Basics of shooting sports???? Help.

[txphotog]

The main thing in shooting sports besides camera settings is understanding the sport and the rules of each. For example when shooting baseball knowing when a double play is a possiblity helps you prepare for that shot.

[humminboid]

It realy helps to keep it simple, so you are not having to think of things in the midst of the action. Standardize!

Camera ALWAYS set on predictive/continuous autofocus.

A buddy and I were photographing a sports car race, and he was complaining that his new camera was blowing out the backgrounds. I suggested he try matrix /evaluative metering, which he apparently had never heard of. The light dawned! He was one surprised and happy dude!

RTFM (Read the friendly manual!) But NOTat the game! Take it with, tho, so in the gravest extreme it can be referred to. Or, make a notebook with pertinent info entered.

Aperture priority, and let the camera pick the shutter speed. If the light is too low, might not work. Pre-experiment: Your camera wants you to get to know it!

The BIG game is not where you want to be fussing around with settings, etc. To quote another member "That's a booger!" And it are! Write yourself a note, and post it where you can refer to it early and often!
Masking tape on the back of the camera comes to mind.

ISO up to ~400, and in extreme cases 800.

Your 200mm lens will give you ~ a 1.5-1.6 X factor, or 300-320 mm equivalent, so take that into consideration when choosing shutter speeds...as was mentioned, shutter no lower than the focal length or equivalent you are shooting. 300mm= 1/300 sec. or faster.

Monopods promote steadiness, but need some getting used to. Don't ask how I know this!

Between the action, the cheerleaders are always good subjects to practice on, and very pleasant to look at!

Whatever the conditions, even if your camera is telling you to go home, keep trying, till you know it is hopeless.

If all else fails, switch to Manual mode, and shoot away. Coach Lombardi was right: the second effort sometimes does pay off!

Practice, practice, practice, and above all, BE THERE!

[tri]

i shoot as wide open as possible, and try to keep my shutter speeds fast enough to not worry about motion blur without getting too fast like 1/4000 where pictures look funny. dont worry about ISO as honestly i think iso 1600 still looks great

[iCe]

Originally Posted by tri

i shoot as wide open as possible, and try to keep my shutter speeds fast enough to not worry about motion blur without getting too fast like 1/4000 where pictures look funny. dont worry about ISO as honestly i think iso 1600 still looks great