Photographing sports …help

[Lavenderhill]

I am going to watch an ice hockey game for the first time this Saturday (Guildford Fames at Guildford) so of course I’ll be taking my camera along.
I have never attended any sports let alone try to capture the action, so it will be a first for me and I’d love some help and advice.

My camera is the 5DIV, and I possess 50mm, 100mm, 24-105 and a 100-400.

The 24-105 is the lens permanently on the camera, will this be sufficient or should I use one of the other lenses?
what settings would be appropriate for an indoor ice hockey match?
& how do I try to take action shots in such a fast moving game?

All help and guidance will be most gratefully received.

I look to post the results of the outing next week……providing of course I actually manage to take any pics!

Rose.

[Claire Barrett]

Hi Rose, there's an article on the EOS mag website with some tips on capturing action, which you might find useful:

https://www.eos-magazine.com/articles/technique/shutter-speeds-action-photography.html

Case settings are also relevant when shooting fast-paced action. Case 5 is for subjects like figure skating:

https://www.eos-magazine.com/articles/camera-feature/case-settings.html

Hope that gives you some starting points!

Claire

[NathCarr91]

Hope you have a lot of fun at the ice hockey game Rose!

I don't shoot a lot of sports or fast moving stuff myself, just attempt it now again with varied results

I think i would definitely be staying in shutter priority for this if you're wanting some control over the exposure, and avoid manual. I'd probably a shutter speed of 1/1000th as a starting point and play around from there. I'd also be popping the camera onto AI focus or AI servo.

With lenses, I guess it depends on how far away your seat is, i would have thought the 24-105 would be good for it. If you have to use your 100 to 400 I'd maybe take a monopod with you for extra stability when tracking a player. It's something I've seen the British super bike photographers use when tracking racers. I'd probably leave the 100mm and the 50mm at home as your 24-105 covers both focal lengths.

If it was my first time doing this, I think I'd probably just shoot it in programme mode to be honest. Because the camera is going to do an amazing job of getting the exposure right without me having to really worry about much, giving me the time to compose and focus on what I want to capture, especially being a first time. Personally I think I'd miss more shots than I would get, trying to alter settings etc. If it's in programme as well you could always take a mental note of what the camera is setting and see if it's using similar settings all the time and that will give you a starting point for manual controls. Secondly using programme and allowing the camera to do pretty much most of the work, gives me more time to enjoy the game too.

Plus there's nothing wrong with shooting in Programme or Auto. After all, the cameras are built to take great pictures on their own really. Hope this gives you some ideas.

Look forward to seeing the results

Nathan

[Lavenderhill]

Thank you Claire and Nathan for your help and advice, it is very useful indeed.
I have been getting my camera settings ready for the game tomorrow and will count myself fortunate if I come away with one decent shot.

I'll post the best of the photos next week hopefully.

Thanks again and wish me luck!

Rose

[Daisy M]

Rose, I have no idea about settings, lens etc. but one practical problem I can think of is that the arena is walled with plexiglass which may not be that clean and scratched. So I think you may need to find a clean/clear section, or be higher in the seats to be able to see over it. Dave

[Brian Sugden]

All good advice, however the only thing I would add is don't forget to return your camera to your original settings when you get home. Been there and got the T shirt!! I hope you have a great time.

[Coolcat]

Hi Rose,
Your lens choice should be dictated by the distance you are from the action.
If you are ringside then your 24-105 would probably suffice. If you are up in the stands then your 100-400 would no doubt be the better bet.
I wouldn't worry about taking your two prime lenses as those focal lengths are covered by your zoom lenses and it is unlikely you need to shoot wide open .
I personally would shoot in shutter priority and adjust the speed to freeze the fast moving action. Your camera can then select the aperture and iso to balance the exposure.
You would be wise to put continuous autofocus on and select a single point or expanded focus point to and try to get the focus point over the subject. You could if you wish select a burst mode to help nail the shot(s) Just remember if you do that you will have a lot of photos to trawl through afterwards.

Edit.....I have just noticed that your photoshoot was yesterday so .....Hope it went well, however you shot it