Help! Shooting a football match.

Oriel · 23-03-2006 12:09pm #1

Folks,
I'm going to be shooting at a Shelbourne match soon, and was just wonding what the best focus mode and settings would be on the Nikon D70 - I guess on any camera? I'm not used to shooting too many action shots, so any advice before heading into this would be very useful.

I'm going to be using the "inexpensive" Nikkor 70mm-300mm f3.5-f5.5 lens.

The main thing is, should I be using continuous mode or reframing each shot using single focus mode? Would it just be a personal preference?

Any tips welcome!

Cheers,
S.

Steffano2002 · 23-03-2006 12:28pm

Very interested in this thread!

I bought my D50 knowing I'll be going to rugby games to take some pictures and I really hope I won't mess every picture up!

Dimy · 23-03-2006 12:37pm

Is that allowed? I think the same rules apply to like paking pictures of a concert... they'll probably allow P&S camera's, but semi-pro (D)SLR's I'm not sure of. Or are we not talking about professional games here?

Steffano2002 · 23-03-2006 12:48pm

Dimy wrote:

Is that allowed? I think the same rules apply to like paking pictures of a concert... they'll probably allow P&S camera's, but semi-pro (D)SLR's I'm not sure of. Or are we not talking about professional games here?

You what now?

Do you honestly believe a steward would come up to me during a VI Nations or Heineken Cup match and ask me to stop taking pictures because I have a D50 with a 300mm lens? Tell me you're joking!

Oriel · 23-03-2006 12:48pm

I've got permission to get trackside my the secretary of the club they're playing against, so all's above board!

I may look like a fool in the midst of people with €3000+ lens, but hey, it's a start ;-)

My main two concerns are
1) Camerashake, will my lens be fast enough or will the lilght be good enough?
2) Focus, are there any good practices for keeping focus on a fast moving object?

S.

CoolBoardr · 23-03-2006 12:51pm

sinecurea wrote:

The main thing is, should I be using continuous mode or reframing each shot using single focus mode? Would it just be a personal preference?

Any tips welcome!

Cheers,
S.

I think the general recommendation when shooting action/sports shots is to use continuous focusing. Although, I wouldn't take this as gospel and just see what works best on the day - or maybe go out and practise a bit beforehand.

Steffano2002 · 23-03-2006 12:56pm

sinecurea wrote:

I may look like a fool in the midst of people with €3000+ lens, but hey, it's a start ;-)

Ask THEM on the day! hehehe Then you can share all your professional knowledge with us here!

Oriel · 23-03-2006 1:00pm

Another thing is, I've only got a tripod but I don't think that's really suitable. Should I just risk going handheld? I've no monopod...

Yerac · 23-03-2006 1:03pm

Continuous focussing is what you want, but you will also want to stick with what you know. It might be worth the trade off if you are more comfortable doing it your own way.
On the subject of light, it depends what ground you're shooting at. Tolka Park is amongst the worst for light.

A monopod would be ideal but as long as the kit isn't too heavy and you can keep the shutter speed fast enough to avoid shake you should be ok.

I would recommend looking/posting on fredmiranda.com, there's a dedicated sports shooter subforum, might help with you with some of the specifics regarding a nikon too.

I wouldn't worry about how your kit looks next to the expensive gear. Everyone has to start somewhere.

Dimy · 23-03-2006 2:46pm

Steffano2002 wrote:

You what now? Do you honestly believe a steward would come up to me during a VI Nations or Heineken Cup match and ask me to stop taking pictures because I have a D50 with a 300mm lens? Tell me you're joking!

That's why I was asking

They might check for that at the entrance, but I have no idea... I never been to a rugby or football game.

heffsarmy · 23-03-2006 3:28pm

For focusing use the continuous mode and set your focus point to the center focus point, this would be your best setup. If you only have a tripod, just use one leg off the tripod and you have a mono pod.

Steffano2002 · 23-03-2006 3:46pm

Dimy wrote:

That's why I was asking They might check for that at the entrance, but I have no idea... I never been to a rugby or football game.

Thank God! I thought you were actually 'in-the-know'! Scared me you did!

Dimy · 23-03-2006 4:09pm

Steffano2002 wrote:

Thank God! I thought you were actually 'in-the-know'! Scared me you did!

Sorry about that!

It's common knowledge among my friends that I know absolutely nothing about anything :rolleyes:

CrowdedHouse · 23-03-2006 5:22pm

It also helps if you're not a supporter of either team so you can concentrate on photos rather than watching the match.

Flipflip · 23-03-2006 5:48pm

I did shots for my school team in the Munster Final a while ago.

These are the problems and mistakes I had.

1. I used the focus lock way too much and I ended up with alot of slightly out of focus images that look fine on the LCD screen but when you transfer to PC they look ****e. So Id recomend changing focus when you can. But make use of the focus like, tis dead handy.

2. I really cant stress enough how important it is to be constantly ready with the camera, dont bother looking at the pics in review, unless you definately have the time. Just keep snapping. Goal shots are notoriously hard I thought, so continuous shoot mode may be in order.

Apart from that, there aint much I can say.

Keep on the move, try not to keep to one spot, cause if you have a load of pics from the same angle it looks kinda ****e.

Now thats just what i found from my own experience. Just my two cents like, you can choose to ignore it if you want.

Fajitas! · 23-03-2006 8:23pm

Just from my own experience of similar situations, where things only happen once. Spot out a few places with good views and light before the match starts, that you can run in between. Fire off bursts of photos if there's something happening, so you won't miss a thing. You won't need a tripod, it'll slow you down, and you'd have to think too much about using it instead of taking the photo. Use the one leg technique if you're really worried, but if you can find someplace with good light, go for it!

Don't be too worried about the pro photographers, some of them are dead on, a lot of them can be pricks, especially to new photographers.

What time will the match be on at? Will there be much sunlight? If not can you use a flash? Flash sync'ing could come out quite well if so! Oh, and always make sure you have enough memory, even if it means bumming a card off one of your mates!

That would probably make more sense in bullet points looking back on it...

Shrimp · 23-03-2006 10:23pm

Hey,

I've done a bit of rugby photography, and you'd be suprised how easy it is. It's a lot easier than you may think. It's more just getting the right moment, rather than the perfect settings. A nice telephoto is always a plus.

Some tips I found are:

Take plenty of shots, alot.

Get the shots right in, try fill the whole picture with the action.
I know I said dont worry about technical stuff, but the focus is pretty important. Try, if the game allows, to re-focus everyshot. Dont go for continuous shot mode.

DOF is what can make sports photograpy amazing.

Shots from the same, or lower level than the action makes for a good shot.

So if it means getting on your hands a knees, go for it.

I dont know what shells matches are like, but ask on of the stewarts if you can get behind the goal, or sideline. Makes gettin a good shot alot easier.

Btw, will this be a night or day shoot. I'd guess night?

Help! Shooting a football match.

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