Yesterday we discussed what equipment you need to photograph sports matches. But if you don't have all the equipment, it's not a problem, KEE friends, as long as you know these tips.
1. High shutter speed
Sports matches usually have a lot of movement, so you have to use a fast shutter speed to get photos that aren't blurry. For high-speed sports such as badminton, volleyball or basketball, the minimum shutter speed used is 1/250s. If possible, you can use a faster shutter speed of 1/500s - 1/1000s.
However, in some types of sports, not all of them are good at using fast shutter speeds. You can combine it with panning techniques so that you are more focused and not distracted by the background behind it. For this technique, you can use a 70-200mm lens with a shutter speed of 1/100 second, which is enough to make the athlete look sharp and the back is blurry, as in the image below.
Source : https://snapshot.canon-asia.com
2. Sufficient ISO
The effect of using a fast shutter speed is that the photo becomes dark. You can increase the ISO to compensate so that the photo is bright enough. But don't go too high because it can cause noise in the photo. Especially if you are indoors with poor lighting conditions. The maximum ISO tolerance is different for each camera.
3. Use the maximum aperture
Use the maximum aperture on your lens. For example, if you use a 55-200mm lens, the maximum aperture is f/5.6. For example, on a 50mm lens, the maximum aperture is f/1.8, so you can use the 1.8 aperture with a bokeh effect. But the disadvantage of a large aperture is that it is prone to misfocusing. So you need to be wise in using it, it is recommended to reduce it by 1 or 2 stops and replace it by increasing the ISO.
4. Use continuous autofocus
Usually on Nikon cameras this feature is called AF-C and on Canon it is called Al-Servo. With this feature the camera will lock focus on the object and follow the direction of its movement. But the weakness is that in low lighting conditions, this feature is not very viable, especially when using a beginner camera because the focus system is a bit slow and the number of focus points and sensitivity are still less when compared to more sophisticated cameras.
5. Use burst mode
This mode will take a number of photos in succession for one second. The number of photos you can take in one second depends on your camera type. For example, the Canon 1100D can produce 3 photos in 1 second (3fps), on the Nikon D3200 it can reach 4fps. The more sophisticated your camera, the more frames you can get in 1 second. Like the Nikon D4s which can produce 11fps.
With this mode, you can get more photos and not miss a moment. Don't forget to provide a spare memory card.