Rex Photography
Tips on sports photography?
I'd like to get into sports photography. Does anyone have any tips for me before I start? What about: Photographing indoor vs. outdoor sports? Best settings for the camera? Is a tripod needed? + anything else you think I should know. Also, do you know of any good online articles about sports photography or even just photography in general? Hope you're not getting too annoyed with all these questions. Thanks in advance! =)
Public Comments
- That is probably very expensive because you have to get those monster lenses. I didn't use a tripod. I brought my monopod with me. It helped a bit (The camera and lens were quite heavy). My camera (Canon 5D) isn't exactly made to shoot sports, but I brought it to a local baseball game (junior college) and I had fun. I am sure others will be able to give you some really good tips. One thing I learned was I really had to know about the sport first.
- this place is called answers, questions are needed, so keep asking as Pooky says knowledge of the sport helps alot, the ability to pan and focus pull will help even more a monopod is the norm, inside turn your iso up compositions are important - have your subjects moving into the frame and not leaving it -generally a
- OK, we'll start with what you specifically asked: -Indoor vs. Outdoor sports? Outdoor daytime sports are the easiest, relatively speaking, because you've got plenty of light. Indoor sports and outdoor sports under lights both challenge the photographer and his/her equipment. You'll need fast (large aperture) lenses for both of indoor and outdoor/night, and fast telephotos don't come cheap. Another angle to consider is whether powerful strobes on wireless transmitters are feasible for your situation. These can help you stop the action, and shoot at lower ISOs or smaller apertures. -Best settings for camera? Manual. (I strongly recommend you get a book on exposure, such as "Understanding Exposure" by Bryan Peterson. -Is a tripod needed? Most serious sports shooters use monopods more often than tripods. At the fast shutter you need to be shooting to stop action, stability of tripods takes second place to the mobility/reactivity of monopods. -Articles, et all Check out the sports forum on www.fredmiranda.com. Definitely read for a while before you jump into posting, 'cause it can be a bit of a shark tank. Its a great resource, though, full of talented shooters.
- Here's a whole website dedicated to just that topic: http://www.sportsshooter.com/ Here's a huge collection of Sports Illustrated images: http://www.sipictures.com/source/CFW/Product.aspx?p=7&e=0&pg=1&am=-1 Rob Galbraith did a great article on sports shooting and digital workflow: http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/multi_page.asp?cid=7-6453-6821 There's a bajillion books on the topic: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw/002-4742459-9378433?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=sports+photography Hope this helps.
- If you're in high school, then join the school newspaper and yearbook. Same thing for college and take some photo courses. Learn and love sports. True sports fans know and anticipate great plays to get awesome shots. You don't need a tripod. Learn how to use an SLR camera in manual mode with and without a flash.
