!!SPOOORTS!!

1. !!SPOOORTS!! Are these photos any good?

2. What about these?

3. Sports is about STRUGGLE and CONFLICT

5. Where to shoot from • Shooting from the end of the field: • Always get faces • Capture the play no matter where it comes from • Longer distance to background = better bokeh • Not all fun and roses! • Cannot follow along with action • Less useful with short focal lengths

6. Where to shoot from • Shooting from the end of the field: • Always get faces • Capture the play no matter where it comes from • Longer distance to background = better bokeh • Not all fun and roses! • Cannot follow along with action • Less useful with short focal lengths

7. Sun! Hard to see dark stuff Human vision is naturally drawn to brightest stuff Ideally, shoot with the sun on "your side" with respect to the player, so subjects are directly illuminated Bad AWESOME

8. http://shuttersounds.thedailynathan.com/2008/09/27/football-photography-xs-and-os-part-3-lighting-situations/http://shuttersounds.thedailynathan.com/2008/09/27/football-photography-xs-and-os-part-3-lighting-situations/

9. Vantage Point Like most photos, avoid standing-level vantage point! Usually, get lower (getting higher often isn't physically possible)

10. Clean Backgrounds

11. Clean Backgrounds

12. Clean Backgrounds

13. Clean Backgrounds

14. Clean Backgrounds

15. Equipment • Modes of Operation • Static lighting: Manual • Dynamic lighting: Aperture Priority • Lenses • Typical field sports involve shooting over long distances • Telephoto lenses (>200mm equivalent) are preferred • Some exceptions: smaller court sports (e.g. basketball), fixed-track sports (e.g. track) • Larger apertures are preferable – isolate a subject and blur distracting backgrounds • Continuous Shooting • Bursts of photos can be more effective than precise timing • Many DSLR types have at least 3fps, some going up to 11fps • If action is predictable and you only need one shot: time it • If action is unpredictable: shoot in bursts

16. Settings • Autofocus • Moving subjects require continuous focusing • Canon calls this AI-Servo, everyone else calls it Continuous AF

17. Settings • Shutterspeeds • 1/500s is often given as a rule of thumb • Certain types of movement are much faster than 1/500s

18. Settings • Shutterspeeds • 1/500s is often given as a rule of thumb • Certain types of movement are much faster than 1/500s

19. Settings • Shutterspeeds • 1/500s is often given as a rule of thumb • Certain types of movement are much faster than 1/500s

20. General Sports Photography Tips • Shoot tight, crop tighter • Many sports photos are too wide. The viewer cares about the athlete, not the area around him/her. Bad Good

21. General Sports Photography Tips • Be sure to include the ball • The photo is much less interesting if people are running around without any context Bad Better

22. General Sports Photography Tips • Have the subject facing into the scene • The image is compositionally better if the subject is not looking out of the frame. Bad Good

23. General Sports Photography Tips • Don’t cut off arms/legs • It’s just awkward Good Bad

24. Panning A useful technique that can be used to convey motion within a scene. Shutter speed is critical for the effect. Slow shutter speed (1/50) Subject is blurred Fast shutter speed (1/1000) Subject is frozen

25. Slower shutter speed + moving the camera with the subject = panning effect. Shutter speeds around 1/60 to 1/250 are common, depending on the subject and its speed. Take bursts of photos, since the subject will often be blurred. Panning usually results in a lower “keeper rate” than just freezing the subject. Some cameras have different image stabilization modes. Depending on the camera/lens model, one of the modes may be intended for panning. This stabilizes up/down camera movement, but not side-side.