Need help shooting football games

[DeeInMS]

I need advise on an easy setting to use for night football games under the lights. I'm a very amateur photographer and not very good with manual settings so keep it simple. I have a Canon RebelXT 8mp with a 300mm lens, the only other accessory I have is a monopod.

Not trying to shoot a whole game just get a few decent action shots of my son.


Thanks !!!!

 

[ukcatfan]

Please give more specifics on the lens and on the conditions of the game. If it is under lights compared to daylight will make a huge difference on recommendations.

 

[Experiment_626]

Please give more specifics on the lens and on the conditions of the game. If it is under lights compared to daylight will make a huge difference on recommendations.

I agree. If we're talking about high school football, it is almost always played at night. Most high school stadiums (and even major college stadiums for that matter) aren't very well-illuminated for photography, but it can be done.

Where will you be for shooting at the games? Can you get access to the sidelines? And what position(s) does your son play?

I used to shoot high school football for a newspaper, so I might be able to provide some help -- even though I did my shooting on film.

SSB

 

[Master Mason]

If it is anything like what I shoot for football, your going to want to go to AV mode, bump the ISO to 1600 open the apeture all the way, Then check your speed your getting. You can use the compensation to basically get an extra stop and then adjust it back in post processing if you need to.

That 300 lens though is not very fast especially at the 300 end.

Here are the ones I took at last friday nights game
http://gregghall.smugmug.com/gallery/5915070_vc9bu/1/368289508_sAKy5

 

[Steve's Girl]

You should still be able to get some daylight in the first quarter or two. Shoot as much as you can while you still have daylight. (later in the season, this will not be the case.) That is so much easier than shooting under the lights. The metering can get a bit tricky then. Personally, for sports, I like to use shutter priority to make sure my shutter speed is fast enough to stop the action. But, that is just my preference.

 

[handicap18]

If it is anything like what I shoot for football, your going to want to go to AV mode, bump the ISO to 1600 open the apeture all the way, Then check your speed your getting. You can use the compensation to basically get an extra stop and then adjust it back in post processing if you need to.

That 300 lens though is not very fast especially at the 300 end.

Here are the ones I took at last friday nights game
http://gregghall.smugmug.com/gallery/5915070_vc9bu/1/368289508_sAKy5

This is pretty much what I would say. The widest aperture is probably f/5.6. Not great, but you have to work with what you have.

I would use your monopod too. This will help keep the camera steady and take away blurred pics from camera shake.

Also what Steve's Girl said is good too. Start early and get what you can with as much available light.

Try to get shots while he is lined up or in between plays or in the huddle so movement is less. Try to anticipate the action ahead of time. The more you do it the better the shots will get as the season goes on.

If you can get wider shots than 300, then your aperture will open up a little. The closer to the field you can get, the better.

 

[DeeInMS]

Thanks for the advice so far. I will be taking them sitting in the stands or standing up on the rail. Not a big stadium so I usally can get them pretty close but they blur. I have been trying to get most of them in daylight but it seems that the most action happens at the end of the game. He plays DB by the way.....