Blown out photo
p.1 #1Blown out photo
Hello FM members. I'm new to the forum and first time posting. I have a couple of photos from my grandson's youth football game that I would like to share. Both photos are shot with a Sigma 70-200mm F2.8 sports lens. One is shot with the aperture set at f2.8 and the other at f4.0. His games are played at 11:00am and 12:00pm so the field is very bright. I would like to shoot at f2.8 to get a nice blurred background but as you can see the photo is blown out. I'm not sure why the photo is so bright. I would really appreciate any and all feedback and or suggestions.
Thanks,
Alex
I just realized that the second photo that was shot at f4 was edited. So not a realistic shot. Here is an unedited shot from the same burst.
Edited on Sep 05, 2026 at 10:25 AM · View previous versions
Thanks,
Alex
I just realized that the second photo that was shot at f4 was edited. So not a realistic shot. Here is an unedited shot from the same burst.
Canon EOS 7D Mark II 70-200mm F2.8 DG OS HSM | Sports 018 lens 182mm f/2.8 1/1250s 200 ISO -0.7 EV
Canon EOS 7D Mark II 70-200mm F2.8 DG OS HSM | Sports 018 lens 200mm f/4.0 1/1000s 200 ISO 0.0 EV
Canon EOS 7D Mark II 70-200mm F2.8 DG OS HSM | Sports 018 lens 200mm f/4.0 1/1000s 200 ISO 0.0 EV
Edited on Sep 05, 2026 at 10:25 AM · View previous versions
Sep 04, 2026 at 09:01 PM
p.1 #2Blown out photo
Not a sports shooter, but it's an exposure issue, so here's what I would do;
Set the camera to aperture priority mode (Av)
Set ISO to 100
Start at f7.1-f/8 (typical sharpest aperture of most lenses) and check the background, if that isn't pleasing enough, open it up.
Have fun.
Set the camera to aperture priority mode (Av)
Set ISO to 100
Start at f7.1-f/8 (typical sharpest aperture of most lenses) and check the background, if that isn't pleasing enough, open it up.
Have fun.
Sep 04, 2026 at 09:48 PM
p.1 #3Blown out photo
Greg, thanks for the info, I appreciate it. I have a game today so we will see how the photos turn out.
Sep 05, 2026 at 10:08 AM
p.1 #4Blown out photo
Alex,
I don't shoot sports but do quite a bit of bird photography. Here are my thoughts. First thing, I am assuming you are shooting in RAW and not JPEGs. If so, you may want to consider shooting in RAW and work on post processing. Second, you need to start embracing shooting in manual mode. Yes, at first it sounds scary but that is the best way of controlling exposure. It takes some practice but once you get familiarize yourself, it will get better. I don't shoot Canon (Nikon user here), but your camera model allows what I am suggesting to do (a quick Google search).
Try shooting in manual mode with auto ISO. This way you can fix your aperture to 2.8 all the times for better backgrounds and control the shutter speed based on need. Leave ISO to your camera to decide. But make sure you set the maximum ceiling limit that makes you happy. If the games are in day time all the time, ISO should not go too high and you will get better files to process.
Mind you, you will have challenges with this mode, but some practice with the settings to play around and get used should help. I am linking a video of an expert bird photographer explaining this mode. He talks about Nikon, but you need to find the settings for Canon.
Sreedhar
I don't shoot sports but do quite a bit of bird photography. Here are my thoughts. First thing, I am assuming you are shooting in RAW and not JPEGs. If so, you may want to consider shooting in RAW and work on post processing. Second, you need to start embracing shooting in manual mode. Yes, at first it sounds scary but that is the best way of controlling exposure. It takes some practice but once you get familiarize yourself, it will get better. I don't shoot Canon (Nikon user here), but your camera model allows what I am suggesting to do (a quick Google search).
Try shooting in manual mode with auto ISO. This way you can fix your aperture to 2.8 all the times for better backgrounds and control the shutter speed based on need. Leave ISO to your camera to decide. But make sure you set the maximum ceiling limit that makes you happy. If the games are in day time all the time, ISO should not go too high and you will get better files to process.
Mind you, you will have challenges with this mode, but some practice with the settings to play around and get used should help. I am linking a video of an expert bird photographer explaining this mode. He talks about Nikon, but you need to find the settings for Canon.
Sreedhar
Sep 05, 2026 at 07:40 PM
p.1 #5Blown out photo
An aperture of f/4 at 1/1000s gives the same exposure as f/2.8 at 1/2000s. Your shot at f/2.8 is at 1/1250 so way to slow to get a similar exposure. Shoot in aperture mode a f/2.8 and see what shutter speed you get. Spot metering also can help when the players have white uniforms in bright sunlight. Dial in exposure compensation to raise or lower the shutter speed as needed.
Sep 05, 2026 at 08:02 PM
p.1 #6Blown out photo
Sreedhar, I actually shoot with somewhat of that setup. From what I'm hearing from the responses is that my shutter speed is too slow to achieve correct exposure at f2.8. I will have to play around with different shutter speeds to see what looks the best. My camera is set up to shoot RAW images that I post process in Photoshop. Here is a snapshot of my settings. My aperture is 2.8 and shooting in auto focus. I didn't have a lens attached to the camera so the settings were incorrect for the aperture and focus modes.
Sep 06, 2026 at 11:08 AM
p.1 #7Blown out photo
Dave, at next weeks game I will set my shutter speed to 1/2000 to start and make adjustments if needed. Yesterday I mainly shot at f4, 1/1250 and ISO 200 and had some decent shots although when zooming in on some of the photos they are a little grainy. Here's one of my grandson scoring from yesterday's game. Cropped only.
Canon EOS 7D Mark II 70-200mm F2.8 DG OS HSM | Sports 018 lens 85mm f/3.5 1/1250s 200 ISO -0.7 EV
Sep 06, 2026 at 11:34 AM
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p.1 #8Blown out photo
I would still shoot in aperture mode at your desired f-stop and set the camera to evaluative metering because it is linked to all of your 65 autofocus points. Sunlight, clouds, and shadows can change too much during a game that locking yourself into a set shooting parameter is not the best choice. Trust your camera to evaluate the scene and adjust the shutter speed as the conditions change. You still have the option to override the cameras settings with exposure compensation. The 7D also allows you to set a minimum shutter speed utilizing auto iso so you won't have to worry about shooting at a speed too slow for the action. I know that when I was shooting track events even during the day conditions changed all the time. There was no way to shoot moving athletes with a static shutter speed and get quality results. Shooting in manual is great for certain situations but sports is not one of them.
Sep 06, 2026 at 08:08 PM
p.1 #9Blown out photo
avzanini wrote:
Sreedhar, I actually shoot with somewhat of that setup. From what I'm hearing from the responses is that my shutter speed is too slow to achieve correct exposure at f2.8. I will have to play around with different shutter speeds to see what looks the best. My camera is set up to shoot RAW images that I post process in Photoshop. Here is a snapshot of my settings. My aperture is 2.8 and shooting in auto focus. I didn't have a lens attached to the camera so the settings were incorrect for the aperture and focus modes.
Alex, if you are already using manual with auto ISO then complete manual would be the option. Use a grey card for getting correct exposure parameters. Fix your aperture at 2.8 and shitter speed that will give you sharp pictures and then decide on the ISO. See the video below. This will work fine as long as lighting conditions don't change (constantly sunny or constantly cloudy). If there are variations then you might want to remember the settings for a couple of conditions and tune your muscle memory for them.
Again, best way is to practice before events. There is no better practice than bird photography (especially small birds. Backgrounds change, lighting changes, birds are always active ) and should get you comfortable. Bird photography is as good as any sports event photography.
PS: If you forget your grey card, use a white t-shirt (someone in sports event definitely wears one) or white part of a cloud. Worse case your palm. Keep in mind, using spot metering for calculating your exposure and matrix metering for actual photography (Canon terminology might vary). It will only give you a ball park, check with a couple of test shots and adjust. Yes, aperture priority is also an option, but if you want complete control, full manual is the way (keep in mind exposure compensation does not work in full manual).
Sreedhar
Sreedhar, I actually shoot with somewhat of that setup. From what I'm hearing from the responses is that my shutter speed is too slow to achieve correct exposure at f2.8. I will have to play around with different shutter speeds to see what looks the best. My camera is set up to shoot RAW images that I post process in Photoshop. Here is a snapshot of my settings. My aperture is 2.8 and shooting in auto focus. I didn't have a lens attached to the camera so the settings were incorrect for the aperture and focus modes.
Alex, if you are already using manual with auto ISO then complete manual would be the option. Use a grey card for getting correct exposure parameters. Fix your aperture at 2.8 and shitter speed that will give you sharp pictures and then decide on the ISO. See the video below. This will work fine as long as lighting conditions don't change (constantly sunny or constantly cloudy). If there are variations then you might want to remember the settings for a couple of conditions and tune your muscle memory for them.
Again, best way is to practice before events. There is no better practice than bird photography (especially small birds. Backgrounds change, lighting changes, birds are always active ) and should get you comfortable. Bird photography is as good as any sports event photography.
PS: If you forget your grey card, use a white t-shirt (someone in sports event definitely wears one) or white part of a cloud. Worse case your palm. Keep in mind, using spot metering for calculating your exposure and matrix metering for actual photography (Canon terminology might vary). It will only give you a ball park, check with a couple of test shots and adjust. Yes, aperture priority is also an option, but if you want complete control, full manual is the way (keep in mind exposure compensation does not work in full manual).
Sreedhar
Sep 07, 2026 at 06:18 AM
p.1 #10Blown out photo
Alex, I've shot sports for more than 25 years and this issue is easily resolved. Put the body in manual mode, set ISO to auto, set ap to 2.8, set shutter to at least 1/2000 in that high sunny environment. Take a shot and review the exposure histogram using the back LCD. If it shows pegged to the right side then increase the shutter speed until it looks closer to a bell curve somewhat in the middle. Bell slightly to the right is fine. If it's to the left you are under exposed and decreasing the shutter is in order. Once you've got it dialed in, the autoISO will adjust for condition changes like a cloud coming over that reduces the brightness etc...
Oh, you'll get better results lowering your position to the action. Try sitting on your butt or a very short seat.
Oh, you'll get better results lowering your position to the action. Try sitting on your butt or a very short seat.
Sep 07, 2026 at 07:05 AM
p.1 #11Blown out photo
Thank you all for chiming in and offering excellent suggestions and advice. I will write in my notepad all the different setting and try them out to see what works the best for me. The games are played at the same time every Saturday, so I might only have to adjust if clouds roll in. I think I will start the game this Saturday with these settings. Here's one a shot kneeling on the sideline from this past Saturday's game. I touched it up in Photoshop. Thanks again everyone for all the help.
Manual Mode
Aperture f2.8
Shutter speed 2000
Auto ISO
Evaluative Metering
Manual Mode
Aperture f2.8
Shutter speed 2000
Auto ISO
Evaluative Metering
Canon EOS 7D Mark II 70-200mm F2.8 DG OS HSM | Sports 018 lens 200mm f/4.5 1/1250s 200 ISO 0.0 EV
Sep 07, 2026 at 01:38 PM
p.1 #12Blown out photo
Much better but i would scrap the auto iso especially in those conditions. It doesnt appear that the light is going to change much. There is also this thing called a light meter inside your camera. Use that, it's your friend.
Sep 07, 2026 at 09:59 PM
p.1 #13Blown out photo
A lot better 
Stay with your settings and low position. Frame needs a bit of leveling. Try cropping tighter leaving out the green jersey player on the far right.
Stay with your settings and low position. Frame needs a bit of leveling. Try cropping tighter leaving out the green jersey player on the far right.Sep 08, 2026 at 05:12 AM