Express Action Sports

First and foremost, I know very little about photography in general but I’m always fascinated to see photos of sports men and women caught in the action and in particulalrly their facial expressions. My question is this:

Q) Lets say you’re a pro photographer at say the olympic games, you’re extremely close to the action and you’re photographing 100m sprinters. To get very sharp pictures of athletes frozen in position without any motion blur what sort of camera settings would you be looking to use and what sort of lens would you have?

Fast lens – minimum 200mm f2.8 often 300 or higher.
Shutter speed minimum 1/250 preferably higher. As low an iso as you can but raise it to get the shutter speed required.
Camera on burst mode – fast motor drive (5fps minimum preferably higher)
Prefocus on spot where you know the athlete will be and hit the shutter just before they arrive.
You can also follow focus or pan the shot depending on where you are and what effect you are looking for.

It all depends on whether you are outside in sunny conditions or inside under floods but the essence of any good sports shot is knowledge of the sport, anticipation and timing.

For sports enthusiasts, there’s nothing more exciting than sports people playing their favourite game. The sight of the field, rink or golf course initiates the thrill and anticipation. This, combined with digital photography, can provide some amazing photographic opportunities. However it’s not a matter of point the camera at the person diving for the ball or puck and snapping away. It’s a lot more complicated than that.

In digital photography sports can be quite challenging. The sports people do not present an easy task of being photographed because of the amount of high movement. However, you can indeed achieve great sports digital photography. Most excellent sports digital photography requires good planning and execution.

Here are some exclusive tips for gaining fantastic sports shots in your digital photography.

First things first; know your digital camera. I recommend taking note and practicing first all the settings that sports photography needed. You may find yourself going for the faster shutter speed, increased ISO and burst mode. Let’s take a look at all these things on your digital camera and see how they can be applied to give you sensational sports photos.

High shutter speeds:

As with all moving objects, in order to capture the “frozen in time” look in digital photography a fast shutter speed is required. The faster the movement the fast the shutter speed will need to be. In digital photography the general consensus is that the shutter speed needs to be faster than that of the subject. For example if you have a sliding puck across ice and there is a someone about to take a dive for it then its necessary to quickly mentally assess how fast that person might be traveling at. If they are traveling at approximately 50 kilometers (approx 32 miles) per hour then you may find a very fast shutter speed is needed for this digital photo.

A very fast shutter speed in digital photography may be anything from 500th of a second or higher. For high speed movement you may want to consider an even faster shutter speed of 1000th of a second or something in that range.

Keep in mind that in digital photography a fast shutter speed works to reduce some of the light which is why a higher ISO is often necessary. (I’ll talk about that in a minute.) Usually a if a ball, such as a baseball going at around 145 kilometers an hour (90.09 miles per hour) a shutter speed of around 1/4000 will get you that “suspended ball in mid air” type of photo. For physical movement, such as someone leaping to catch a football, a shutter speed of 1/500 or over is a good place to start.

Now this is all very well if your scene if well lit. But what if you are taking your digital photography shots indoors at night and the light is not quite enough to provide enough light? In most instances, an indoor stadium at night time will be well lit, but that doesn’t always ensure good digital photos. In sports photography we need to understand that we can only control the artistic value and input of our digital photo and the control of the camera. We can’t control the lighting on the scene being such a public event. In digital photography sports photos we must realize that it’s going to be a challenge to begin with. So here are something’s you can in your digital sports photography to increase the amount of light.

If you have a light tool on your digital camera such as a histogram you can get a good idea of what the light levels are like on your sensor. With this handy tool you can adjust the ISO at the time of your pictures taking.

Increase your ISO: A high ISO in digital photography simply means the sensitivity to light that your digital camera has. In a nutshell the more ISO you have increased the image to, the less light the sensor needs. In sports photography an ISO of 400 or higher can work really well. The downside to this is that it does increase noise. To combat this you can use noise reduction software in the post editing process such as Noise Ninja or increase the LAB mode in the post editing process. Don’t be afraid to try a few shots at 400, 800 and even as high as 1600.

Burst mode:

In most sports digital photography this will be one of the settings you will turn to. Burst mode is also known as ‘continuous shooting’. This ‘continuous’ shooting mode allows you to get a sequence of shoots in succession. You can increase your chances of getting that ideal “split second perfect shot” that you might not be able to get by pre-emption or in normal shooting. This also works so beautifully if your digital camera has a painfully long lag time. I’ve used this so many times to get around the high lag my Sony Cyber shot has got. Some cameras have 3 frames per second and some go up to 12 frames per second. You simply select this mode and hold your finger on the shutter button and it will fire off as many shots in 1 second as it can.

Okay so I’ve been talking about your digital camera and the setting’s used for ideal sports digital photography, so what about any external equipment? If you have been thinking about this you’re spot on. You can take as much time with your settings but there’s not much point if you can’t get close to the action. There’s no point having a picture with perfect lighting and perfect action if the players are like dots on a sheet of paper. You need a good telephoto lens if you can’t get close up. A telephoto lens brings you closer because of its long distance capability. It will get you closer to the action but will need a faster shutter speed.

Many fantastic sports digital photos are taken with an emphasis on a very fast shutter speed, an f stop of around the 2.8 mark to blur the background and focus in on the subject. You may find that if your sportsperson is visually separated from the background and you take the digital photograph with a telephoto lens you’ll have a more shallow depth of field which can give you a more powerful feeling in your digital photo. You can get away with a good optical zoom lens, but you’ll get far better digital sports shots with a proper telephoto.

So what about the artistic side of sports photography with your digital camera? Plenty!

Pre-emption and Emotion is the key to good art.

When taking sports photography you probably won’t find a more public display of human emotion. The emotions of a sports person range from intense anticipation to extreme disappointment or extreme exhilaration. Pre-empting when these emotions take place is they key to getting artistic and impressive sports photos. This comes with practicing your digital photography.

SO much pressure is placed on our athletes, expecting them to perform so we can enjoy the show and the investors can enjoy their returns. This is another reason why I say to get a telephoto lens so you can capture the emotions on their faces and their body language. It makes for superb photography. For ideas on ice hockey, have a look at some ice hockey images that are great study tools.

Don’t just look at these digital photos, you must study them. Take on the attitude that studying sports photography will improve your digital sports photos ten fold. You will have a style to emulate and copy to start with then eventually, when you become confident, you’ll start to adopt your own style.

Happy shooting,

Amy Renfrey

To study digital sports photography check these sites out: http://www.espn.com/ and http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/ and http://cbs.sportsline.com/

Amy
http://www.articlesbase.com/art-articles/mastering-the-art-of-sports-photography-with-your-digital-camera-127980.html

You want a really good team constructing physical exercise for group Appear no further than the sport of paintball. In recent years, paintball has evolved beyond its somewhat paramilitary-esqe roots.

In truth, todays paintball games have just about no resemblance to combat sports, with the player wearing brightly colored jerseys, and playing on fancifully construct fields. Rather, paintball has evolved into a rapidly paced, team oriented sport that can be enjoyed by every person.

In truth, it is this rapidly paced, high tension really feel that makes it such a team constructing physical exercise. Absolutely nothing brings many people together like a small pressure and competition, and paintball is good at generating these feelings in your group. In order to win a game of paintball, your teams have to function together, communicate, and be willing to take risks, all really good attributes to instill.

Of course, the initially factor most be concerned about when picking out paintball as a team constructing physical exercise is the discomfort involved with receiving hit by the paintball. Do not be concerned about this. When Im not going to tell you that receiving hit by a paintball traveling at 300 feet per second feels really good or anything, but it does not hurt that poor either.

In truth, in the excitement of the game, you will really feel considerably alot more discomfort from the truth that you got hit and are out of the game than you will considering that of the discomfort of the paintball impact. The anticipation of receiving hit adds an element of excitement to the game, which you do not get from most other activities. In brief, the impact is absolutely nothing to be concerned about at all.

A further concern with paintball is cost. There is no doubt that paintball is highly-priced. You have to pay the field fee, rent your equipment (if you do not own any), invest in paintballs, and pay for any food or transportation you will need. This can add up rather heavily with a sizeable group. In spite of this, group rates are on the market, which can support ease the economic strain a bit. On the bright side, playing is so enjoyable that you might possibly forget all about the cost!

When you have your team and assembled, and show up to the field, you will just about absolutely go by way of a safety orientation of some sort. Paintball is not that hazardous, but if you are not cautious, it is doable to get hurt. In certain, you will need to preserve your goggles on at all time when not in designated secure zones. Also, you will need to make confident that your gun is not shooting quicker then the speed allowed by the field. You will be given your full set of equipment, and instructed on how to use it.

When all this is performed with, you will be taken out by a ref to the field, the rules of the game will be explained, and then you start out playing paintball! My number 1 tip for playing a high quality game: take risks. Due to the fact you are an inexperienced group of players, most many people will tend to sit behind a bunker and wait for the action to take place. If you take the chance to be aggressive and move up in the field, you will likely do rather properly, as many people will not be ready for your speedy action.

If you are playing against alot more skilled players, you will not be able to do this as properly, but with a recreational group, its a brilliant method. You also will need to function together as a team. That is the point of all this, perfect Be confident to communicate, let other people on your team know exactly where the players on the other team are. The team who communicates properly will have a severe benefit more than the team that does not.

I hope this provides you some notion of why and how you use paintball as a really good team constructing activity for your group. Considering that it appeals to our adventurous side, and forces high quality teamwork, it is a highly useful selection for your group development efforts. Call a field near you at present.