod to help keep your rig steady. With no Image Stabilization you can introduce a small amount of shake even with the best hands that will effect your clarity when cropped down. Remember to fill the frame, stop the action, keep the ISO as low as the ambient light will allow to keep noise under control.

As for Basketball games now your starting to see why the "pros" spend $5K plus on a lens. In order to get good clear images with low noise you need a fast shutter and a low ISO. Unfortunately to obtain those two settings requires a larger aperture and those lenses cost the big bucks. In general to get these shots (without an overhead mounted strobe) you need to use the fastest shutter the ambient light will allow and again adjust the ISO and aperture accordingly. White balance can be achieved by experimenting with your cameras settings since some have settings for different lighting. If not then study your manual for the procedure to set the W/B manually at the event your shooting. It usually involves focusing on a white object and taking a shot while in a special mode. This "teaches" the camera what white is under the current lighting.

The best advice is to shoot shoot shoot and then shoot some more. Try varying your shutter, aperture, and ISO to see what the limits of your particular equipment is (to your eye) and make notes of what produces the shots that you are looking for. Then under similar circumstances you have a baseline of where to setup and then adjust as things change. Hope this helps give you some ideas and good luck.

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Aug 14, 2011 18:03:48   #
cowbungus Loc: Abernathy, Tx
 
Lisa.. sports is all I do mostly.. for football your shutter speed should be at least 1/640 or higher.. I use Aperture Pro. bright sun usually will be f8 to f11
ISO about 400... this should give ya at least 1/640 or higher. Set ur cam on a monopod this will help you stablize your setup and be a little easier on you arms etc. At nighttime.. is a completely different story.. but if you are shooting in daylight you should not have any problem at all.

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