diping my toe into sports

[donlfaulkner]

One of my granddaughters had a game so I shot my first volleyball game Monday night. With my inexperience, the low light and the fast pace of the game, I feel fortunate to get the shots I did get.

My 75-300 lens will only open to f5.6 and I should probably have tried a higher shutter speed. I started shooting from the front row bleachers, then moved to the top row.

Did a lot of post processing to bring up the exposure and reduce the grain. I would love a faster lens but the wallet says "no way", so I use what I have and strive for the best.

Any advice or comments will be greatly appreciated.

[MT Stringer]

Don an 85 f/1.8 or a 100 f/2 will help out a lot. But you probably also need ISO 3200 capability so you can get your shutter speed higher. Photography wise, some gyms are just plain dark.

[donlfaulkner]

Mike, I would love to have a faster lens but it is not in the budget right now. My Rebel only goes to 1600 asa. so I'm playing with exposure compensation to see what that buys me if anything. Noise is a problem so I will be trying High ISO noise reduction to see what that will do for or against me.

Gyms don't seem so dark until one tries to photograph in them. Then all kinds of problems come to light (no pun intended).

[MT Stringer]

I hear ya. Sometimes I try to shoot the person serving when they pause just before pitching the ball in the air. A lot of them kinda pose (pause) for a second. Another times, you can shoot static shots of defensive and offensive stances when they aren't moving. Hopefully you will get a few more keepers.

Note: Even shooting at f/2, I lose quiet a few because the depth of field is so shallow that is is hard for the camera to lock focus, even on the 1D MK III.

[donlfaulkner]

Another thing I noticed is that I need to slow down and plan my shots better and not try to get all the action.

I shot 209 photos with only 71 keepers (because it was Granddaughters team). There was only one or two semi good shots out of the whole bunch.

I need LOTS of practice!!

[texkam]

I have a lot of respect for sports shooters.

[donlfaulkner]

Me too! It's not as easy as they make it look.

[Tom]

Pretty much no sports shooters deserve respect.

I actually think Volleyball is harder to shoot than football. Lots of people, small space, big net in the middle of everything as well as judges on the sides of it and the court is always crazy dark.

I would try to get on the side of the ref and shoot through the net some. Or just wait for her to rotate to the back so you can go for some dig/serve shots.

That said, I have shot volleyball once and thought so well of my pics that I never even edited a single one.

[arich]

FWIW, I like to shoot vb from all 4 corners of the bleachers, meaning, floor level left and right and then also near the top left and right.

From floor just off of center court you can shoot through the net for stuff like this


High corners can give you this


I also really like shooting from the baseline because then you can get more depth with the defenders OOF and the hitter sharp

[donlfaulkner]

OK, confession time. I have never really liked sports before. The games are interesting to watch but I'm not overly enthusiastic about any sport especially professional sports.

I prefer to watch the kids, from High school down. I think they put more heart into playing the various games. So I watched my children as they were growing up and now the grand-kids and great-grand kids.

But I am ignorant of most of the rules and strategies of play and ignorant of most of the terms. But I have gotten hooked on photographing them.

I figure wherever the ball is, that is were the action is going to be. The ball is hard to keep up with but with practice I should learn to stay with it. Some of the terms I have been able to decipher and some I'm still in the dark about but I'm learning.

Thanks so much for your comments and help.

[wondershots]

Originally Posted by donlfaulkner

...
I figure wherever the ball is, that is were the action is going to be. ...

True sometimes but I've found figuring out where the ball is GOING to be will get you some great shots. Hard at first but after watching a bunch and studying whatever sport it is can get you there.

[donlfaulkner]

Originally Posted by wondershots

True sometimes but I've found figuring out where the ball is GOING to be will get you some great shots. Hard at first but after watching a bunch and studying whatever sport it is can get you there.

Now that is going to require me to actually think!!

[garykohs]

Don,

I'd really recommend searching for a good used 40D or 50D since you like sports shooting.

Until then consider shooting raw and "pushing" your ISO to 3200. Shoot at 1600 and set exposure compensation to -1. Then open your shots in a raw processing program - Canon's or something like the free Raw Therapee - and process at +1. Give it a shot and see how it works. It should at least be fun to try!

Do you have a 50/1.8 or similar? Ask if it's OK to shoot on the sideline and give that 50mm a try at f2.8.

[donlfaulkner]

Originally Posted by garykohs

Don,

I'd really recommend searching for a good used 40D or 50D since you like sports shooting.

Until then consider shooting raw and "pushing" your ISO to 3200. Shoot at 1600 and set exposure compensation to -1. Then open your shots in a raw processing program - Canon's or something like the free Raw Therapee - and process at +1. Give it a shot and see how it works. It should at least be fun to try!

Do you have a 50/1.8 or similar? Ask if it's OK to shoot on the sideline and give that 50mm a try at f2.8.

Unfortunantly I'm at a point where I can't afford to spend anything more on this hobby . So, I'll have to get all the mileage I can out of what I have. I have a 50/2.0 but it has a Minolta MD mount on it. And film means more money spent.

[auddii]

Originally Posted by donlfaulkner

Unfortunantly I'm at a point where I can't afford to spend anything more on this hobby . So, I'll have to get all the mileage I can out of what I have. I have a 50/2.0 but it has a Minolta MD mount on it. And film means more money spent.

They do make converters for old lenses for new cameras. They are fairly inexpensive (I think mine was less than $20 on ebay), but I definitely understand that sometimes $5 is more than you can afford. Good luck with improving your skills with what you have!