How to shoot a tennis tournament

[welcomehomefuel]

Hi, I am new to posting on this forum, although I have been watching it for quite some time.

In April, my college will be doing the daily newspaper for a fairly large tennis tournament through the ATP league. Me and one other student will be the photographers for the newspaper. We will be doing indoor and outdoor shots. I haven't really done any sports photography so this is a new adventure for me. I realize that April is a long way away, but I like to prepare as much as I can, and I have school to take up my time as well. I would like to know if any of you have any resources on how to shoot tennis, what equipment I should use (I have a canon rebel xti with a 18-55 lens), websites that feature tennis photography, or anything else that relates to this subject.

I thank you in advance for helping a rookie like me out.

[bluesoul]

Okay, indoor tennis generally has good light and outdoor games are in the day so that's always a good start. I think you're going to be disappointed in the reach of the kit lens, 55mm is not going to get you very tight on the players. I'll let one of the other regulars here comment on a good substitute lens for it, though. One of the best ways to get a shot with impact is to shoot vertically, especially for shots during their serves. You say that you've got the battery grip so make the most of those vertical buttons! You're going to have to crop most of these anyway, there's just too much negative space in tennis not to.

You're going to want to capture faces (the heart of a good sports photo is in the face) so position yourself where you can do that. Don't worry too much about switching around as the players will be switching sides every odd-numbered game. You're going to want to shoot at at least 1/500 sec, preferably 1/640 or faster. Since these are in day or day-like conditions this shouldn't be a problem. Most people here are going to suggest shooting as wide open as possible, which would likely be f/5.6 on your current lens. f/2.8 seems to be a generally accepted aperture size as it blurs the background, eliminating distractions.

Take a look at the USA Today or ESPN.com to get some ideas on tennis shots, you're almost always going to want to get the ball in the shot. It's very, very hard to convey the speed and action involved in photographs without the ball. Some will argue to shoot at slower shutter speeds to give a slight blur, to reinforce the sense of action. Going to your local tennis court or, even better, the venue the tourney will be played at, prior to the tournament to work on your technique will give you a lot of experience and confidence when the time comes.

That's about it off the top of my head, shoot me a PM if you've got questions.

[T2000]

I have tennis shots at www.proTennisPhotos.com.
18-55 is short for tennis. Fine for some wide shoots though.