Today I was taking photos of the girls at play. They were playing football and tennis. Out of a load of shots I only managed to capture a few which weren't blurred. I'm gutted as a lot of them were great shots. I was using manual focus. Am I just too slow? I also noticed also depending on the light I was struggling to get the focus right so gave up with those lighting situations. Does that mean I'm rubbish at taking sport photos? Do sports photographers get it right every time? I thought I was doing really well until I saw them on the pc.
I suppose I just need a lot more practice.
Sorry I haven't added photos the past couple of days too. The girls are off school on holiday and as well as the weather being spectacular for a change, I seem to be taking loads of shots a day and haven't had time to look at them let along edit if need be. Probably not tomorrow but possibly monday I'll hopefully be able to catch up.
Oh goodness, you don't use manual focus for sports... I use autofocus for everything.
You'll also want shutter speeds above 1/60 (what usually freezes most motion), if not faster to capture action. If it's not great lighting, usually you have to have a pretty fast lens (think f/2.8) to be mostly successful.
It's a lot of trial and error. But I use autofocus all the time with sport stuff. And I tend to use shutter priority mode so I can keep my shutter speeds where I prefer.
@hmgphotos I can't use autofocus on the lens I was using as it doesn't work. I was using my 70-300mm lens so I could get close to the action even though the girls were fairly close to me anyway, probably about 10 feet away from me. I could have used my kit lens which does work but I try not to crop as much as I can help it.
The shots are amazing, just the faces a bit blurred and I did have the shutter speed up at 1/250 minimum I think f-4.0. I really can't remember, will need to look at the shots exif details. For some weird reason the ball was always in focus. Unless I was following the ball and not paying attention to the face but I'm sure I was, lol.
I've focused manually for years. I really learned action photography while photographing open wheel cars at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Once you shoot something going 230mph, nothing is impossible.
To accomplish, I picked a focus point, and set my exposure manually also. I then followed the car out of a turn, onto the main straight. When they reached the area I set a focus point and exposure to, I snapped the shutter. Worked every time.
For action, pan with your subjects. If shooting and Indy Car at a shutter speed of 1/160 sec will get a high degree of sharpness with a show of motion (in the tires and background), I would guess a slower shutter sped would certainly work with children at play.
I shoot football, basketball, hockey, etc. and now comes lacrosse, baseball and track season. Autofocus is a must for sports. Unlike car racing where it is guarunteed that the action will pass at the same exact spot every time, field sports takes the action 100 yards away to ten feet in front of you sometimes. You will be changing the zoom too much to concentrate on refocusing.
On top of autofocusing, continuous shooting is a good idea also, firing 3 or 4 shots with one button push.
Continuous focus is another good idea, so the lens is constantly auto-re-focusing as you follow the action.
I shoot in manual, due to light changes throughout an outdoor game, biggest aperture setting I can get on my 70-200, f/2.8, high shutter speeds working my way down as it gets darker, not going below 1/320 or 1/400. ISO max is 1600 when it gets dark, so as not to have too much noise. Auto WB as the players run from sunlight, through bleacher shadows and back into sunlight. Spot metering so the camera is judging the light on the player, not the bright background sky or the dark foreground field.
If your zoom lens does not auto focus, I would return it, sell it or see if it needs repair. Unless, maybe you forgot to turn on the AF option?? lol. always hope for the easiest/cheapest fix.
Oh, and, change the focus point to the center point, so the lens isn't focusing on the closest subject when you want to focus on the player a few yards past the closest one.
Awww thanks for that. Makes a lot of sense. I bought the lens second hand, knowing the auto focus doesn't work but didn't mind then since it was really cheap. I wasn't thinking at the time about using it for sport but mainly far landscapes and the likes. I love the lens but now, since getting right into photography in ways I didn't imagine I'm wishing I held off for a full working lens and paid the extra. Going to save up for it.
@kirsty1975 ah, okay, so the no autofocus issue was previously diagnosed, got ya. I hope you got a great deal on it! and it sounds like it does a nice job for what you purchased it for, good enough. I did not get the top end lens, instead opted for the Sigma brand and it has worked really well for what I use it for.
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You'll also want shutter speeds above 1/60 (what usually freezes most motion), if not faster to capture action. If it's not great lighting, usually you have to have a pretty fast lens (think f/2.8) to be mostly successful.
It's a lot of trial and error. But I use autofocus all the time with sport stuff. And I tend to use shutter priority mode so I can keep my shutter speeds where I prefer.
The shots are amazing, just the faces a bit blurred and I did have the shutter speed up at 1/250 minimum I think f-4.0. I really can't remember, will need to look at the shots exif details. For some weird reason the ball was always in focus. Unless I was following the ball and not paying attention to the face but I'm sure I was, lol.
To accomplish, I picked a focus point, and set my exposure manually also. I then followed the car out of a turn, onto the main straight. When they reached the area I set a focus point and exposure to, I snapped the shutter. Worked every time.
For action, pan with your subjects. If shooting and Indy Car at a shutter speed of 1/160 sec will get a high degree of sharpness with a show of motion (in the tires and background), I would guess a slower shutter sped would certainly work with children at play.
Something to think about. Good luck as always!
On top of autofocusing, continuous shooting is a good idea also, firing 3 or 4 shots with one button push.
Continuous focus is another good idea, so the lens is constantly auto-re-focusing as you follow the action.
I shoot in manual, due to light changes throughout an outdoor game, biggest aperture setting I can get on my 70-200, f/2.8, high shutter speeds working my way down as it gets darker, not going below 1/320 or 1/400. ISO max is 1600 when it gets dark, so as not to have too much noise. Auto WB as the players run from sunlight, through bleacher shadows and back into sunlight. Spot metering so the camera is judging the light on the player, not the bright background sky or the dark foreground field.
If your zoom lens does not auto focus, I would return it, sell it or see if it needs repair. Unless, maybe you forgot to turn on the AF option?? lol. always hope for the easiest/cheapest fix.
Hope this helps you, happy shooting!
Awww thanks for that. Makes a lot of sense. I bought the lens second hand, knowing the auto focus doesn't work but didn't mind then since it was really cheap. I wasn't thinking at the time about using it for sport but mainly far landscapes and the likes. I love the lens but now, since getting right into photography in ways I didn't imagine I'm wishing I held off for a full working lens and paid the extra. Going to save up for it.
wow they are truly awesome. I really do want to get a proper lens now.