Football ~ Layouts

Football Photography Tips:

• Capture Entire Scene
• Zom in on the Action
• Choose Fast Shutter Speed
• Create a Zoom / Blur Effect

Most of the time you will not be very close to the action, so think ahead – can you get seats where you are closer to the action? Will you be at ground level with the football players? Do you have a good telephoto lens (at least 300mm, preferably 600mm), and spare batteries to last you through the game?

Depending on the weather conditions, you’ll need to adjust the shutter speed and the ISO to maintain a small aperture (as the telephoto lens has a shallow depth of field to begin with). Use high shutter speeds to freeze the action without blur. Though you might consider lowering the shutter speed for creative use of motion blur, and experimenting with the zoom blur technique. These are both creative tools for the palette. Remember to be prepared for weather conditions; if it rains you will want to have a protective case, umbrella, or special rain cover for your camera. Get involved, soak up the atmosphere and always keep an eye on the action!

You will want to capture a football player in action, catching, kicking or throwing the ball.

Track a player for a while and wait for a good moment but don’t hesitate or you will miss it! Choose a fast shutter speed of 1/1000th of a second and a large aperture to separate the players from the background.

For multiple shots use the burst shooting mode and hold down the shutter button as long as desired. Each DSLR has its own frame rate and burst-mode capture rate, which sets your camera’s abilities for rapid, multiple shot photography.

Because football games are outdoors, weather conditions can be varied (bright and sunny, overcast, rainy, and if you’re lucky - snow).

If it gets dark, you need to be able to quickly increase the shutter speed, so you don’t get blur, but you’ll want to open your aperture more and/or increase the ISO. Ideally on a well-lit day try a shutter speed of 1/500th of a second and an aperture of f/16 for an evenly balanced image.

If you are unsure you can choose the sports mode on your camera, which will select a shutter speed and aperture setting that will give you adequate images.

But mastering the manual control of the exposure triangle (aperture, shutter speed and ISO) will yield more pleasing results.

If you are far away from the football player, it can be a bit harder to show movement, simply because of the distant location. Turn the mode dial to TV or S (Shutter Priority) mode and choose a shutter speed of around 1/125th of a second to begin with and try to capture a player throwing or catching the ball. If the photo is blurry, increase the shutter speed incrementally until you have the visual effect that you’re looking for.