Shooting Sports - What to know

Rhino

Active Member
Pro Member
Pro Member
Followers
4
Following
4
Joined
May 16, 2021
Posts
58
Likes Received
83
Name
Bill Rinhart
City/State
Pearland, TX
Shooting sports is a big deal whether you are a parent shooting from the stands, on the field, or have credentials to shoot on the ground. Not matter what, we always want the best quality. How do we get this?

The short answer is the "exposure triangle." Simple right? No, but it becomes that when you submerge yourself into the art consistently. Once you understand the "give and take" in managing the exposure, you'll be much happier overall. What the hell is "Exposure Triangle?" What's the give and take?

First, the exposure triangle is an important combination of three things - Aperture, Shutter Speed (SS), and ISO. Well, for daytime sports there's not nearly as much give and take as there is for nighttime sports. First, learn to shoot in manual mode. Easier said than done, BUT once you do, you'll have more consistent results. Some of the biggest choices to make in manual mode is aperture and ISO, especially if the clouds come and go.

Aperture is one way of isolating an individual while creating a blurred background (bokeh). The lower the aperture number, the more isolated the subject. Take a look at Sports Illustrated and you will see that many shots are f/2.8. Why f/2.8? Well, part of the reason is because more light is allowed through the lens. That means you are potentially able to lower the ISO to have a shot with less noise, which equates to a higher quality shot. Daytime shooting won't matter as much because you won't have issues with high ISO.

I will post more information on sports shooting later...

The images shown here are from my previous cameras only to illustrate the points from about. My R5 is new enough that I have not used it to shoot sports yet this year.
 

Attachments

  • 4357D415-FBF6-4682-802D-E8DBF4064CF3.jpeg
    4357D415-FBF6-4682-802D-E8DBF4064CF3.jpeg
    551.4 KB · Views: 111
  • 6776145A-DC6C-424C-94B1-DB083A96E188.jpeg
    6776145A-DC6C-424C-94B1-DB083A96E188.jpeg
    504.1 KB · Views: 106
  • 2911F19A-E764-4553-A01E-F610C01D224B.jpeg
    2911F19A-E764-4553-A01E-F610C01D224B.jpeg
    475.6 KB · Views: 113
  • 0B657B1E-ACE6-4850-AE33-BF5F72AB549C.jpeg
    0B657B1E-ACE6-4850-AE33-BF5F72AB549C.jpeg
    673.4 KB · Views: 107
Last edited:
Great information and images! I don't shoot sports, but it's good all around information to have.
 
Thank you!
 
Thanks!, I am curious about your settings in the camera to take good sports photos. And especially where in your camera you have to set it up. I notice that a system Camera is very different from a mirror reflex camera.
I take basketball photo's.
 
Thanks!, I am curious about your settings in the camera to take good sports photos. And especially where in your camera you have to set it up. I notice that a system Camera is very different from a mirror reflex camera.
I take basketball photo's.
I did some NCAA basketball myself and I always shoot f/2.8 and between 800-1000 for shutter speed Using a 70-200 f/2.8 lens. I let the camera decide on ISO and it usually runs around 5000 or so.
 
I did some NCAA basketball myself and I always shoot f/2.8 and between 800-1000 for shutter speed Using a 70-200 f/2.8 lens. I let the camera decide on ISO and it usually runs around 5000 or so.
Thanks, this weekend i hope to shoot again. And take al the advices withs is given to me with me :)
 

Latest reviews

  • Zoom Canon RF 70-200mm F2.8L IS USM
    5.00 star(s)
    Fast, sharp, and lightweight! A great lens
    This is my main workhorse of a lens and I love it. It's very light weight (only around 2.3 lbs) lens. I've been able to hand-hold it for an event...
    • Crysania
  • Canon EOS R6 Mark II
    5.00 star(s)
    Fantastic sport camera
    This camera is FANTASTIC. I'm a dog sports shooter, so very fast indoor action with a lot of obstacles to shoot in and around. This camera does a...
    • Crysania
  • Zoom Canon RF 24-240mm F4-6.3 IS USM
    4.00 star(s)
    A good lens for what it does, with it's drawbacks
    I have had this lens since it came out and it is my lightweight go to lens for walking around in the city and using my infrared-converted camera...
    • Hali

New in the marketplace

Back
Top