Sports photography is one of the most difficult challenges for an amateur photographer, even for an expert photographer. We have all ever tried to make a photo session in a stadium or sports center and we have been frustrated after seeing how almost all of our photos have been blurred, moved or out of focus. A disaster. Here I propose a series of tips and tricks with which you can improve your technique and get sport photographs with a decent minimum level .
TIP 1: USE LONG-DISTANCE FOCAL LENSES
TIP 2: LIGHT, LIGHT, LOTS OF LIGHT It's hard to get a good sport picture without a good specialized objective. These objectives tend to have a slightly high price, everything must be said, but if you plan to dedicate yourself to this frequently, I recommend that you invest something that money in one of these objectives, it will be worth it and you will notice much the difference. Here we need what is called telephoto lens, lenses with a long focal length , you will need something about 200mm minimum . If you can reach 300mm better. And if it can be more, even better. These long focal distances allow you, from the comfort of the stands or the bench or where you are sitting, "chase" the subject without the least effort. You can do all the zoom you need and you will not feel the limitation of the usual 18-55mm lens. In the search for that ideal goal, he also tries to have as generous a diaphragm opening as possible . A large opening will allow the entry of more light and will help you achieve more sharpness. Remember that the larger the aperture of a smaller objective is the f / value of it. For example, an objective of f / 2.8 has a much larger aperture than one of f / 3.5 where it is smaller, and so ... Let me warn you that the size of the aperture greatly increases the objectives, so be careful with this point, Rate the investment, assess how often you will take these types of photos, and make a decision.TIP 3: WITHOUT STABILIZER NO
Normally over long focal distances (100, 200mm) the photo tends to be blurred and moved. The explanation behind that is very complicated for the case, but it is convenient that you know that in that type of focal lengths that are those used for sports photography, it is convenient that the objective is equipped with image stabilizer . The image stabilizer is a button or function that helps make the photo less moving. It does not always eliminate vibration, but at least it helps to avoid it. In Nikon this function is called VR and you will find it in the target. In Canon it is called IS. If your SLR camera is Sony or Pentax, it is most likely that it has an image stabilizer already built into the camera body.TIP 4: MANUAL OR SEMI-MANUAL
TIP 5: FAST, ALWAYS FAST
In photography if you want to freeze the moment and get clear photos you have to use fast shooting speeds . It's what sport has, that everyone moves fast and if you don't use fast shutter speeds you run the risk of getting blurred and blurred photos. My advice is that in sports never shoot below speeds of 1 / 300s.TIP 6: HIGH ISO, BUT CAREFULLY
Following my previous advice of shooting very fast, depending on the light conditions and the type of lens you use, the photos may come out dark. In that case you can fiddle a bit with the ISO sensitivity of your camera, but do it very carefully, since the higher the ISO sensitivity, the greater the noise (grains) will appear in the photo. ISO 200 test, ISO 400 test, and so on, until you reach a value where the photo is bright enough but without the damn noise that spoils them.TIP 7: AUTO FOCUS
If in a match or competition you intend to take pictures in manual focus mode you can go crazy. I recommend that you use the autofocus of your camera , since it is fast, autonomous and most of the time is right.TIP 8: SHOOT IN BURST MODE
If you flip a little in your camera's menu you will find something called "Shooting modes" , set it to the "Burst Shot" mode , so you can take 3, 4 or 5 consecutive pictures every time you press the shutter button. So you make sure that of the 3 or 5 photos surely some decent you will get.TIP 9: PHOTOGRAPHING SPORTS IS ITSELF A SPORT TOO
In a sports photography session, shooting everything from the same point of view ends up getting bored. You will get all the same photos and also you will end up frustrating sometimes seeing how some players cover the main subject you are trying to photograph. Instead, better move from time to time and change your perspective . If you have that facility, approach the players and shoot closely, then try 18mm panoramas for example, and so on. Go changing position and you will see how no photo will be similar to another. Move constantly and stay in each place about 5 or 10 minutes, before changing your perspective again. If you combine these tips with a dash of creativity you can get stunning photographs. Remember to always be creative, capture scenes from new angles, for example shooting from the ground, or from a rare corner. You will see what results you will get. As always, if this article has been useful to you, do not hesitate to recommend it to others. I will be very grateful