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Category: Action & Sports Pictures

Photography Question 

BetterPhoto Member 		 

Shooting Sports Photography


I love the idea of blurring athletes or just the back round while they are still focused. Is it always going to be necessary to use a tripod, or just if I can keep the athlete focused and centered? I haven't done this a lot. Thanks


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September 28, 2004

 

Bob Cammarata 		  You can do this without a tripod with a fast shutter speed. (The longer your lens is ... the faster the speed you will need to avoid camera shake.)
To blur the background, use a wide aperture, and get as close to your subject as you can. When combined with a fast shutter, the athlete will be frozen against an out-of-focus background.
Also to blur the background, try "panning" with the action of the athlete. While keeping the subject in the viewfinder, rotate your body and the camera to keep up with the motion. When the athlete reaches a pre-determined spot, fire the shot and follow through with the motion until the subject re-appears in the viewfinder. Try slower shutter speeds (1/15 to 1/60 second) for best results. You will have to contend with some overall fuzziness due to camera-shake when doing this hand-held.
This is a difficult technique to master, but you can practice by shooting cars on the highway, or a kid on a bicycle.

To blur the athlete against a sharp background, you will need your tripod or other firm support. Use a slow shutter speed (1/4 to 1/30 second), and keep the camera perfectly still during exposure.


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September 28, 2004

 

Ron Burgis 		 
 
 
It's the lens that provides the blur. Long lenes with BIG apatures provide the compression (subject to background) and shallow depth of field.

If you're going to shoot sports seriously, you need to get at least an 80-200 f2.8. Shooting at apature priority at f2.8 at 200mm will keep the subject sharp and the background blured. I bought a used 300mm f4.0 (the best investment I've made) and it does EXACTLY what you want!

Ron Burgis
www.brphoto.photoreflect.com


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October 05, 2004

 

Ron Burgis 		 
 
 
It's the lens that provides the blur. Long lenes with BIG apatures provide the compression (subject to background) and shallow depth of field.

If you're going to shoot sports seriously, you need to get at least an 80-200 f2.8. Shooting at apature priority at f2.8 at 200mm will keep the subject sharp and the background blured. I bought a used 300mm f4.0 (the best investment I've made) and it does EXACTLY what you want!

Ron Burgis
www.brphoto.photoreflect.com


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October 05, 2004

 
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