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Flyyvon Offline Upload & Sell: On p.1 #1 · Soccer shooting advice needed.... Hello everyone. I have been reading and learning a lot from this forum for quite a while now but i now have some very specific questions that hopefully some of you would be nice enough to answer. I consider myself a bit knowledgeable (not a pro) when it come to shooting portrait or landscape but when it comes to sport-shooting, i'm a true novice so this is why i'm trowing a few questions out there and awaiting your generous help. I've been asked by a local photographer to help take some pictures for a soccer tournament that's happening this weekend. (6 teams of 14 year old) I will be in charge of taking the action shots so i need and would really appreciate your advice for my camera setup. I'm mostly wondering if you guys let the camera select the auto focus point or do you select the center point and reframe? I tried both last weekend just for fun and notice i had a lot more keepers when letting the camera select the auto focus point. And of course, it impossible to reframe when in AI Servo. And now for meetering mode. I usually shot in evaluative or center-weighted mode but what do you suggest? We are expecting some cloud and rain this weekend so i know i will have to boost my ISO but with my 5D Mark II, this won't be a problem. I will be using my 5D Mark II and a 70-200mm f/2.8 so do you suggest a monopod? What should be my minimum suggested shutter speed? With a fast lens, do you suggest i shoot in 2.8 or play it safe and shoot at f/4 or even higher? I ALWAYS shoot in Aperture Priority mode....should i switch to Shutter Priority to ensure a proper shutter speed? I think that it for my questions. I wish i had more time to practice before the actual tournament but i don't think i have time. I really appreciate all your help and i apologize for the rookie question. Thank you in advance. Yvon. Jul 08, 2009 at 08:38 PM

Lumen01 Offline Upload & Sell: Off p.1 #2 · Soccer shooting advice needed.... heyo, 1. I personally, when shooting sports, select my af points and use the center. The center point will be the best for solid reliable af. 2. Again, personally, I use spot metering as I want to make sure the player themselves will be exposed well. 3. I wouldn't bother with a monopod. A 70-200 is easily handholdable for long periods of time. 4. Minimum shutter speed should be 1/250 with a goal of 1/400 or higher to make sure your stopping the action. (fast shutter speed so no need for monopod) 5. I know a lot of people who shot at f4 to give them a bit of wiggle room and as it's your first time maybe you want to do that too. Once you get more experience though your gonna wanna be shooting at 2.8 if possible because that's what that lens is designed to do. 6. I would recommend you familiarize yourself with full M mode. You will have a lot more flexibility and you won't be relying on the camera to choose the exposure for you... that's something you should be doing in any type of photography. G'luck Evan Jul 08, 2009 at 08:58 PM

Flyyvon Offline Upload & Sell: On p.1 #3 · Soccer shooting advice needed.... Thank you for your comments and informations Evan. I can't wait to try sport photography since it's something totally new for me. Will certainly try to apply your suggestions. Yvon. Jul 08, 2009 at 09:10 PM

Lumen01 Offline Upload & Sell: Off p.1 #4 · Soccer shooting advice needed.... For sure man, While I don't do a whole lot of it anymore I did always love it! Kick some @$$ man! Evan Jul 08, 2009 at 09:14 PM

Flyyvon Offline Upload & Sell: On p.1 #5 · Soccer shooting advice needed.... Anything else i should me thinking of for my camera setup? Any other advises? Yvon. Jul 08, 2009 at 09:39 PM

Fish On Offline Upload & Sell: On p.1 #6 · Soccer shooting advice needed.... Yvon, 1) Shoot low. By that I mean, shoot on your knees or sitting down. 2) Let the action come to you since you are using a 70-200. Not too much reach with that lens. 3) Shoot from the 18 yard line or the end line about where the 18 yard meets with the end line. You'll get shots of the forwards and the defenders and the goalie. If you want midfielders, you have to move up from the 18 and closer to the halfline. 4) Use AV mode and set it at F4 to give you a little more margin. 5) Use center point focus and aim for the body as it is a bigger target than trying to focus on the face. 6) If you've never used the * button for focusing, try it so as to separate focusing from the shutter button. 7) Watch your shutter speed. For me, I try to not get below 1000 for the shutter speed. 8) I use evaluative metering for all of my soccer shooting. 9) You should be able to handhold camera and lens and not use your monopod. Just gets in the way. 10) Shoot a burst of 2-3 shots since AI-Servo needs time to lock in. By the second shot, it should be locked in focus to get a lot more in focus shots. 11) If you see the action in your viewfinder after you clicked, it means you are too late. Need to anticipate the action before it happens when you press the shutter so you catch the peak moment. Jul 09, 2009 at 12:01 AM

Flyyvon Offline Upload & Sell: On p.1 #7 · Soccer shooting advice needed.... Thank's Fish On. Good idea about the 18 yards line. I never tried focusing with the * button and i use exposer lock very often so i think i would get lost in this (new for me) technique. Yvon. Jul 09, 2009 at 12:09 AM

TrojanHorse Offline Upload & Sell: On p.1 #8 · Soccer shooting advice needed.... Well, with your camera I wouldn't worry about getting a perfect rule of thirds picture either... Center your target and crop some off later. Leave the IS off, and I agree with the minimum shutter of 1/1000. Set your aperture and ISO accordingly. Higher is better for shutter speed and action sports. Any chance you can rent or borrow a 300 or a 100-400? 200 is going to be really short on a FF camera. if you can get away with it (depends on your league) you may be able to sit by the goal for a bit, where the 70-200 range will be perfect. tell the ref you're the official photographer and do stay back from the line so you or the kids don't get hurt. Jul 09, 2009 at 12:53 AM

Flyyvon Offline Upload & Sell: On p.1 #9 · Soccer shooting advice needed.... Thank's TrojanHorse. Since i'm only helping on this one, my 70-200mm will have to do so no rental on this one. Yvon. Jul 09, 2009 at 12:58 AM

schlotz Offline Upload & Sell: On p.1 #10 · Soccer shooting advice needed.... Flyyvon wrote: Thank's Fish On. Good idea about the 18 yards line. I never tried focusing with the * button and i use exposer lock very often so i think i would get lost in this (new for me) technique. Yvon. Yvon, Fish On has given you the best advise possible. Soccer is all about focus on fast rapidly changing action and the * button use for activating focus is very helpful. Exposure lock is not the priority here. Keep the shutter above 1000 if at all possible, shoot from a low position with the action coming towards you. You want ball and visible faces. Good luck and post some of your results! Best Regards, Matt http://avonsoccer.com Jul 09, 2009 at 01:59 AM

Flyyvon Offline Upload & Sell: On p.1 #11 · Soccer shooting advice needed.... Thank's Matt. Yvon. Jul 09, 2009 at 02:02 AM

P Alesse Offline Dedicated FM Upload & Sell: On p.1 #12 · Soccer shooting advice needed.... Flyyvon wrote: I'm mostly wondering if you guys let the camera select the auto focus point or do you select the center point and reframe? I tried both last weekend just for fun and notice i had a lot more keepers when letting the camera select the auto focus point. And of course, it impossible to reframe when in AI Servo. Mostly use center point focus for sports. And now for meetering mode. I usually shot in evaluative or center-weighted mode but what do you suggest? Evaluative I will be using my 5D Mark II and a 70-200mm f/2.8 so do you suggest a monopod? Not really. Try to sit and hand hold it. Makes for better shots. What should be my minimum suggested shutter speed? If shooting during the day even under cloud cover, try to maintain 1/1000 - 1/2000 even if it means pushing the ISO to 3200 on a 5D II. Never sacrifice ISO for SS, especially on that camera. With a fast lens, do you suggest i shoot in 2.8 or play it safe and shoot at f/4 or even higher? f/4 is fine. Distance to subject will play more of a role in backgrounds. Read here to find out why: http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/629940 With that lens though... be patient and let the action come to you. Shoot tight I ALWAYS shoot in Aperture Priority mode....should i switch to Shutter Priority to ensure a proper shutter speed? Nope, Av is fine. Under clouds and consistent lighting though, you might want to play around with full manual, especially if shooting any team with white tops. White jerserys under Av can fool the metering, even if evaluative and render your faces underexposed. Manual will give you full control over that. I think that it for my questions. I wish i had more time to practice before the actual tournament but i don't think i have time. I really appreciate all your help and i apologize for the rookie question. Thank you in advance. Yvon. Good luck and have fun. Post up some pix if you get time. Jul 09, 2009 at 02:26 AM

Flyyvon Offline Upload & Sell: On p.1 #13 · Soccer shooting advice needed.... Thank you P Alesse. I spoke with the photographe that i will be helping this weekend and she always shoots in TV mode to ensure the fastest shutter speed. So i now guess that M, AV and TV is fine as long i my exposer and shutter speed is fine. I will certainly use the center focus point for optimum focus precision. Thank you. Yvon. Jul 09, 2009 at 12:12 PM

P Alesse Offline Dedicated FM Upload & Sell: On p.1 #14 · Soccer shooting advice needed.... Well, whatever your employer tells you to do, you do, but you'll find a great minority of sports photographers pro and amateur alike, ever shoot in Tv. If you get a burst of sun, sure your shutter will be fast enough, but suddenly you'll find yourself at f/13 and that f-stop usually doesn't produce the most pleasing sports photos. On the other end, if light diminishes, Tv locks you into that shutter whether the light is there or not and all of a sudden, you'll get tremendously dark images.. but she is the boss and if that's what she wants, then that's what you do. Jul 09, 2009 at 04:06 PM

joezasada Offline Dedicated FM Upload & Sell: Off p.1 #15 · Soccer shooting advice needed.... P Alesse wrote: Well, whatever your employer tells you to do, you do, but you'll find a great minority of sports photographers pro and amateur alike, ever shoot in Tv. If you get a burst of sun, sure your shutter will be fast enough, but suddenly you'll find yourself at f/13 and that f-stop usually doesn't produce the most pleasing sports photos. On the other end, if light diminishes, Tv locks you into that shutter whether the light is there or not and all of a sudden, you'll get tremendously dark images.. but she is the boss and if that's what she wants, then that's what you do. agreed.. I Tv mode is pretty useless for sports... especially with changing light conditions... if the entire field were perfectly evenly lit, then it may be ok... Av or M is the way to go. once you get hang of manual mode your images will be the better than if you used Av mode, and much better than if you used Tv mode... Jul 09, 2009 at 08:26 PM

Flyyvon Offline Upload & Sell: On p.1 #16 · Soccer shooting advice needed.... Thank you guy's. Might have time for practice this evening so will try AV & TV. Yvon. Jul 09, 2009 at 08:29 PM

rubberband Offline Upload & Sell: On p.1 #17 · Soccer shooting advice needed.... Something non-technical from a non-professional: Avoid the temptation to follow the ball all game long. By all means bag plenty of safe shots, but after hundreds of images of player x controlling the ball, it gets boring. The really good stuff happens on transition. Think incoming pass being contested by a defender. If you're shooting nice and tight I find it's tough to see a pass/shot/whatever go off and swing the camera to the intended target, re-compose, focus and fire off 3 or 4 frames in time, especially if the action is close together. Once I'm happy that I've got plenty of token shots I like to try and anticipate where the play is going and track the potential target. I miss some shots, but I've got many of my favourites this way, too. Just a thought - might make your day more interesting.. Jul 09, 2009 at 09:14 PM

Flyyvon Offline Upload & Sell: On p.1 #18 · Soccer shooting advice needed.... Good advices rubberband. Thank you. Jul 10, 2009 at 11:51 AM

WmPat Offline Upload & Sell: Off p.1 #19 · Soccer shooting advice needed.... Hard to understand a pro sports photog who "always shoots in TV mode to ensure the fastest shutter speed". First of all, that wouldn't give the fastest shutter speed possible but rather a fixed shutter speed at a desirably fast level. My training and experience in shooting sports had lead me to use manual when the lighting is pretty constant and aperture priority when the lighting is changing. Adjusting ISO while shooting and post-processing can be used very effectively to refine variations in exposure but there is no way to compensate for the loss of control over depth of field that results when you let the aperture float. Disclaimer: I do not have a camera with auto-ISO. Jul 10, 2009 at 04:04 PM

Flyyvon Offline Upload & Sell: On p.1 #20 · Soccer shooting advice needed.... Hi WmPat. I don't think she's a (PRO sport photog). It's just a contract she got from our municipality. She usually shot peoples, kids and weddings. Yvon. Jul 10, 2009 at 04:10 PM

joezasada Offline Dedicated FM Upload & Sell: Off p.1 #21 · Soccer shooting advice needed.... if you can't use M mode you'll better results in Av with your aperture set wide... Jul 10, 2009 at 10:25 PM

WmPat Offline Upload & Sell: Off p.1 #22 · Soccer shooting advice needed.... Flyyvon wrote: Hi WmPat. I don't think she's a (PRO sport photog). It's just a contract she got from our municipality. She usually shot peoples, kids and weddings. Yvon. Methinks her sports shooting will benefit from her association with you. Jul 11, 2009 at 09:02 PM

Flyyvon Offline Upload & Sell: On p.1 #23 · Soccer shooting advice needed.... Hi guys. Well, the job is done and thank's to all of you, i think more than a few good shots came out of it. Guess what, she changed from shooting in TV mode to AV since she had difficulty getting the correct exposer and the result where inconsistent. Trust me guy's when i tell you she was a real sport to work with and she even made fun of the fact that i kept getting better shots than she did. The weather decided to behave so it was even easier to keep the shutter speed way up. (maybe too high sometimes) I will try to post pictures as soon as i can but i'm not even sure my subscription with fredmiranda allows it. I will find a way. I will ask permission first of course..... Once again thank you all for all your precious help. This is truly a great forum and hopefully one day, i will be able to pay it forward with some of you. I have a long way to go.... Thank you. Yvon. Jul 11, 2009 at 11:10 PM

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