Sports shooting help needed please!

[chell]

Hi all! Ive posted these in another catagory to no avail as yet. Its only been two hours but I'm a girl and impatient. I shot these with my 20d and 300mm f4 last night. First time out with this lens and first sports shoot. I found it really difficult to keep focus as players kept running in front of the one I was focused on and my af kept shifting. I was using AI servo with centre weighed focusing. Also tried shifting the focus point to the third. The light was quite low so I bumped up the ISO to 800 to keep my speed up but they were ninty percent either out of focus or focused on the wrong player. Please can someone give me some tips?

[mdm]

I would think the iso should be at least 1600 which is not a problem for this camera. What shutter speed were you getting? Sounds like not enough light causing focusing problems. Of course I'm not the expert in this but I think you need a faster lens, like a f/2.8 or faster. Maybe the high iso will give you a shot or two if on a monopod.

[chell]

Ill try that next time, thanks. Was just a bit worried that they's be too noisy cause I have no noise ninja to get rid of it yet. I was still getting quite fast shutter speeds. I think up around 160. Not sure if it was mostly down to autofocus? Is there a way to slow the af down on the 20d so that it doesn't shift focus as quickly? That way, at least the correct person would still be correct. Or maybe I should use a smaller apature so that more is in focus? What do you think?

[mdm]

I shoot some in indoor gyms with low light conditions. I use center dot focus only and don't get any noise from 1600 iso. Try manual and try a high iso with that lens stay wide open at f/4. I think if it is under exposing it could cause noise which could be you'll need to try a faster lens. Try the settings and see what happens.

[chell]

I'll try that and see what I get. Ill try my 200 2.8 as well and see if that comes up with the goods. Love this lens all the same though! Thanks ever so much for the help, youre great!

[Rockandgrohl4]

I really like the second photo! I think you should crop off a lot of the top above the players heads and then maybe add some kind of motivational quote in the green grass under their feet.

[chell]

I really like the second photo! I think you should crop off a lot of the top above the players heads and then maybe add some kind of motivational quote in the green grass under their feet.
Thanks very much for that idea! My brother in law is a staunch Wrexham supporter. He'd love it if I did something like that for him! I'll have a go later on.

[frenchdub]

Hi Chell
I haven't shot soccer for a few years now, but used to shoot it regularly over my 17 years as a press photographer...it is a very difficult sport to do well...To my mind probably one of the hardest.

You will need to be shooting at 500th at 2.8 or 4 to assure you freeze the action. Under that you be getting motion blur. If it is a night match then you'll be struggling at less than 1600, but naturally quality will suffer.
First off get yourself a monopod if you don't have one..this will help you eliminate any shake from hand held shots... remember a 300mm lens needs supporting to avoid camera shake, if it has a built in stabalizer this will help but it won't relieve arm ache.
Shooting wide will give you shallower depth of field.. your action shot is nice but the seats are too visible... To blur the background don't shoot action that is too far away. Position yourself so that background is as far away as possible. This is why the positions beside the goal are usually the best.
To get the most dramatic shots you need to anticipate by following the ball... look at the players that are in a position to get a pass near to you and keep the camera focused on them...you'll soon see you end up getting the same few players in your shots.. usually a mid fielder, winger of something...
The best soccer shots are often two guys fighting for the ball at the moment of the tackle...anticipate this moment, time you shot..don't just hit the motordrive and hope it gets the best moment, beacause as with all sports, this is a way to miss the best peak moment. One or two frames is the most you proabably get of any given action.. but if you concentrate you'll get the best moement... Autofocus can be problematic for soccer due, as you say to players moving in front... I used to switch the focus to the star button on the rear of the Eos 1 body, which freed up the manual focusing too. Despite the Canon autofocus system being brilliant for Athletics, tennis etc it is by it's very nature not very well adapted to soccer. Fast manual focusing will see you get more sharp pictures.
A 200mm lens will be too short for anything but goal mouth action... We used to shoot on 400mm or even 600mm in bright sunlight... but a 300mm will cover fine especially on a digital body. You need to get in really tight on pictures, enter right into the action to obtain the most dynamic pictures, avoid shooting when the action is too far away... wait until they come into your zone and shoot at that moment..it can be frustrating when the action is all down the f
I rarely used to shoot more than a roll of film (in the old days) on a soccer match...
It's all about concentration.. follow the players and the ball... again a monopod helps you stay on the action...

[frenchdub]

The post above got truncated...

Keep at it
Best regards
Gareth

[chell]

Thank you Gareth! That was all very useful advice.I'm afraid I cant get a pass to get to the position that I'd really like to be in so I had to sit in the stand. But I will definitely try to smuggle a monopod in next time as you are so right, after an hour and a half my arm felt like it belonged to someone else! I certainly switch to manual focus and try to keep the speed up to 500. Practice makes perfect as they say. Thanks once again for being so helpful.

Kind regards,
Chell

[frenchdub]

Hi Chell

You can get light carbon monopods...never had a problem getting in to a stadium, but then never had to shoot from the stands... not easy.

Yes keep your shutter speed as high as you can 500th min and shoot at f4 all the time... if you need to, up your ISO setting, or shoot at a faster speed to keep at f4 on your lens..

If you have the tripod adapter for your 300mm lens use that rather than the mount on your camera body..it is much easier to use.

Generally shoot horizontals, uprights are even harder to do... Also don't be affraid to crop you shots... you only want the action so if you can't get tight enough crop out the excess background... Look where the action is in your shot and recompose in photoshop. This will give you a stronger image.

I started out shooting soccer in South London in the 80's.. so I know it is not easy to learn.
It takes practice..loads of practice.
cheers
Gareth

[chell]

Ta darlin! I WILL stick at it and get some shots I'm proud of. At least digital is cheap to practice with!

[chrishunt]

I don't really have anything to add to what Gareth has already said, but I will agree that 1/500 is minimum for stopping action. I find that I still get motion blur at even that speed, the ball moves quite fast. The 1/160 that you were shooting at before is probably the primary reason for your blurry shots because it's difficult to hold the lens still at that speed, let alone stop action :)

I personally find the 300 f/2.8 and especially the 300 f/4 very hand-holdable. The IS pretty much eliminates any camera shake possible, especially because you're shooting at high shutter speeds. A monopod really cuts down on your mobility and I hate using them. I would only recommend a monopod if you find that you can't hold the lens.

[frenchdub]

Hi

Areed, I too find monopod a bit of a pain to use, as are the heavy video tripods I'm using at the moment with a DVcam.. but I also find them indispenable in order to remain concerntrated for the whole match...
You'll find 90% of the guys shooting soccer every week use one...
Soccer, as with all sport, is a high concerntration job to get good results... if you take your eye off the ball for long you can miss a key piece of action.... when you work for news papers and agencies, missing a goal or a jubo shot can get you in deep **** especially if the guys next to you gets it.... A monopod just helps you get steady shots and remain concerntrated without having to put the camera down, as I guarantee you'll get tired arms even with a 300m f4...


Cheers
Gareth