football game

[babos02]

I plan on taking my canon xti to the next high school football game to try and take some photos. the lens i was planning on using is----canon ef 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III-------is this even worth the try? what setting would be best for my setup?

[Jamie Holladay]

If the lighting conditions are good then you probably can get some decent shots. But if not you will need a much faster lens.

[asysin2leads]

Where will you be sitting? Will you have field access or will you be sitting in the stands? Most high school fields don't have adequate lighting to shoot much smaller than f/2.8. I think you'll find the 75-300 is a bit too slow for Friday night lights.

[babos02]

yea thats what i figured its all gonna depend on the weather it is around noon so if the sun is out hopefully i can maybe get some shots.

if i were to buy a new lens for taking sports photos like such what would you recommend? i dont have a lottt of money is there anything at least decent under 300?

[babos02]

I will most likely have field access. do you know of any good sports lens' under 300 dolllars that would be fast enough or am i just spinning my wheels trying to get one for under 300?

[Mama Tried]

I just shot one with my 70-300 but the lights where good.

[dmmiller]

I've been attempting to take shots of my son's JV games, which start at 6:30pm.. so the first hour (maybe) is good.. after that, its all dark. You might be able to come up with some better luck being you'll have field access.

As for the lense for $300.. let me know when you find one.. :)

[GetOnMyLevel]

you wont really find a decent lens for $300.
for lower light, youll need f/2.8 and the canon 70-200 f/2.8 NON IS runs around ~$1000 and with IS around ~$1400 resale.
there also is the cheaper f/4 option. but in lower light it wont be too convenient

if you go with 3rd party brands, itll get cheaper, but not $300 cheap. double if anything

[babos02]

alright i didnt think i would be able to find one under three hundred. thanks for your help

[asysin2leads]

Don't let not having the best lens discourage you. Look for the place on the field where the lighting is the brightest. This will help out. Keep you iso as high as you can. If your shutter speed is too slow, there will be a lot of motion blur. Make sure you post your work when you're done.

There are not a lot of good low light sports lens for $300. My suggestion would be to look for a used Sigma 70-200 f/2.8. You can pick up a used one for a lot less than its Canon's counterpart. I had the Sigma 70-200 and was very pleased with it. Also, there are places to rent lenses if you would like to try out some lenses. Just a thought.

[babos02]

ok im not sure if im going to be able to get to the game but if i do i will post them. so the sigma 70-200 worked out well? is f2.8 about the aperature that will work? anything smaller is too small? or its all just dependent on the lighting?

thank you

[BaumannPhotography]

I plan on taking my canon xti to the next high school football game to try and take some photos. the lens i was planning on using is----canon ef 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III-------is this even worth the try? what setting would be best for my setup?

Probably going to be VERY tough. Most high school football fields are lit very poorly at best. And even when I have a game on a nice field with a decent amount of light I find myself always wanting more light. So is 4.5 going to cut it...maybe in the middle of the field with a low shutter, but remember you will be at 70mm which is not ideal. XTi in low light might give you some trouble also.

Worth a try? Absolutely...if nothing else you will get valuable experience shooting sports, and a difficult one at that. Go for it.

Finding a piece of 2.8 glass that will get you out by the players at a cheap price...probably not going to happen either.

I use my 300 2.8 and MIIn and find myself bumping the iso to keep a decent shutter speed. Also, having a shallow depth of field for sports/football is desirable, and shooting with fast glass with get you that. Something you probable won't get with 4.5-5.6.

I hope this helps you. It's kinda heartbreaking to find out that shooting quality football at night is EXPENSIVE! I know.....I went through the same thing with the same equipment!!!

So get out and shoot and try it, worse that can happen is you get some underexposed, blurry images...and learn along the way. Happy shooting!

[danaitch]

Hang on, didn't you say "noon" for kick-off?

Get out there with what you've got and have some fun!

Shoot in aperture priority, shoot as wide open as you can, and use your ISO to keep your shutter speed at 1/640th, slowest. If you can get to 1/800th or 1/1000th, even better.

Unless you have a terrible, terrible day of weather, you should be ok shooting in the middle of the day. Let's see the results! :)

[dmmiller]

I have the same set-up.. and I was attempting to take pics at my son's JV game last night. (using some of the tips posted above)
Most of the shots were bright enough.. just very blurry. But I did get a couple, out of say 100shots.. that came out decent. But they were also when a play was near then end or when the players were standing pretty still. I was also in the lower part of the stands too, so i'm sure that didnt help my cause.

Good luck! :)

[babos02]

it turns out i wont be able to get to the game but thanks for all the help guys

[babos02]

alright im not going to be able to make it to the game tommorow but i did get a chance to stop by at the cross country running meet and got some decent or what i think are decent photos. I actually decided to leave my 75-300 f4-5.6 at home but i did have my 18-55mm f3.5-5.6.....they turned out better than i thought that they would. what do you think? any tips or tricks to do without buying a new lens haha??

http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa267/snowboarder232/IMG_3178.jpg

http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa267/snowboarder232/IMG_3254.jpg

http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa267/snowboarder232/IMG_3286.jpg

http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa267/snowboarder232/IMG_3295.jpg

http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa267/snowboarder232/IMG_3299.jpg

http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa267/snowboarder232/IMG_3327.jpg

http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa267/snowboarder232/IMG_3332.jpg

http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa267/snowboarder232/IMG_3346.jpg

thanks for looking

[MMD]

There is lots to comment on here. Firstly, getting out and trying is the only way to learn. For what my limited experience is, i will comment on each image the best I can. There will be far more experienced photogs to hopefully add to my comments.
1. Exposure on this image is ok. Shutter speed is too slow, hence the subject motion blur (take this little piece of advice to your football game and you will soon see the types of shutter speeds required for lower light conditions!). Also change your metering to center point instead of pattern, highlight one runner this close, and either shoot vertical for full body or pan horizontal. What is really bothering me though, is the actual composition. Legs and bodies cut off, etc. There is also the 1/3 rule. If you were after a group shot, capture the runners coming at you or crop half bodies out alltogether. Even find a good elevated spot, stand on a bin, fence, etc. Finally, think of your background, that whole background for this shot, i think, is the worst part about it.
2. Again, just a bit underexposed. Again with the body composition and also your metering. Panning is a challenge to us all. Set your camera to M, A1 focus, continuos shot and try different shutter speeds with 3.5 apeture (if there will be several runners coming by, you should get a nice variety of shots and be able to see what has worked best). You could even try pre-set manual focus. Look for a panning technique thread on this site.
3. Not too bad. A little underexposed, but thats an easy fix. A shutter speed of 500 would have frozen him good, front on. Center composition would have been better as well.
4. Ditto # 2
5. Ditto # 3
6. Ditto # 2
7. Ditto #5/3
8. I think this is your best shot. Increase your exposure with RAW or levels in PS, and unsharp mask (i am assuming you have photoshop). Crop a whisker off the right hand side and proudly display.

There is my (probably 0.04). There will be more technical advice for you from more experienced than me. Main point though is keep practicing.

Happy shooting and good luck.

[jbkalla]

I'm taking photos of a friend's kid's football game today. I'm going to be using the 70-200mm f/4L, and the game starts at around 0930. I've never shot sports before, nor do I know much about football, but I guess I can try.

I appreciate the tip about using Aperture Priority and 1/640sec minimum shutter speed. Any other tips y'all might have? I'll be bringing the tripod with. Is there a sweet spot for photographers to take pictures from on a football field? It's Junior High (year 9, I think) American football and the weather is expected to be isolated cloudy but mostly sunny.

If any of them turn out, I'll post them in here. Heck, even if they don't turn out, I'll post them and y'all can pick 'em apart for me! ;-)

[jbkalla]

OK. I just grabbed one and stuck it on my site. EXIF data should be in it, but here it is anyway:

1/1000sec, Aperture Priority, f/4, ISO 400, 200mm, Spot Metering

http://kalla.net/POTN/_MG_0938-Edit.jpg

Obviously, this photo lacks composition and all, but the camera settings seemed to work quite well. I had a CP filter on, also. Went through 286 photos, which pretty-much filled my 4GB Extreme IV CF card. Thought I was gonna have to switch to JPEG! Guess I should get another card!

I can see where the f/2.8L would make for a better bokeh, but it was way out of my price range. For the money, the f/4L is one sweet lens! Oh, and did I mention that there was PLENTY of sunlight? CP filter, 1/1000sec, and ISO 400 did that for me, I guess. Plenty of ISO space and some shutter speed to spare. f/4 is just fine. f/5.6 would have been fine, also.

[asysin2leads]

OK. I just grabbed one and stuck it on my site. EXIF data should be in it, but here it is anyway:

1/1000sec, Aperture Priority, f/4, ISO 400, 200mm, Spot Metering



Obviously, this photo lacks composition and all, but the camera settings seemed to work quite well. I had a CP filter on, also. Went through 286 photos, which pretty-much filled my 4GB Extreme IV CF card. Thought I was gonna have to switch to JPEG! Guess I should get another card!

I can see where the f/2.8L would make for a better bokeh, but it was way out of my price range. For the money, the f/4L is one sweet lens! Oh, and did I mention that there was PLENTY of sunlight? CP filter, 1/1000sec, and ISO 400 did that for me, I guess. Plenty of ISO space and some shutter speed to spare. f/4 is just fine. f/5.6 would have been fine, also.

Actually, the subject has nice separation from the background. The biggest thing is to shoot in portrait orientation unless you have a large number of players. This will allow you to fill up more of the frame with the subject and have less background visible on either side. The 70-200 f/4 is an excellent lens for daytime sports. Not so much for night, but great for day.

[jbkalla]

Actually, the subject has nice separation from the background. The biggest thing is to shoot in portrait orientation unless you have a large number of players. This will allow you to fill up more of the frame with the subject and have less background visible on either side. The 70-200 f/4 is an excellent lens for daytime sports. Not so much for night, but great for day.


Ach! I didn't even think about using portrait orientation!

Thanks for the tip!

[Dermit]

I have the same set-up.. and I was attempting to take pics at my son's JV game last night. (using some of the tips posted above)
Most of the shots were bright enough.. just very blurry. But I did get a couple, out of say 100shots.. that came out decent. But they were also when a play was near then end or when the players were standing pretty still. I was also in the lower part of the stands too, so i'm sure that didnt help my cause.

Good luck! :)

dmmiller,

Does your son play for Corona? I shoot high school football a lot. Mostly for Mountain Pointe and Perry but I know Corona plays Mountain Pointe sometime soon. Maybe I'll see you at one ofthe games.