How To Shoot Sports

I’m starting a series of short posts on how to setup for various forms of photography.

Remember photography isn’t about gear. Gear is about gear. Photography also isn’t about settings or recipes or pre-sets or even editing in a raw editor.

Photography is about light and exposure and composition.

Having said that we see daily on Facebook someone who never bothered to read their manual (and with camera in hand has gone through every menu item and control feature using YouTube to explain stuff they don’t know). So this short series is about how to setup your camera to get close as there’s no way of determining what the available light is when you’re shooting and you’re not sure of what you’re doing.

So sports (and it helps if your digital 35mm camera can do multiple frames per second) here we go:

Shutter priority – 1/2,500 or faster (not only for stopping the action but a higher shutter speed will help avoid camera blur from shooting with too slow a shutter speed)

Aperture – (likely you’re using a longer zoom) – wide open or shut down (offering more depth of filed) depending on the lighting

ISO – on auto (using Lightroom or DXO noise reduction) apps can reduce noise even at insanely high ISO ratings

For indoor sports a faster f/2.8 or better lens is essential. For hockey an 85mm to 105mm f/2.8 or better is ideal. For basketball (shooting under the basket when possible) a prime 35mm or 28mm again f/2.8 or better is great.

Outdoors at night under lights a longer pro-level faster zoom will get the job done. We’re starting to talk about expensive glass. Outdoors during daylight a less expensive long zoom will be fine.

Some folks find a monopod is useful for holding heavier lenses and cameras steady over time. The problem I have with monopods or tripods is you may miss some of the action but I must admit it’s tough to hold heavy gear for long periods. It’s your call.