Sport/action shot tips.

[Mike H]

Hi guys, been taking some action shots, just wondering if anyones got any tips on taking shots of say football... and common settings that work well?

Any help appreciated... I had my first bash last weekend whilst out injured, and whilst some came out good, a lot were out of focus, or the focal point was not where I wanted it to be. Do I need to centre the focal point in the display and shoot centrally?

Any advice is appreciated.

[Tweedie]

I was told by a friend that he uses Continuous shooting mode to do any sort of sports/fast moving objects. He does pictures of Birds of Prey and he uses AV mode and just mess's with the F-Stop to get the images right.

Don't know if you are already doing this, its just what he has told me ;)

Take a look at his site.

http://urban-photography.co.uk/

[Tweedie]

I think this is one of the best ones of a bird he has taken.

http://www.urban-photography.co.uk/thumbs/lrg-637-103.jpg

[Mike H]

Thanks mate, I used it on AV at the weekend, I did have problems because the sun kept going in, and coming out.

[Tweedie]

No worries, I need to get abit and take some more piccies soon. You ever go out just let me know. I could do with the practice fella. ;)

[LM]

Sy's probably the one for this dude, allthough I'd use the center focal point, use AI SERVO so it tracks the players, and continuous burst shooting. I'd also be tempted to use a wide aperture and a decent shutter speed to freeze the action and give some good DOF.

That's just how i'd go about it though.

[Mike H]

^^
That's what I'm looking for mate... I shall try that next time.

[LM]

No problemo.

What's the range on your lens, is it f/4 - f/5.6?

[Mike H]

Dunno without looking mate. sorry.

[Jaffa]

Hi guys, been taking some action shots, just wondering if anyones got any tips on taking shots of say football... and common settings that work well?

Any help appreciated... I had my first bash last weekend whilst out injured, and whilst some came out good, a lot were out of focus, or the focal point was not where I wanted it to be. Do I need to centre the focal point in the display and shoot centrally?

Any advice is appreciated.

Code for "I want to take pictures of young girls on the swings but keep getting a blur".

[LM]

Dunno without looking mate. sorry.

I don't think it'll be lower than f/4 at the wider end, IIRC it's f/4-5.6.

What mm were you sticking around, if you can remember?

Shooting at something like f/4 with a decent shutter speed should see you some nicely frozen action shots with good DOF to focus the eye on the subject rather than the background, but you'll only get f/4 at the wider end (nearer 70mm).

EDIT - Taking the ISO up a little bit will help your shutter speed too, if the weathers looking grim.