Plz Help With Evening Soccer pics-pics attached

Good evening.

I always struggle with shooting soccer in the evening hours. This game was tonight at 6:15pm. I think I might know what I did wrong but I'm not sure. None of the pictures are crisp and I think it was because of my settings. I was shooting in TV mode, the ss was 1/2000 (if I dial down to 1/1600 on a sunny day, it's still blurry), f2.8, ISO 125. I never know what to use for settings when the sun starts to go down. Should I have lowered my aperture instead of still trying to shoot at 2.8 with less than sunny conditions? What would your settings have been? Towards the end, I raised the ISO to 400 but it didn't seem to matter.

I'm attaching a few photos to show you what I mean. Any help would be appreciated as we will have several evening soccer games this season. I used my Sigma 70-200 f2.8 and the 30D.

Thanks for looking and I appreciate all the feedback I know I will receive .

1.

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They look pretty darn crisp to me. Only thing I see wrong is maybe over sharpening & the horizons aren't straight.

Try closing the aperture a bit, usually lenses perform better at a more closed aperture (usually around F8-F12) such as F4.

These look good too me as well. I have used the Sigma 70-200 2.8 in the past and I would agree stopping this lens down a bit yields some great results.

Thanks proctorr...I guess I was hoping for results like these from my first game.https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=374779. They aren't as sharp and colorful and I was wondering what settings to use in low light.

Nicmo - I will try stopping down a bit for Saturday to see what results I yield.

Thank you both for answering.

Karman

The first two are great shots and I don't think you've got anything to worry about .

That said, you can try to to increase the sharpness by using a tripod/monopod and stopping down the aperture a little. If you find that stopping down causes your exposure time to lengthen too much (i.e. too much motion blur) then increase the ISO to compensate.

Also, the other shots you linked to look like they were taken earlier in the day when the sun was much brighter. These will automatically have brighter colours and better sharpness due to the sunlight.

Those are fine shots. The daytime shots you compare them to are in some ways not as good, due to the shadows on the player's faces.

I really like your low shooting angle.

I'd guess that at this age, any shutter speed faster than 1/500 is not necessary to freeze the action. If you've got that kind of shutter speed then the only thing a support system (monopod) gets you is less arm fatigue. You could make a few trade-offs - up the ISO to 400 or 800, stop down to f4 for a touch more depth-of-field, and shoot Av.

qtaran111 - thank you. You know, I ran out of the house and left the monopod right on the table. I will bring it for sure next time. I will stop down a bit next time before trying anything else to see what they look like. I will then increase the ISO if there is too much blur.

DavidEB - I sit right on the ground with these guys. They are 9 years old but I find that when I stand, I don't like the angle...they look so small. You know what, whenever I try a ss of even 1/1600, I get motion blur. These boys are quick. I've tried shooting in AV before and maybe I need to revisit it. I didn't get as many keepers with AV as I do with TV but that was last season. I've learned so much more since then, maybe I will give it a go.

Thanks to you both for the suggestions. Won't be leaving home without the monopod anymore.

Karman

There is nothing wrong with those shots! 1 and 2 work great.

It looks as though you've got it right..........keep snapping.

I wish I could get results like these! I like all three of them.

If you're not satisfied with these, then you're too critical of your own work IMO . #2 is an exceptionally good photo and one most pros would be proud of. AV is preferred to TV mode for sports because it allows you to control background blur and subject isolation. As for other settings, most glass has a sweet spot and it's usually not wide open so stopping down a bit will probably yield the sharpest images. Sometimes it's difficult to distinguish between motion blur and camera shake but 1/1600 should stop all motion blur except perhaps a very fast moving ball. You can minimize the possibility of camera shake by using a monopod and resting the elbow of your camera holding hand on something substantial like a fence post, rail, wall or even your knees if you're sitting down. As for dealing with the setting sun, you'll probably get the best results by dialing ISO up as ambient light deminishes. Some general settings suggestions would be aperture at or below f/4, shutter speed around 1/1600 and whatever ISO you need to get good exposures with these settings. As the sun begins to fade, dial ISO up until you're begining to get into an area of unacceptable noise, then start slowing your shutter speed until you're aproaching a speed that won't stop subject motion, then start opening aperture. When you get to the point when ISO pegs or exceeds your acceptable level of noise, you're wide open and your shutter speed is below 1/500 you probably won't get very many keepers and your best bet might be to pack your gear away and enjoy watching your son play.

fslshooter wrote in post #3929055
If you're not satisfied with these, then you're too critical of your own work IMO . #2 is an exceptionally good photo and one most pros would be proud of. AV is preferred to TV mode for sports because it allows you to control background blur and subject isolation. As for other settings, most glass has a sweet spot and it's usually not wide open so stopping down a bit will probably yield the sharpest images. Sometimes it's difficult to distinguish between motion blur and camera shake but 1/1600 should stop all motion blur except perhaps a very fast moving ball. You can minimize the possibility of camera shake by using a monopod and resting the elbow of your camera holding hand on something substantial like a fence post, rail, wall or even your knees if you're sitting down. As for dealing with the setting sun, you'll probably get the best results by dialing ISO up as ambient light deminishes. Some general settings suggestions would be aperture at or below f/4, shutter speed around 1/1600 and whatever ISO you need to get good exposures with these settings. As the sun begins to fade, dial ISO up until you're begining to get into an area of unacceptable noise, then start slowing your shutter speed until you're aproaching a speed that won't stop subject motion, then start opening aperture. When you get to the point when ISO pegs or exceeds your acceptable level of noise, you're wide open and your shutter speed is below 1/500 you probably won't get very many keepers and your best bet might be to pack your gear away and enjoy watching your son play.

That's excellent advice. Thanks for sharing that. I'll try it next time I go watch a game.

Thank you everyone. I have been told that I am my worst critic and I guess so. I'm working on that. I have to say that the 2nd picture is my favorite that I have taken of him so far. I got eyes, ball, focus is pretty much on and it's good action. His mom loves it too! Thanks fslshooter for your advice. Hopefully I will be better prepared for the next evening soccer game. All of your suggestions make sense to me which is good which means that I'm totally understanding and I will retain it. I started upping my ISO but I didn't adjust my ss which I should have.

Thanks ducko. I continue to learn and getter better with the help of this site and lots of practice. Lots and lots of practice (ha).

Well, the next two games are Saturday but they are morning games so I will have a whole other set of issues (ha).

Thanks again everyone.

Karman