Help with settings for a football game.

Pentax DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AF

09/27/2005 11:19:36 PM · #1

I got my first opportunity to actually make a dollar from taking photos! I go to all our local high school football games, and I've been asked to take photos at the games. A couple of the photos will be used on the school's website, and under them will be a link to my DPC page where the parents can buy the rest of the pics of their children. The problem is, I just got my DSLR today and I'm used to the ease of the point and shoot. I have three lenses (the kit lens, 50mm 1.8, and sigma 70-300 f/4-5.6 APO DG). For maybe the first 45 min to an hour of the game, it will be daylight. The remainder will be at night under the stadium lights. I know I want a few shots at the beginning of the players running out through the sign, plenty of action shots, and a few cheerleaders/band shots. But I only have a 512MB card. What kind of in camera settings should I play with to account for after the sun goes down? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

faidoi

Pentax K10D

09/27/2005 11:24:42 PM · #2

512mb is not enough as you will shoot a lot of shots.

Man_Called_Horse

Canon EOS-300D Rebel

09/27/2005 11:30:57 PM · #3

First of all that 512 card is going to get filled up fast. To get the quality you are after, you need to shoot minimally at a Large JPEG file.

Second, you could shoot AV, but will need a tripod to get halfway decent pix. A tripod is not practical at a sporting event.

Manuel is what I would go for. But, you need to experiment with your shutter speed to find your personal taste. 160 will give more blur than 250. While 250 will give you stop action.

You don't want to show advertisement in the BG, as a matter of fact the BG should be fairly out of focus. The less stuff in the BG to distract the better. A high ground looking at the field, or the dirt is better than "Buy Coke".

You don't want a huge crowded scene of mass bodies, especially with your camera. It's just too slow. You need to anticipate the action, know where the ball is going. When you finally edit, make sure the crop is fairly tight. You want to show what the ball is doing, and what the expression is on the face of the athlete.

The color temp is going to be differant from the sun, as opposed to the stadium lighting.

I'm sure I probly am missing something, but this is a good start.

Good luck.

09/27/2005 11:36:36 PM · #4

Thanks a lot for the input. I may be stuck with the 512 for at least the first game. I'm low on cash having just bought the Rebel and two extra lenses. I'm gonna be really limited though because this weekend is homecoming. I'm planning on leaving it on shutter priority the whole time i'm there, with it set to 1/250. If it's still too dark wide open, then I may try bumping up the ISO. Should I stick with the 70-300 all night or pull out the 50mm for the cheerleaders, and then the 18-55 to get wide enough for the band?

Pentax DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AF

09/27/2005 11:39:18 PM · #5

you are gonna need a flash also. 1/250" is ok but not great and you won't be able to get that fast with your long lens. You will also find that the autofocus on the 50mm lens will be to slow and it won't likely work well at all in low light.

faidoi

Pentax K10D

09/27/2005 11:42:24 PM · #6

Originally posted by ibkc:

I go to all our local high school football games, and I've been asked to take photos at the games. A couple of the photos will be used on the school's website, and under them will be a link to my DPC page where the parents can buy the rest of the pics of their children.

If you want parents to buy the pictures it may be better to zoom into individuals, or at least shoot in a position to get their #'s.

I myself would probably keep the 70-300 on the camera, but I don't shot sports at nightfall.

Man_Called_Horse

Canon EOS-300D Rebel

09/27/2005 11:44:47 PM · #7

Originally posted by jmsetzler:

A flash will be good for close ups, but the stadium lights, and especially the sun is going to blow it out of the sky. More importantly, if you use flash on the sidelines, you may get your ass kicked. Most sporting events don't allow flash for obvious reasons.And with all that testosterone flowing, you are taking your life into your own hands with a flash. use the flash indoors in the locker room, not on the field.

A 50mm on your camera is around a 70mm, great for close ups, portraits, candids, but not for sports action. Stick with the long lens for the action.

09/27/2005 11:46:45 PM · #8

Originally posted by swinging_johnson_v1:

Originally posted by jmsetzler:
you are gonna need a flash also. 1/250" is ok but not great and you won't be able to get that fast with your long lens. You will also find that the autofocus on the 50mm lens will be to slow and it won't likely work well at all in low light.

A flash will be good for close ups, but the stadium lights, and especially the sun is going to blow it out of the sky. More importantly, if you use flash on the sidelines, you may get your ass kicked. Most sporting events don't allow flash for obvious reasons.And with all that testosterone flowing, you are taking your life into your own hands with a flash. use the flash indoors in the locker room, not on the field.

A 50mm on your camera is around a 70mm, great for close ups, portraits, candids, but not for sports action. Stick with the long lens for the action.

I shoot flash at every sporting event i cover except for baseball.

Man_Called_Horse

Canon EOS-300D Rebel

09/27/2005 11:48:50 PM · #9

Originally posted by jmsetzler:

I shoot flash at every sporting event i cover except for baseball.

There ya go.

Differant perspective, differant experiences, luckier folk.

Canon RF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS USM

09/27/2005 11:49:53 PM · #10

Originally posted by swinging_johnson_v1:

Originally posted by jmsetzler:

I shoot flash at every sporting event i cover except for baseball.

There ya go.

Differant perspective, differant experiences, luckier folk.

With high school stadium and gym lighting around here, its' practically impossible to get usable photos without a flash.

elsapo

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

Canon EF 50mm f1.2L

09/27/2005 11:49:54 PM · #11

Originally posted by swinging_johnson_v1:

Actually a flash is really needed during the game and it also allowed (at least in my high school), if not you are forced to use a higher ISO which brings out lots of noise

cools98

Canon EOS R5 Mark II

09/27/2005 11:53:34 PM · #12

I can't imagine a flash really helping out that much on the football field with the distance you will cover. I have shot one game before, and used my 105mm f/2.8. The only thing I will tell you is to use the longer lens, and as soon as possible, get a faster lens. I don't think the f/5.6 at 300 mm is going to be fast enough once the sun starts to set. And as for the memory, get some more of it. And shoot in RAW if possible, to help salvage any photos that could be underexposed. I went through a 1G card in less than half a game, just shooting and shooting and shooting. Once you're there, you don't want to stop, especially if you have the opportunity to make some money at it.

09/27/2005 11:55:23 PM · #13

Originally posted by traquino98:

I can't imagine a flash really helping out that much on the football field with the distance you will cover.

I can tell you for a fact, on the high school fields where i have to shoot, the flash is a big help.

I don't use it as my primary light source. I usually dial it down 2/3 stop. If you don't use a flash, most of the face inside a helmet at night will be too dark.

09/27/2005 11:56:14 PM · #14

My average camera settings for a night time high school football game are f/2.8, 1/250 or 1/320" @ iso 800 and 1600.

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED

09/28/2005 08:03:42 AM · #15

Here is my game plan for the game:

During the game:
- Shutter Priority (set to 1/250 ish)
- Fire my weak on-camera flash and hope the wind carries it to the subject
- Start with the ISO around 200, then move up to 800 or 1600 as necessary as the sun goes down (assuming that the whole time Iâ��ll have to shoot wide open aperture)
-Conserve shots by planning out what Iâ��m going to take before I get there (see below)
- Go back during time outâ��s, between quarters, etc and delete the blurry or improperly exposed images to free up room for more on my 512MB flash card.
- Take as many shots as possible before the sun goes down. I plan on shooting away while the sun is out, then maybe holding off until the halftime show and only taking critical shots afterwards.

During halftime (homecoming):
- Prop the camera on the fence and drop my shutter speed down to 1/160 â�� 1/60.
- Bump ISO up to 800 or 1600.

Planned shots (concentrating on showing numbers/faces):
- Get the whole team running through the big sign at the beginning of the game (5-6 shots)
- Kickoff (5 shots in continuous)
- Any field goals, punts, kicking, etc. (5 shots)
- Big tackles (the ones where the subject is free from the crowd) (30-40 shots)
- Quarterback getting sacked (10 shots)
- Homecoming court (30-40 shots)
- Band (10-20 shots)
- Any touchdowns/big runs/or critical plays (20 shots)
- End of game (expressions) (5 shots)

If I shoot that many shots and limit myself to those kind of shots, it would just barely fill up my 512MB card with the highest quality JPEG files. I know RAW would be better since there will probably be lots of underexposed shots, so if thereâ��s a chance that I havenâ��t filled the card up after halftime is over, Iâ��ll probably switch to RAW and take just a select few shots during the 2nd half while itâ��s dark.

So how does this sound to everyone? I know I could do better with a good flash, bigger card, tripod for halftime, faster lens, faster camera, etc etc etc. But for this game, Iâ��m limited to the equipment I have and have to make the best of it. Thanks for all the input. Iâ��ll post the photos here sometime during the weekend.

alanfreed

Nikon Z9

09/28/2005 08:35:46 AM · #16

Originally posted by jmsetzler:

I can tell you for a fact, on the high school fields where i have to shoot, the flash is a big help.

I'll second that. I never use the flash at NFL games since the lighting is better than high school stadiums, but I saw a guy using one at a semi-pro game I shot a few weeks ago, and I frankly thought he was nuts to think that it was giving him any help.

I thought I'd try mine for kicks, and sure enough it made a world of difference. My flash is effective up to 60 feet, which is good enough to get from the sidelines to the action.

Mr_Pants

SiPix Blink

09/28/2005 09:33:44 AM · #17

Do you have a laptop to which you can transfer images, so that you can take more shots on the night?

GeneralE

Canon PowerShot S3 IS

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

09/28/2005 09:40:18 AM · #18

Originally posted by ibkc:

- Fire my weak on-camera flash and hope the wind carries it to the subject

LOL

09/28/2005 09:42:17 AM · #19

I do have a laptop, and I was hoping to be able to carry it. But as luck would have it, the monitor on my laptop broke off from the computer part. That is also my only "good" computer. The only one I can do editing on. So I'm stuck without being able to touch up the photos til I get my computer back or find someone near me with photoshop.

09/28/2005 09:24:35 PM · #20

Originally posted by ibkc:

- Fire my weak on-camera flash and hope the wind carries it to the subject

I think this is a bad idea. The rebel xt won't flash synch faster than 1/200" so you will be limited to that shutter speed if you have your flash activated. Since that flash is rather weak, you may light up your foreground and leave your subject(s) underexposed. If you don't have a 420, 550, or 580, it would probalby be best to leave your flash off. However, if you leave your flash off, you may not be able to get even 1/200" on the shutter, so it's a bit of a catch 22.

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM

09/28/2005 09:43:44 PM · #21

That's a good point that I hadn't thought of. After dark, I don't see myself getting over 200 without the flash. I will probably judge whether or not to use the flash on a shot-by-shot basis depending on how close I am to the subject and whether or not there are any foreign elements that could get "lit up" by the flash.

On a better note, I found a way to get more storage space. I don't know why I didn't think of this earlier. My mother works as a social worker at a head start center that's located directly beside the football field. It's only about 100 yards from the field. I am going to dump the files on her office computer whenever the card begins to fill and I find opportunity to do so.

ttreit

Canon EOS-50D

09/28/2005 10:15:55 PM · #22

Get there early while you have light and shoot a LOT while you have light. Shoot warm ups, etc.

09/28/2005 10:18:18 PM · #23

I shot a soccer game tonight that started shortly after 7pm. I had to start at iso 800 and f/2.8 to get shutter speeds of 1/250". It wasn't but 15 minutes or so until I was at ISO 1600 to get 1/400". This time of year, the available daylight at a 7 or 730pm game time is just not much help in my part of the country.

09/29/2005 09:34:16 AM · #24

One last question about this and then I'll leave it alone. When shooting with my long lens (the 70-300 f/4-5.6), should I not zoom in vey far and leave the cropping to post-processing? My thinking here is that the farther I zoom in, the less wide-open my aperture can be. Since I'm dealing with low light conditions, I may be able to get faster shots if I zoom out and do cropping later. How does this sound?