SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY UNDER THE ROOF
In winter, many sports competitions and training are held under the roof, indoors. Basketball. Volleyball. Gymnastics. Of course, indoor sports are interesting for both participants and spectators. But let’s face it: shooting such a sporting event is not an easy task for a photographer. Quite often, you can even end up in a gym with such low light that even 1600 ISO will not give good results.
Let’s look at some of the nuances that should be considered when photographing sports in the room.
The first thing to remember when taking pictures in the gym is to keep a close eye on actions and movements. The plot of such mobile games as basketball or volleyball is constantly and rapidly developing, they are extremely dynamic. Your task is not just to capture the event itself, but rather to capture the connection between the players. This requires special skill and even instinct.
Adjust the high ISO value. The most advanced models of SLR cameras allow you to shoot about 1000-1250 units with ISO without noticeable graininess of images. Shoot at high shutter speeds of at least 1/200 if you can. You need to capture the action, a high shutter speed will freeze the movement of the athletes, thereby giving you a clear photo. And, if it comes to this, it’s better to underexpose the image. You can correct the settings during post-processing.
Shoot with the lowest aperture value, say, from f / 4.0 to f / 2.8. Since you have little available light and you work with a higher shutter speed, a wide open aperture is your best friend in this situation.
Look for expressions of lively emotions. Anger. Aggression. Rivalry. Teamwork. Excitement. Victory. Successful sports photography is simply impossible without observation, without waiting and capturing moments of emotions and expressing relationships during the game. You will win at the end of the day if you have an emotional snapshot, but which will not be sharp across the entire image field.
Shoot in RAW. Shooting in RAW will allow you to correct colors during subsequent processing, it has been repeatedly written and spoken about.
Most DSLRs and even half of all compact cameras have many ready-made modes to help beginners and intermediate (and sometimes even professional) photographers. What is sports mode?
First, the sport mode is indicated by the well-known little running figure. Although the exact settings vary by camera manufacturer, much of this description remains the same, regardless of which particular camera you use.
Secondly, the sport mode is a quick setup to adapt the camera to the conditions.
Increases ISO to higher value.
Decreases f-stop for shallower depth of field
Increases shutter speed to help stop fast action.
Frame advance is increased to maximum setting (measured in frames per second or fps – frames per second)
ISO is usually set at 400 or higher, but depending on the lighting conditions and the choice of lens, it may be less. Most cameras will set this value as a variable, so the user will not have to constantly change it.
Reducing f-stop will help isolate the action in the picture. Most of the time, the action itself is one person, a car, a horse in the background, and it’s best if the background is blurred to isolate movement.
With increasing shutter speeds, the chances of “stopping” the main action increase. This setting, like all the others, depends on the amount of light available and the specific lens used. Most of the time, the shutter is set to 1/200 or more.
Frame advance also increases to the highest value, usually 3-6 frames per second or more. Further activation of the shutter release will create a series of shots that will help capture the “same” moment of action.
Finally, the auto focus mode is set to prediction (it can be called differently on different cameras). This setting often uses a complex system to predict the direction, speed, and proximity of the main subject to calculate the exact focus during shutter activation. Although not commonly used during average shooting, this type of focusing system can be very useful for high-speed action.
What is good sport mode
Sports shooting mode works best with a long-focus lens. This is due to the fact that a reduced depth of field will have a sharper contrast between your main subject and the background, as noted above. The faster the speed (the lower the f-stop value), the better the separation you get from the background….
