Shooting my first football game tomorrow

[MulesAFpilot]

I get to shoot a DII College Football game tomorrow afternoon for a fan website of the school. This will be my first time ever shooting from the sidelines and I'm really looking for some tips from all of you. I see some really awesome shots and would love to get to that level some day.

I will be shooting with my Canon EF 70-300 F4.5-5.6 DO IS lense. The weather is forcast to be mostly cloudy, with a 30% chance of rain. I know that there will be moments of bright sunshine and then the overcast feel.

Any tips that you guys may have would be extremely appreciated.

Thank you

[Anderson-Photography]

My advice is to get there very early and introduce your self to the SID/AD, thanking them for your credentials and your being allowed to shoot the game. Understand any rules they have about sidelines shooting such as staying between the end zone and 25 yard line, not going over the dotted line that is in from the sidelines, etc.
As far as shooting the game, think about the upcoming play. What down is it and are they going to run or pass? Who is their big play receiver and who is their possesion receiver? Which side of their offensive line is dominate so you have a better idea of what direction the running play will come from. As a general rule, many shooters stay about 15 yards in front of the offense so they have a running play coming right at them or they're far enough down field to get a shot at a pass play.
In terms of the sunshine/cloudiness you mention, many shooters leave their camera on automatic white balance in those conditions as they feel the change from sun to shade is not as drastic as the various type of lighting you would find in a stadium/gym, but that is up to you. Also, don't be afraid to use a shorter focal length lens to get some different prespectives of the game - the players on the sidelines, the fans, etc. Peter Read Miller of SI has done some absolutely fantastic shots by putting a wide angle lens on or near the turf in the corner of the end zone. You can see some on his web site. Lastly, have fun. It's a privilege to be there shooting the game so have a great time doing it. Good luck!

[MulesAFpilot]

Thank you very much, now it looks like it's going to be more of an overcast day. Should that affect things very much? The game is at 1:30 today.

Thanks

[fslshooter]

Sports shooters prefer overcast days to bright sunshine because it minimizes harsh shadows. You'll have to dial ISO up to get good exposures though. Once you've decided on what aperture (wider is usually better) and shutter speed (faster is usually better but nothing faster than 1/1600 is necessary to stop most action) then dial in whatever ISO you need for proper exposure.

BTW, I'm retired USAF - 1966 to 1988.

[Anderson-Photography]

If it's going to be overcast the entire day you may want to use the "cloudy" seeting for your white balance. Having an overcast day is ideal as those clouds act like a huge softbox, diffusing that nasty sun. Just be sure to set your exposure accordingly which may mean bumping your ISO a bit. Have fun.

[MulesAFpilot]

Awesome, thank you guys so much. I'm looking forward to it.

fslshooter, thank you for your service. What did you do?

[fslshooter]

Awesome, thank you guys so much. I'm looking forward to it.

fslshooter, thank you for your service. What did you do?


I was in supply/logistics at various base and HQ levels -- Chief of Supply twice and on the SAC IG team for three years in the mid 70s. I spent about half my career overseas (Viet Nam, Germany and England) and half in the midwest to eastern USA (Texas, Georgia, Nebraska, and Mississippi).

I assume you're a pilot from the looks of your avatar -- nice job and our thanks to you too.

[MulesAFpilot]

Ok, I finally have my photos edited and uploaded. Here are the ones that I liked the best. Click to enlarge the photos. C&C wanted. Thanks.

1.
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1316/1352244361_0465dc42b1.jpg?v=0 (http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1316/1352244361_0465dc42b1_b.jpg)

2.
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1216/1353122926_77e12c0b3c.jpg?v=0 (http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1216/1353122926_77e12c0b3c_b.jpg)

3.
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1209/1353123372_1d6a58a09b.jpg?v=0 (http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1209/1353123372_1d6a58a09b_b.jpg)

4.
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1360/1352235941_cb1588f612.jpg?v=0 (http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1360/1352235941_cb1588f612_b.jpg)

5.
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1132/1352246615_5b3c32b9ce.jpg?v=0 (http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1132/1352246615_ef421746e6_o.jpg)

6.
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1088/1352245615_4805e05922.jpg?v=0 (http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1088/1352245615_4805e05922_b.jpg)

7.
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1133/1352237035_a0c6483694.jpg?v=0 (http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1133/1352237035_a0c6483694_b.jpg)

8.
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1373/1353128090_55519620eb.jpg?v=0 (http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1373/1353128090_55519620eb_b.jpg)

[dsul413]

Great shots! I especially like the kicking photos and the first one.

[mnez17]

Nice shots ! Did you shoot in manual or AV mode ? Which lens did you utilize ?

[MulesAFpilot]

I shot in Tv Mode, using my Canon 70-300 F4.5-5.6 IS.

[MazerRakhm]

I like the second one.

A couple of things to watch out for:
Backgrounds and horizon line; some of the pictures appear to be sloping to one side, due to either a railing or fence in the background, a little straightening will correct this.

As a personal preference, if you are not going to shoot in a manual mode I suggest AV over TV. AV will allow you to shoot wide open with a shallower DOF which will allow for a little more isolation between subject and background (A bit harder to do with a F4.5-5.6 than a constant aperture lens I know), I also think you get more consistent lighting through a batch of pics.

[MulesAFpilot]

I like the second one.

A couple of things to watch out for:
Backgrounds and horizon line; some of the pictures appear to be sloping to one side, due to either a railing or fence in the background, a little straightening will correct this.

As a personal preference, if you are not going to shoot in a manual mode I suggest AV over TV. AV will allow you to shoot wide open with a shallower DOF which will allow for a little more isolation between subject and background (A bit harder to do with a F4.5-5.6 than a constant aperture lens I know), I also think you get more consistent lighting through a batch of pics.

As far as being straight, I know that our fences aren't really straight. The first picture for example, the fence actually does slope down a little bit. I'll shoot AV next time. I did notice on a few of the pictures that the background isn't really that blurry. It's all a learning process. Thanks for the tips.

[chrisvl]

The action is good, the pics are sharp but the background takes away from the photos as Kevin pointed out.
Given you lens I can understand you lack of a shallow DOF.
Can you get a better vantange point to minimize background distractions?

[MulesAFpilot]

Well I spent most of the game on the visitor side/end zone. There were too many people to get any good views standing on the home side. Now if anyone feels like giving me a nice lense for free, I'll be set. :)

[MazerRakhm]

Well I spent most of the game on the visitor side/end zone. There were too many people to get any good views standing on the home side. Now if anyone feels like giving me a nice lense for free, I'll be set. :)

If you find someone like that let me know, I'd love a donation of a 300! :D