Sports Photography

I need some quick advice for taking action shots indoors. I am a portrait photographer but am working on a year-long project in my hometown which includes as many people as I can capture within the next year. Sports photography is outside my level of experience. I have been taking action shots of my son who participates in track and field so I do have some experience in that arena (however, they are outdoors where lighting is not an issue). My other son participates in wrestling and I have managed to capture some very good images there too (they don't tend to move quickly). My problem lies in trying to get a good shot on the basketball court. I've been experimenting all season and Tuesday will be my last opportunity this season.

I use a D300 on manual exposure.....2000-3200 ISO, Aperture f11, shutter speed 1/250-320. I use a D600 speedlight (and diffuser) and an AF-S Nikkor 18-200mm 1:3.5-5:6G lens. I have switched back and forth between continuous focus and single focus. I have also played around with ISO and shutter speed.

My images are poorly lit, often out of focus (it seems like there is a big lag between the time I push the button and the time it takes the picture) and often blurry. If I do capture a good shot, there is too much noise. Any suggestions on what settings I should be in?

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Permalink Reply by Steve Barr on February 14, 2010 at 2:43pm

Renee, i only have limited experience of indoor sports photography but i suggest that you shoot in Raw format (if you don't already and edit with Photoshop or similar), plus keep your ISO as low as possible with a wide as possible aperture without inducing camera shake. The noise you get is from using ISO 2000-3000, your shutter speed seem ok, perhaps a little on the low side but using a wider aperture will help, ie trade your ISO and aperture selections(try f4 or f5.6 or f8. Hope this helps ! Steve.

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Permalink Reply by Sean on February 14, 2010 at 4:33pm

http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/04/on-assignment-prep-basketball.... this link is if you want to use multiple flashes set up around the gym.
For indoor sports.
I have a Canon and it has what is called servo on the AF so I am guessing your continuous is the same. I also use only one focus point. Less for the camera to try to figure out. Also, do not use manual in this situation if you are going to be zooming in and out, because your lens wide open will be different from wide to zoom. Use your shutter priority. The reasoning is that the action will be moving closer and further away from you and the light will be different. Let the camera figure that out for you. F11 is too tight of an aperture go with something around f/7 or lower, you do not need the entire court to be in focus on every shot.

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Permalink Reply by nathan mccreery on February 14, 2010 at 5:05pm

Renee,

I did sports at the beginning of my photographic journey. Most gyms, especially high school gyms in central Colorado, are lit like the inside of a coal mine so it will be difficult to get an exposure time fast enough to "stop" the action. I used film so there will be some differences. You might try using a very fast ASA (ISO for you youngsters) like 1200+. The key is in timing. You'll need to watch for the "decisive moment", such as the moment they tip the ball. In basketball try to position yourself on one end just to the side of the basket (refs may not like you there). Action moving toward you will have less of a tendency to blur than action side to side and you'll be able to use shorter lenses. As to the shutter lag, it is so annoying that it is beyond description, and my digital wondercamera has come close to being pitched out of frustration. Insofar as using a low ASA; it is almost impossible, unless you are using an external flash. It may be a situation where you have to live with the noise.

Remember one other thing. When you see the wonderful photographs in a publication like SI of the Lakers or the Celts or March Madness, they go into the gyms days ahead and light the whole arena with electronic flash on a remote sensor attached to their cameras. No way can even mid level universities do that so don't beat yourself up too badly. The other alternative is to use an on camera flash, like you would at a wedding, such as a big Sunpack or Metz. It isn't the best but you will get photographs that are usable.

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Permalink Reply by nathan mccreery on February 14, 2010 at 7:35pm

PS. I'd be interested in seeing how the work turns out. Sports is a difficult thing to do well.

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Permalink Reply by Renee Graner on February 14, 2010 at 9:08pm

I'm interested in doing RAW photography but as with everything I do, I need to research and experiment with it before I attempt it. If I had more time I would consider it (I'm scheduled for surgery on Wednesday and will be out of commission for 4-6 weeks).

I upped my ISO because of the poor lighting and went with the f11 to gain greater DOF (in case my subject moved outside of the auto focus range). Wish I had more time to experiment but I guess I will give manual focus a try with different settings and move into a shutter priority. We'll see what I can get Tuesday. If not, my project won't end until next December, so will have another basketball season.

I don't expect to take pictures like the sports mags, but would just like something acceptable. I submit a lot of images to the paper for publication when the photographer on staff is not available (he doesn't generally travel with the teams like I do because I still have children in the school system). While I am satisfied with my golf, track, football and wrestling images, I have yet to capture a decent basketball image. Would just like to be able to compete with him at least....

Thanks for all the good advice! Will post my images if I have something acceptable. Renee

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Permalink Reply by Sean on February 14, 2010 at 9:15pm

Stick with auto focus but just drop it down to one focal point. Manual focus would be impossible to do.

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Permalink Reply by Renee Graner on February 14, 2010 at 9:21pm

LOL! I don't see well enough to attempt manual focus!! I meant to say manual setting......

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Permalink Reply by Larry Van Valkenburgh on February 23, 2010 at 6:08am

Hi Renee
First Renee, is your speedlight a D600 or the Nikon SB600? That lens would not be my lens of choice for shooting what you are trying. I buy lenses with a constant aperture, not one that changes as you zoom in or out.
But going with what you have, lets start here.
Make sure your camera is set at constant autofocus.
Set your camera at ISO 800 and at shutter priority with your shutter speed at 250 and your speedlight turned on, take some test shots at different zoom ranges to see what you get for exposure.
You could also try ISO 800 and set at manual photography, with shutter speed at 250 and aperture at F3.5. Aperture will change as you zoom in and out, but your flash should be changing to compensate for that, as long as it's the SB600 flash and it's an ITTL flash.
Now also take notice of what your shutter button finger is doing while trying to shoot fast action. It may not always be staying in the autofocus position in between taking shots, which interrupts the continuous autofocus action.
In other words. you press for autofocus, then press down to shoot and release, but if you release too much, autofocus stops.
To compensate for this, when you grip your camera, near your thumb, there's a button that says AF-on. Hold that button down with your thumb and autofocus will operate continuously no matter what your shutter button finger is doing.
Try this info out and get back to me and let me know how things turned out.
The next thing would be to buy a faster lens and a more powerful flash.
I use faster lenses and a Metz handlemount CT60 flash. I would like to get the Metz 76 flash as it operates ITTL.

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Permalink Reply by Renee Graner on February 23, 2010 at 7:36pm

Too many letters in the alphabet.....I use an SB600.

As I have no desire to become a sports photographer, I'm stuck with the lens I have. I just needed a couple of good shots for a project I'm working on.

I started the night out on auto during the girls' varsity game. I was not happy with any of those shots. As soon as the boys' varsity game started I had switched to manual, however, the batteries on my SB600 went out and I left my bag with my husband as I moved around. (I had recent shoulder surgery and can't carry my backpack around) I took the flash off and used the on-camera flash. Was fairly happy with the shots I ended up with. I'm obviously not a professional sports photographer but I did get something I could use.

The first image was 1000 ISO, shutter at 1/250 and f/5.00
Second image was 1000 ISO, shutter at 1/250 and f/3.5
Third image was 1000 ISO, shutter at 1/250 and f/5.6

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Permalink Reply by Larry Van Valkenburgh on February 23, 2010 at 10:23pm

Nice Job!

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Permalink Reply by Larry Van Valkenburgh on February 23, 2010 at 6:29am

Oh, I need to add one more thing. Take the diffuser off your flash.

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Permalink Reply by Ed Harp on February 23, 2010 at 7:18am

I'm in the available light group here. I used to shoot with two cameras: 70-200mm f/2.8 on manual without a flash for mid court and far court shots and a 50mm f/1.8 for the closer shots. Used to shoot 1600 ISO at 250-500/sec. This was adequate in freezing motion. Cameras were set on Canon's AI-Servo shooting T90 body with T-Max 400 pushed two stops (1600 ISO). I guess this dates me, when I shot sports photography. I suspect similar results could be had though.

If I could position two opposing mono lights from balcony rail corner (larger gyms) or high in corners of a gym on the top bleachers (small gyms). Nice thing with digital is you can see your results unlike film capturing. This is an ideal lighting situation. You may not have this luxury.

You may be limited to just shoot on manual in the 1600 ISO range around shooting f/2.8-f/4 aperture with a 250-500/sec shutter speed. If you soot raw, you can change a lot without damaging the file too much.
Best regards on your sports photography,
Ed