Shooting football for the first time (college) - looking for advice/tips

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Shooting football for the first time (college) - looking ...

kylehess10
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p.1 #1 · Shooting football for the first time (college) - looking for advice/tips

Hey guys- I'm looking for tips and advice for shooting football. I've only shot baseball but I'm trying to get into professional freelance sports photography and need to add new sports to my portfolio, so now I have an opportunity to shoot at the Georgia Dome on November 3rd for the Georgia State game. I'll be shooting the game with a Nikon D3s (400mm f/2.8 AF-S attached) & a Nikon D3 (70-200mm f/2.8 VR II attached). I'll also have a Tokina 16-28mm f/2.8 handy.

There's a few things I'm wondering:

Do I stay in one spot most of the time? Or do I try to move along with each play as it goes down the field?

Whenever I shot night games over the summer while interning for the Braves, I tried to maintain a shutter speed faster than 1/500. With the fact that I'm shooting inside the Georgia Dome, I know I'll need a high ISO, so it'll be like shooting at night, but what is the minimum shutter speed I should maintain in order to keep action still? Football seems to move a lot faster than baseball.

Also what are the do's and dont's I should know about?

Thanks in advance!

Oct 26, 2012 at 05:56 AM

Gregstx
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p.1 #2 · Shooting football for the first time (college) - looking for advice/tips

I did my first attempt at HS football this evening. I managed to get a sidelines pass so I was able to move up and down the sidelines with a great deal of freedom. I always tried to stay in front of the action. When either team got inside the 20 yard line, I moved behind the end zone. Others may have better ideas but that worked pretty well for me. As for shutter speed, I can tell you that 1/320th is not fast enough to prevent blurred hands and feet or footballs in HS football. 1/500th may be the minimum shutter speed you can use to stop the action. Unfortunately, I never tried anything faster than 1/320th. Good luck and have fun.

Oct 26, 2012 at 07:09 AM

Grantland
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p.1 #3 · Shooting football for the first time (college) - looking for advice/tips

Scott Sewell made some You Tube videos that are very helpful. Check them out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUdec11jTMQ&list=UU8u1-sLyc9fn1cLIBZAuRVA&index=29&feature=plcp

grant

Oct 26, 2012 at 10:53 AM

mkchang
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p.1 #4 · Shooting football for the first time (college) - looking for advice/tips

kylehess10 wrote:
Hey guys- I'm looking for tips and advice for shooting football. I've only shot baseball but I'm trying to get into professional freelance sports photography and need to add new sports to my portfolio, so now I have an opportunity to shoot at the Georgia Dome on November 3rd for the Georgia State game. I'll be shooting the game with a Nikon D3s (400mm f/2.8 AF-S attached) & a Nikon D3 (70-200mm f/2.8 VR II attached). I'll also have a Tokina 16-28mm f/2.8 handy.

There's a few things I'm wondering:

Do I stay in one spot most of the time? Or do I try to move along with each play as it goes down the field?

Whenever I shot night games over the summer while interning for the Braves, I tried to maintain a shutter speed faster than 1/500. With the fact that I'm shooting inside the Georgia Dome, I know I'll need a high ISO, so it'll be like shooting at night, but what is the minimum shutter speed I should maintain in order to keep action still? Football seems to move a lot faster than baseball.

Also what are the do's and dont's I should know about?

Thanks in advance!

The last game I shot in the GA Dome was last year and my settings were 1/1250 @ ISO 3200 (@2.8). So you should be fine light wise.

Oct 26, 2012 at 12:45 PM

dankopp
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p.1 #5 · Shooting football for the first time (college) - looking for advice/tips

1/500 is a tad slow for football. The college guys move very fast. I'd go for 1/620 at a minimum (1/1000 is even better). You can move around, you just can't shoot between the 35s (i.e., the team benches). There will be a line you have to stand or kneel behind. PLEASE stay behind the line, even if other people don't--and they won't. With your 400, you will probably want to shoot mostly from the end zones. Good luck.

Oct 26, 2012 at 02:01 PM

Deborah Kolt
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p.1 #6 · Shooting football for the first time (college) - looking for advice/tips

There's an excellent video about shooting football by Robert Hanashiro over on Sportsshooter. He covers everything from shooting angles to what to wear.

http://www.sportsshooter.com/special_feature/2004_luau_video/shooting_football/index.html

+1 to being careful not to get into the box. At some schools, the official team photog is allowed there, but you aren't. Shooting from the sidelines is not only more restricted than in high school, it is complicated by the additional officials, particularly the ubiquitous side judges. Take your longest glass - the end zones will give you the best view and cleanest backgrounds.

Oh, and shutter speed over 1/1000 for college ball.

Oct 26, 2012 at 02:30 PM

Marty Bingham
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p.1 #7 · Shooting football for the first time (college) - looking for advice/tips

mkchang wrote:
The last game I shot in the GA Dome was last year and my settings were 1/1250 @ ISO 3200 (@2.8). So you should be fine light wise.

Your settings will vary at the Ga. Dome depending on whether it's day or night. The roof is like a giant softbox in the daytime.

Marty

Oct 26, 2012 at 03:47 PM

mkchang
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p.1 #8 · Shooting football for the first time (college) - looking for advice/tips

True and good point. The game I shot was in the afternoon.

Oct 26, 2012 at 03:53 PM

kylehess10
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p.1 #9 · Shooting football for the first time (college) - looking for advice/tips

wow GREAT responses everyone! Thank you so much!!

The game will be at 3:30pm - I completely forgot the Dome does act like a big softbox, so I guess I should have plenty of light as long as its sunny.

Oct 26, 2012 at 04:48 PM

gschlact
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p.1 #10 · Shooting football for the first time (college) - looking for advice/tips

Michael, yur settings almost sound like it was a cloudy day, I would expect nearly thos values from high def tv arena lights.

Still better than then H.S. gyms though.

Kyle - good luck. Don't forget to shoot some atmosphere and sideline shots, and especially some cheerleader ones too.

Guy

Oct 27, 2012 at 02:25 PM

Jon Uhler
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p.1 #11 · Shooting football for the first time (college) - looking for advice/tips

I just shot marching bands in the dome all day this last sat.

I was at ISO 1250 and getting 1000 shutter speeds and better at 2.8.

You should be fine....

Oct 29, 2012 at 09:11 PM

mkchang
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p.1 #12 · Shooting football for the first time (college) - looking for advice/tips

gschlact wrote:
Michael, yur settings almost sound like it was a cloudy day, I would expect nearly thos values from high def tv arena lights.

Still better than then H.S. gyms though.

Kyle - good luck. Don't forget to shoot some atmosphere and sideline shots, and especially some cheerleader ones too.

Guy

Well, it sort of was considering the dome was acted like a softbox. To be honest, I don't really remember too much from that day. Hopefully I'll be shooting the SEC Championship soon. Probably not this year though.

Oct 29, 2012 at 09:37 PM

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