Photographing a football game?

Question

I'm photographing my schools homecoming football game tomorrow night. I'll be using a Nikon D70 with several different lenses. My question is, what're the best settings to work with for a night scene with stadiums lights, and fast movements? I want my action shots to be crisp and still be able to have good lighting, since it will be dark.

Thanks.

Answer 1

The critical factor in getting good action shots is shutter speed. For football a shutter speed in the 1/125th range should be good. The key then will be to get a set up on your camera that will allow you to keep that shutter speed. A combination of aperture and ISO that keeps you around 1/125th. A flash can be a great tool for freezing action also but it probably isn't going to help you much in this situation. Try to zoom with your feet as much as possible and avoid using a big lens - you could try a 200mm, but I'd go shorter to keep lots of light coming in to the sensor.

Remember that a lot of action occurs in or near the end zones. You'll be closer to the action at the goal line than hanging around the centre line.

Take a warm sweater and/or coat, and wear a comfortable pair of shoes as you'll be doing a lot of walking and standing.

Answer 2

Hi Kaleas...Good question...I'm not really familiar with the D70, but your best bet is to shoot a with a fast lens ie: 70-200 2.8. I shoot high school football games with my Canon 1D Mark II which has a max ISO of 1600 with minimal noise. It lets me shoot a fasted shutter speed. Lighting is most important...stoping action should be second...It doesn't matter if you stop the action if you can't see it. If the lighting will not allow for high speed shooting try to single out players in the huddle or on the side lines. Also invest in a mono pod, it will help with lens shake especially if you have to shoot at a slower speed. Hope I helped a little...Good luck!

Answer 3

you need a good optical zoom+average to high MP(6mp at least)+optical image stablizer or high ISO speed with low noise
i dont know howmuch will you cost
SLR one is more expensive,and you shold buy another tele zoom
but they have clear image at high iso without any need to optical image stablizer
but in slr like models : Sony H5 or Canon S3 or some Panasonic Lumix there are some chance to get sharp football photos

if the football begins in night!! forget non-SLRs
just SLR can focus fast ,and take noise less pictures in highspeed photography!

Answer 4

Make sure you use a high APS or your pictures will be blurry. You still can use your flash and use a small to medium aperture.