Volleyball. First time ever with a dslr.

My first time ever using a dslr. Nikon d3400 with kit lenses. Tried shooting without settings at first, but ended up shooting in sports mode.

I would shoot Manual mode with auto ISO.

Welcome! You're in the right place. You've done a good job for your first time with a dslr. Your timing is excellent and you've captured good action. Well done.

As you continue to shoot volleyball, there are some things you will want to know. I've compiled my list of those ideas at this site:

http://zivnuska.zenfol​io.com/blog

Give it a try. I believe that you will find some good techniques there.

Phil Zivnuska

Ah-keong wrote in post #18663777
I would shoot Manual mode with auto ISO.

That's just another auto mode. It's not as if the light at the net is changing, is it? But white shirts vs dark shirts will result in different exposures.
Manual by itself gives the best results & makes post production much easier. My experience & some links: Some Volley Ball Tournament Tests **56K Warning!**

PhotosGuy wrote in post #18663841
That's just another auto mode. It's not as if the light at the net is changing, is it? But white shirts vs dark shirts will result in different exposures.
Manual by itself gives the best results & makes post production much easier. My experience & some links: Some Volley Ball Tournament Tests **56K Warning!**

true also. for me, depending on the ambient exposure and the lights positioning. different frames would expose differently, I would then adjust the exposure compensation accordingly based on the exposure of the different frames.

PhotosGuy wrote in post #18663841
That's just another auto mode. It's not as if the light at the net is changing, is it?

I know you said it in jest.. but in some of the gyms my son has played basketball in... YES!

PhotosGuy wrote in post #18663841
That's just another auto mode. It's not as if the light at the net is changing, is it? But white shirts vs dark shirts will result in different exposures.
Manual by itself gives the best results & makes post production much easier. My experience & some links: Some Volley Ball Tournament Tests **56K Warning!**

What he said, almost I am very partial to ETTR(Expose To The Right) in manual mode. Just expose for the bright colors(white) and everything else will fall into place. Manual mode and RAW make post-processing a breeze.

CheleA wrote in post #18664842
What he said, almost I am very partial to ETTR(Expose To The Right) in manual mode. Just expose for the bright colors(white) and everything else will fall into place. Manual mode and RAW make post-processing a breeze.

The Ref's white shirt works well for that! ; )

Noitca wrote in post #18664609
I know you said it in jest.. but in some of the gyms my son has played basketball in... YES!

I've experienced that. Crappy old lights cycling in intensity, color temp, and tint make for some post processing work to even things out.

Yep, sometimes post is the only way to fix it.

One gym my son plays in, there are lights out around in some areas. Lights on in others. Windows up high on the walls so day games there is a bright sunny spot on the court. So following across the 1/2 court you can easily go from close to properly exposed, to a stop or more under to just completely blown out.

My first tip is one that is applicable to all of sports photography: Shoot tight, crop tighter. Players not involved in the action are merely observers. Crop them out to the extent possible. In this case, the people at and behind the scorer's table don't add anything to the image. Consider shooting in the portrait orientation for this shot of the setter.

Phil

so crop out the hitter and blur the scores and misc people behind her? These are just as they were taken off the camera. What editing software is the easiest to use?

I will check it out. High school season is coming so ill be able to get a higher perspective in most gyms.

It just seemed when i was in manual the shots were way to dark and too blurry. Im sure that alot of that has to do with the kit lens not being fast tenough

braban11 wrote in post #18665725
It just seemed when i was in manual the shots were way to dark and too blurry. Im sure that alot of that has to do with the kit lens not being fast tenough

Yeah kit lenses will usually kill you for indoor sports. I use a 70-200 f2.8 and wouldn't want anything slower. You images don't show exif data. What aperture, speed, ISO were these shot at?

In manual mode, the camera does just what you tell it to. If they were dark and blurry, its because you underexposed and chose too slow of a shutter speed. I've never shot volleyball, but I have shot little kids basketball and soccer indoors. I don't go below 1/500' and even that doesn't 100% freeze action. You'll probably want to be closer to 1/1000' with high schoolers unless you want to show motion blur on the extremities.