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Genres in practice3 min read

LESSON 40

Sports and action

Fast shutters, long lenses, good spots.

IN THIS LESSON

  1. Where sports pictures go
  2. The kit, and why
  3. Freezing the moment
  4. In practice: reading the game

Where sports pictures go

Most professional sports photography is a branch of photojournalism and is made for editorial use, for newspapers, wire agencies and sports magazines. It is also used in advertising, to build a brand or promote a sport. Amateur sports pictures, such as children playing football, belong to everyday family photography. The skills overlap: anticipating the play, freezing it sharply, and placing yourself where the action will come to you. Professional photographers at big events often work from reserved positions close to the action, and some fix remote cameras in places they cannot stand, such as above a basketball hoop or at the finish line of a race.

The kit, and why

The source describes bodies with fast autofocus and high burst rates, typically 8 frames per second or faster, and interchangeable lenses from about 14 mm to 400 mm or longer. Sports favour fast telephoto lenses with wide apertures for three reasons: the background blurs and the athlete stands out, the lens focuses faster with more light coming in, and shorter shutter times become possible. Very wide apertures such as f/1.2 are used less, because the sharp zone gets so thin that focusing becomes harder. Outdoor sport tends to mean longer, slower lenses; indoor sport, shorter and faster ones. A monopod and spare batteries are standard.

Freezing the moment

To stop motion blur, sports photographers raise ISO so the shutter can be faster. The cost is more noise, which is why sport is easiest in daylight and why cameras with larger sensors, which handle high ISO better, are favoured. Choose the shutter for the speed of the action, not a fixed number. Use continuous autofocus so the camera keeps tracking a player who moves toward you. Lesson 52 explains the focus modes and how to separate focusing from the shutter button, which most action photographers do.

In practice: reading the game

This section is working practice. Know the sport before you shoot it. In football, stand near the goal the stronger team is attacking. In tennis, watch for the moment the ball meets the racket and the face is visible. In running, the peak of each stride shows the most effort. Prefocus on the spot the action will reach, such as the finish line, and start a short burst just before it arrives. Faces, emotion and contact tell more than the ball alone. After the whistle, keep shooting: celebrations and disappointment are often the best pictures of the day.

Try it today

  1. 01Go to a local match, a skate park or a running track.
  2. 02Set continuous autofocus and a shutter of at least 1/1000 second.
  3. 03Raise ISO until the exposure works at that speed, and accept some noise.
  4. 04Prefocus on one spot where the action will arrive, and shoot short bursts.
  5. 05Keep shooting for two minutes after the play ends.