Trying my hand at GAA Photography

paulocon2

After a hiatus of a couple of years, I got back into photography during the summer. I am the owner of a Nikon D50 and initially got it to take some shots when out hill-walking. As I got less time for hill-walking and the kids got bored of me taking pics of them (and me bored of taking the pics), the poor camera got dumped into a press along with the skateboard, karate-suit, ringboard etc!

Got involved over the summer with a local parkrun and it's been a bit of a revelation. I've been taking shots at the runs for the Facebook page and absolutely love it. People are far more interesting subjects than mountains and lakes! I've had a degree of success at Parkrun using the D50 and a Nikkor 80-200M 4.5-5.6D lens (rudimentary enough but does the job).

I'm a big GAA fan and am looking to try my hand at shooting a few matches. The local team had a training match this morning and I took the camera along. I only got a few shots as I was minding our youngest and he was keen to show off his Ryan MuHugh skills. What I did discover was that a GAA pitch is massive when trying to shoot and the players tend to move very fast. You also have the added complexity of that spherical object that you don't have at parkrun!

Just wondering if anyone has any advice on shooting GAA matches? I read somewhere before that the best bet is to pick a position and let the action come to you. I'm wondering what is the best position to pick (on the 45, behind the goals etc). Also from a technical point of view, I'm assuming I should have the aperture wide open at the longest zoom (5.5 @ 200mm).

Ultimately, I realise I'm limited by the gear I have. I'll eventually upgrade to full frame and would like to purchase a quicker 300mm lens when funds allow (the wife insists that kids schoolbooks and stuff like Electricity, Groceries and Home Heating fuel are currently the priority and I suppose she probably has a point.)

Any tips/advice appreciated.

Couple of my parkrun shots taken with the 80-200mm lens.

Paulw

paulocon2 wrote: »

What I did discover was that a GAA pitch is massive when trying to shoot and the players tend to move very fast. You also have the added complexity of that spherical object that you don't have at parkrun!

Just wondering if anyone has any advice on shooting GAA matches? I read somewhere before that the best bet is to pick a position and let the action come to you. I'm wondering what is the best position to pick (on the 45, behind the goals etc). Also from a technical point of view, I'm assuming I should have the aperture wide open at the longest zoom (5.5 @ 200mm).

Shooting GAA is not too bad. Easier than football (soccer). Sit near the corner, let the action come to you. The GAA pitch is LONG. I even find a 400mm lens very short for it, and have to add a 1.4x TC. Many of the top lads would use a 600mm lens.

Other than that, like any sport, shoot fairly open, high shutter speed, high enough ISO, continuous focus, etc, etc, etc. Loads of tips on my website.

dinneenp

I'd say give rugby a try (no pun intended).
I only tried soccer once and found it harder than I thought- a lot of bodies in the way, an action shot has to be perfectly timed to get the ball included.
For rugby you have a lot of static time/players not moving much(scrums, line outs, kicks) and you know where the ball is going to be next- scrums, line outs, runs etc. You also can get a lot of action close to the try lines so you don't need a massive lens

the_doctor199

Good behind the scenes look at the biggest game of the year.. http://www.sportsfile.com/blog/2014/09/sportsfile-at-the-all-ireland-football-final/

paulocon2

the_doctor199 wrote: »

Good behind the scenes look at the biggest game of the year.. http://www.sportsfile.com/blog/2014/09/sportsfile-at-the-all-ireland-football-final/

Saw that earlier in the week alright! Some of the shots from the final were awesome.

To follow up on my original post, I'm in the process of upgrading to a D7000. Done a bit of reading and would seem to be a good choice for sports photography. AF seemingly quick (39 AF points, 9 of which are cross-type).

Next step will be to invest in some decent glass. Made the mistake of looking at a video review of Nikons f/2.8 70-200 VRII last night... if only! Would love to hear suggestions on a reasonably priced 200mm zoom. Like I said, the lens I have (f4/5-5.6) is a great beginner lens but needs loads of light.

Couple of shots below taken with the D50. Trying it out gives a real appreciation of just how good the pro shots are!

Paulw

Most sports photographers only use one focus point - centre point only.

After that, sit or kneel. Standing doesn't add to your images, but getting lower definitely does.

The backs of players (especially the ones with the ball) seldom work well either.

Other than that, not a bad start.

flyingsnail

paulocon2 wrote: »

Next step will be to invest in some decent glass. Made the mistake of looking at a video review of Nikons f/2.8 70-200 VRII last night... if only! Would love to hear suggestions on a reasonably priced 200mm zoom. Like I said, the lens I have (f4/5-5.6) is a great beginner lens but needs loads of light.

I am not too familiar with Nikon lenses but don't they have a 70-200 F4 ? Should be a good bit cheaper than the 2.8

mayo.mick

I started out (expensive hobby :eek:) with a d3100 and a 55-300 vr f4 that I use for Mayo match's. Usually sit around halfway line (season ticket!) I find it the best of both worlds for shooting attacking and defending.

paulocon2

mayo.mick wrote: »

I started out (expensive hobby :eek:) with a d3100 and a 55-300 vr f4 that I use for Mayo match's. Usually sit around halfway line (season ticket!) I find it the best of both worlds for shooting attacking and defending.

How does the 55-300 f/4 perform? Would love to see some of the shots you've captured.

paulocon2

Paulw wrote: »

Most sports photographers only use one focus point - centre point only.

After that, sit or kneel. Standing doesn't add to your images, but getting lower definitely does.

The backs of players (especially the ones with the ball) seldom work well either.

Other than that, not a bad start.

Cheers. A few reasons for moving to D7000. Focus on the D50 can be slow and I believe it's a lot quicker on the D7000. D50 also very noisy once you start bumping up the ISO. Burst mode on D7000 is 5fps as opposed to 2.5 on D50.

LeoB

Would agree with Paulw above about kneeling or sitting it more comfortable for a start. Or if you bring a foldable stool €5 in a hardware shop.

I usually go to the end-line or sideline as you will get more opportunities to get players running at you with the ball. Also facial expressions of players tackling can make a good photo.

I rarely shoot at f2.8 (I have a sigma 70-200) but usually shoot at f.4. Next Monday my club play under lights I will try f.2.8 as I believe this is where it is best served. A lot has to do with knowing who the key men are, the good forwards, tough defenders and having an idea where the ball is going.

Here are a few of mine from the weekend. First set our girls winning Dublin U/14 CHAMPIONSHIP 2nd set our Senior team winning Dublin S.F.C. "B" Semi-final
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=oa.10152797052796703&type

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=oa.10152794590261703&type=1

With a reach of only 200mm ANYTHING OUTSIDE 30 - 40 meters away is a bit of a struggle but it fine for facebook of local club. Hope its helpful
(We dont allow people tag juveniles on our facebook page)

There is a sequence of shots half way through this set of a girl breaking through a tackle which show the importance of including the players face to the viewer and you can see the determination in her face.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=oa.10152759100571703&type=1

paulocon2

LeoB wrote: »

Would agree with Paulw above about kneeling or sitting it more comfortable for a start. Or if you bring a foldable stool €5 in a hardware shop.

I usually go to the end-line or sideline as you will get more opportunities to get players running at you with the ball. Also facial expressions of players tackling can make a good photo.

I rarely shoot at f2.8 (I have a sigma 70-200) but usually shoot at f.4. Next Monday my club play under lights I will try f.2.8 as I believe this is where it is best served. A lot has to do with knowing who the key men are, the good forwards, tough defenders and having an idea where the ball is going.

Here are a few of mine from the weekend. First set our girls winning Dublin U/14 CHAMPIONSHIP 2nd set our Senior team winning Dublin S.F.C. "B" Semi-final
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=oa.10152797052796703&type

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=oa.10152794590261703&type=1

With a reach of only 200mm ANYTHING OUTSIDE 30 - 40 meters away is a bit of a struggle but it fine for facebook of local club. Hope its helpful
(We dont allow people tag juveniles on our facebook page)

There is a sequence of shots half way through this set of a girl breaking through a tackle which show the importance of including the players face to the viewer and you can see the determination in her face.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=oa.10152759100571703&type=1

Thanks for the advice. Unfortunately, I can't see the pics on Facebook (probably privacy settings).

Here are a couple I took with the D7000. Has anyone any thoughts on AF settings? Would most people use centre-point focus for sports, I've read contradicting views on what the best mode is for sports.

mayo.mick

paulocon2 wrote: »

How does the 55-300 f/4 perform? Would love to see some of the shots you've captured.

Hi paulocon2, should have replied before now, only came to the top of my followed threads last night, sorry. Since my last reply I bought the nikon d7000 as well as the d3100. Still getting the hang of it. I use center point focus on both cameras for sports. Though for hurling with it being so fast I often miss the player altogether and focus on the background! Take practice! Some from a hurling match here, http://michaelmaye.com/mayo-v-kerry-hurling-semi-final/


Photo: f/6.3, 1/1600 sec, ISO-400, @220mm.

Loads of football shots here, http://michaelmaye.com/mayo-football/

Paulw

paulocon2 wrote: »

THas anyone any thoughts on AF settings? Would most people use centre-point focus for sports, I've read contradicting views on what the best mode is for sports.

Centre point only, continuous focus (AFS-C??). As for mode, it all depends on what works for you - aperture priority - set a good open aperture, shutter priority - set a high enough shutter speed, manual - set a good open aperture and high shutter speed.

paulocon2

Paulw wrote: »

Centre point only, continuous focus (AFS-C??). As for mode, it all depends on what works for you - aperture priority - set a good open aperture, shutter priority - set a high enough shutter speed, manual - set a good open aperture and high shutter speed.

Thanks Paul. I assume you use centre point only and then crop as required? Do you find yourself using AF-Lock for composition?

Paulw

Very little composition when shooting sport. You capture the action and crop later. You don't have time for AF-lock.