Help with Soccer Pictures

I just tried to take some pictures of my daughter playing soccer and was very disappointed at how blurry they were. I just ordered a Canon Zoom Telephoto EF 70-300 IS lens and am hoping that will help. However, I'm sure some of it was due to my lack of experience in the field. Can someone give me some general guidelines as far as settings? ISO, shutter speed, mode to shoot in? Al servo? focal point? Aperature? Leave the IS on?

Shooting with: Canon Rebel EOS xti

As they get older, they get faster. I usually try to shoot at 1/125 for the younger age groups, and progress up as fast as allowable when the action gets quicker. If I were you, I'd be shooting in manual. Aperture at f/5.6 (so at least you're constant from 70-300), shutter around 1/200s, and adjust your ISO accordingly to get a good exposure. You'll either have to slow the shutter or bump the ISO higher (or maybe a bit of both) if you find yourself shooting games near dusk or under the lights.

I use AI servo most of the time, all focal points (I'm using a 40D and an XT). IS never seemed to help me when I was shooting action, so I usually shut it off. The idea is to use a shutter speed that's fast enough to eliminate blur, so IS doesn't really come in handy for me.

I shoot most of my sports with my 70-200mm f/4L.

Welcome to POTN. ChrisRabior offers some good advice. It should be repeated that IS will not help for sports. IS is so that you can still hand hold the camera at slow shutter speeds and not get blur from camera shake. If your subject is moving, it won't help. The only exception I have read about to this rule is when IS is used when panning, such as with motor sports although I never tried it.

My lens of choice for sports (because of cost) is the 70-200 f/2.8 and for daytime shots, I add the 1.4 Ex. My settings vary based on the lighting but I never go below 1/400 on the shutter. You really need to pay attention to the way the sun hits the field. At some games you may have to constantly make adjustments based on the light and shadows across the field. When shooting in a gym, I use an 85 f/1.8 and shoot at f/2.2

I also use AI servo but only the center focus point. I would hate for the camera to focus on a player that may be a bit closer to me but not in the play and then the players I'm shooting become OOF if the camera fails to focus on them also.

Blurry shots are almost always a result of shutter speed not being fast enough.

I would disagree with the 1/200 statement and suggest 1/500 or higher... especially at 300mm. Really 1/1000 should be easy to attain during the daylight even at 5.6. Bump the ISO as needed.

Also, since your a beginner I would suggest AV over Manual. Start there and work towards being able to use manual. Just be prepared to adjust the exposure compensation depending on the sun.

wow, thank you all for your input... i can't wait to get back out on the field this weekend. Hopefully i will have some nice pics to share

Granted he uses a 1D Mark III, but Gavin shoots a lot at high ISO & provides fun captions as well. The first & many other images are at ISO Speed Ratings = 1600!
The week's sporting events in images...

The exif info is in his images.

I shoot quite a bit of professional football (soccer) here in the UK. My advice is to use as high a shutter as possible (min 400) and alter your ISO to achieve it. Aperture should ideally be about f4 to help blur those backgrounds but you wont get that with the 75-300 unless at the widest point. AI servo is a must with center spot focus. Then practice, practice and practice more!

ok, the results are in. After heeding everyone's advice and a new lens to boot, i was out on the soccer field again today. I'm very happy with the images, especially the intensity that is reflected on the kid's faces. Let me know what you think.