question about sports photography

when wanting to get a specific shot like a goal or touchdown as its happening with a telephoto lens

do you frame the shot and allow the action to come into the frame

or

follow the action and start snapping when it comes to where you want it.

thanks

I follow the action. If I was to wait for it to come into frame I might never actually get any shots.

Agreed. Follow the action. But dont pray and spray..

I am always tracking the shot. hardest part is trying to stay zoomed out far enough that is doesnt over fill the frame when the decisive moment finally arrives. Remember easy to crop impossible to shrink. Also try to teach yourself to look at the bigger picture with the other eye ( both eyes open )until time to frame the shot. Takes some practice but helps locate the action faster.

It takes planning and forethought to get the shots you speak of. I'm still learning and not being very successful. For example: I'd like to get a really good shot of a touchdown in football. To me, this means getting the ball carrier in the endzone WITH the ball AND his face. It also should include the orange pylons AND a referee signaling touchdown.

This is where the planning comes into play. Where can I position myself to get all the elements into the pic? Probably 3/4 across the back endzone line (to get the orange pylon on the far side of the field and a referee signaling TD). The other parts are easy. Should be able to get the runner with the ball in the endzone, but maybe not the ball AND his face. However, the player will ultimately turn himself toward HIS bench (side of the field) after a TD so I'll choose to setup on that side of the field which SHOULD give me the best shot of the player's face.

I've tried this recipe a few times and gotten some, but not all of the elements in a single shot this season. In 14 games! Sometimes you're limited to where you can go on a field which ultimately dictates what you'll get as well.

Best thing I can say is to think about what you want and position yourself in a spot that gives you the best oppty to get the shot. Good luck. Shooting live sports can be predictable and very UNpredicatable all at the same time!

dave

I agree to follow the action to a point. Scott has some good advice when he says to keep both eyes open and watch the play develop.

You need to anticipate the play and see where it is going to get those great shots. If your left eye is shut and your right eye is buried in the VF trying to follow the ball, you'll miss a lot of shots. If you're watching the play and notice that the QB is looking at a certain receiver, you'll want to find out where that receiver is at and get ready to train the camera on them. If you wait until the WB throws, you won't be able to keep up with the ball and get that big catch. I

f you anticipate where the action is going to happen, you'll be able to track the receiver before the ball gets there and have a much better chance on getting the shot in focus and capture that peak action.

thanks a lot for the quick response everyone and for the good advice

Depends on the situation.
For most plays, (like your goal or touchdown examples) follow the action is my personal approach ... but there are instances where I frame the shot before action.

In tackle football kickoffs, I typically focus and frame based on the position of the ball on the tee and wait for the kicker to step into the shot. Same for a goalie kick in soccer.

There are many instances in baseball and softball photography where I prefer to focus & frame first.
To get a batter's swing, I focus & frame on the batter with one eye in the viewfinder, keeping the other eye open so the pitcher is in the corner of view. This way, I can watch the pitch and shoot based on my own timing as if I were trying to hit the pitch with the shutter button.
To cover fielders, I often frame them during warm-ups and shoot when the infield warm-up cycle sends the ball their way.
If there's a prime stealing situation, (especially if I've already got swing shots of the current batter) I tend to frame around the base closest to the stealing runner in case the pitcher attempts a pick-off. Lot's of great slide-play opportunities there. (If the runner makes a move to steal, there may be enough time to frame and focus at the play)

It's easy to get caught up in "taking pictures" during a game. Always try to be aware of the situation, which seems to be what you are doing. Third and long-watch the receivers. Third and short-look up the middle. You can't always guess right but playing the odds helps for me.

95% of the time I follow the play.

The few instances where I pre-focus and pre-compose for a shot are for predictable/predictive shots like football kickoff, field goal, extra point, etc.

Or in volleyball when I want to get a tight shot of someone receiving a serve... you have to guess which player will be getting the ball, but it happens enough times in a game that you can afford to guess wrong half of the time. But if you tried to follow the serve across court, then zoom and focus, it'd be a lot tougher.

Most of my ball-on-bat captures came while pre-focused on the batter, then watching the pitcher with my open eye... once you see the pitch delivery, it's easy to time when to snap the shutter. If you wait until you see the batter swing, it's too late.

oomus wrote in post #8982435
Also try to teach yourself to look at the bigger picture with the other eye ( both eyes open )until time to frame the shot. Takes some practice but helps locate the action faster.

It also helps avoid a headache from squeezing one eye shut for an hour and a half.

I am with Clarence on this one. It depends on the sport. In American football, you have no idea where they will cross the line. On the other hand, for the other football played around the world, you know where the goal is, and hence why you see so many remote camera shots. Same works for a ton of sports. Baseball, Basketball and track are a few more you can pre-setup and shoot remotely or from a fixed location There is no answer that applies to all sports. Most pros will use a combination of them given the sport - basketball being a prime example.

I think it depends on the sport and the situation. Tracking works for some things and particularly for football. In soccer, some of my best shot have been when I focus on the goalkeeper and simply start to shoot with the kick of the ball. Impossible if you were using film. The only issue is that shooting in RAW you cannot start to early or you will fill your buffer.