Football at night. Please tech me!!!

luisferfranco

Well... here are the pics from this weekend game. I think I was very close to the camera/lens limits (Sony Alpha 100, Quantaray lens 70-300mm F4/5.6). All the pics were ISO 1600, most of them used flash (GN=56 in m), there wasn't any aid from the moon, in fact was raining. The first three will show how much I sucked all the first half (in fact, I leave the camera in the bag most of the time), in the second half I started to do a little bit better. Tell me what you think, your advice as always is appreciated.

#1. As you can see, weather wasn't my best friend


#2. I liked the flash... I struggled for a while wondering how much power should I use... I left the flash at 1/4 so I can shoot two or three... sometimes was too low, sometimes too strong... I know I should change the eyes... that's evident


#3. The speed used varied from 1/100s to 1/200s the less... I know it's not fast enough to freeze the action, but with available light/flash, I wasn't able to do much more.


#4. I know a closer crop is better, but I liked the score board in the back.


I'm going to a meeting, I'll add more when I return...

sirsloop

This is where an f/2.8 lens REALLY helps. Dark and raining has got to be about the worst conditions... well short of a sand storm or blizzard

One tip is to shoot RAW, shutter priority mode, and leave it at like 1/400th-1/500th (of if you use flash, the camera xsync speed) wide open ISO 1600. The shots will be a tad dark, but you can brighten them up post processing and run them through Neat Image to clean up some of the noise. Better to have a sharp underexposed photo than one thats properly exposed and completely blurry

luisferfranco

Yeah should have shot in RAW. I'll try it next week, its also a night game, I hope it doesn't rain again. A question: is the noise level less or equal in RAW than in JPG?

So here are some few more:
#5. Here is a closer crop of that RB


#6. As I was doing lots of experiments on the run, some of the pics started to be clearer, sharper, and better overall. I used the flash more consistently. I got a question here... how much does the flash bothers to the players? Here the QB was looking directly at the camera (flash?)


#7. By being closer to the action and using not the tele-end, but something in between I got a slightly shutter speeds (1/160th), and got better results:


#8. I like this one... I wasn't focusing at the front player, but the back player (the one with the ball) but the AF-C choosed for good the frontal player. Fortunately the flash didn't fire (was the 5th pic of the series, and the power was charging) and got this...

sirsloop

Honestly, they are not concerned about your camera. They have a team of men attacking them, so their focus should be 100% on them, not you. Repeated flash bursts like 4-5 in a row will proably catch their attention brifly, so try to pick your shot and use 100% flash power.

That just involves anticipating the player, and knowing how a play will unfold once you see where the ball goes. Ie, if its a run, and the RB/FB is coming right at you, wait for him to make his cut or wait till he is just about to get hit. Don't waste your shot on spray and pray. If its a throw, wait for the release or try to anticipate which reciever its going to be and snag a catching shot. If there is heavy pressure on the QB, wait until the hit.. Should result in a good peak action capture. One perfect shot is worth a million lousy ones

Don't forget your saftey shots... QB throwing, RB running, RB catching, TD celebration, kicker kicking, lineman lined up, huddle. These are simple shots that you can and should get out of the way early. Then you will have time to focus on catching those harder to get spectacular shots. Also, players that didnt have a good game will be more likely to be happy about getting their photo taken BEFORE the game, where as they may throw a towel over their head or turn their backs if the really blew it

luisferfranco

#9. This pic signals the beginning of the end. The game was 10-3 in the 4th QTR (blue), here something passed on the pitch and they fumbled, the white team recovered, and eventually ended in a TD 10-10.


#10. Once tied, the QB tried to make some fast moves... I think this pic is quite good, even as a daylight pic.


#11. Here was the final run, the white team QB #4, escaped here for a run of about 50 yds, and a TD, so the score went to 10-17 (white)


#12. This was the last play of the game, the blue team tried to come back, and they used their fastest WR (#8), in 1st and 2nd were incomplete pases, there was a small sack in the 3rd, and then failed in the 4th as here shows:


#13. They were so happy, almost like if the won the superbowl. Here in Mexico we have 2 divisions, what is called "The Great 12" and "The National", the worst team in the 12 steps down to the National, and the champ of the National steps up to the Great 12, those guys (red and white) were contending for their right to stay at the Great 12 division. This win was very very important. The other team, they won't be in semiquarters soon, but they are a bit above the average.