Shooting Sporting Events

Shooting Sporting Events

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Shooting sports can be very fun and exciting. As with macro photography there is certain equipment and tips to remember in order for your shots to come out just the way you saw the action.

First, like macro photography, having at least a 200mm lens will be very helpful to shoot sports photography. Daytime sports usually offer good natural light to work with, while it is often difficult to achieve prime light indoors, such as a gymnasium. These bad lighting conditions will require you to bump up your ISO. This may cause grain to your images and a fast lens will help with this.

Timing is important in sports photography. You want to anticipate the action and shoot before the action happens. Otherwise, you will see the aftermath of a certain play or steal and the ball may also be out of the frame. Anticipating action can capture some great facial expressions also.

Placement of you and your camera can also determine the quality of your images. Get as close to the action as you can, particularly on the sidelines. You should find yourself kneeling or crouching down to get to the level of play. This viewpoint will offer a great viewpoint for the action you are capturing.

Assignments

Remember to keep in mind the concepts you have learned from previous lessons. Shutter speed, aperture, and ISO affect all images and are necessary in sports photography.

• First and foremost, head to an athletic event. Experiment with different angles for your first shots.

• Next, find different viewpoints you think are appealing. Compare the action captured in these to action at eye level when you are kneeling.

• Action is not the only thing to capture at a sporting event. Taking pictures of players on the sidelines, coaches, or even cheerleaders can help make for a great story. This is a great time to capture emotion and reactions.