How would you photograph a football game?

Question

I have a DSLR, and I went to a high-school football game last week to try and get some good pictures from the stands.

Realize it was dark, and the only lighting I had were the main field lights.

I ended up boosting my ISO to 1600 and using the lowest aperture my lens supported (3.3). Still many of my shots turned out blurred.

Any more advice?

Answer 1

As you are obviously aware, it is exceedingly difficult to take pictures at night, regardless of the venue. You sound like you know what you're doing, so I won't bother with trivial explanations (at least, not as much as I normally do!). ;)

Many digital cameras (still and video) have a "backlight" function which creates an enhanced, artificial, "lighting" effect from "behind" the camera. Although the finished image won't look that great (it will have an eerie, greenish "glow" to it), it will be far better than without it! Nobody can see the "backlight" (i.e., it has nothing to do with the flash), so it won't annoy anyone! Also, consider using your camera's automatic night scenery functions, if possible; some have presets for ideal picture taking in virtually any condition!

As for the blurred shots, I can suggest three things that you probably already know, but, you didn't mention them, so I'm throwing them in:

1) Presumably, you're taking shots of your kid; if so, make sure to "pan" as the kid moves. The background will be blurry, but the kid won't be as much.

2) Amateur photographers have a tendency to hold their elbows in front of them as they take pictures. This increases the likelihood of shaky pictures, because the elbows are not supported by anything (BTW, for most people, it's the rhythm of your own pulse that causes the shaking!). Instead, use the "tripod" style to hold your camera: hold the camera with both hands, and prop your elbows as close to your chest as possible (this works for virtually any venues or times in which you might take a picture; if you keep practicing it, even if your not clicking the shutter, it will become a habit! And a good one, at that!). :)

3) For long exposures without a real tripod, people tend to hold their breath until the shot has been taken. This actually *worsens* any "shaking" (again, blame your pulse!). The best thing to do is to start exhaling slowly, just before you take the picture, and continue to exhale SLOWLY (for most people, the natural respiration rate is adequate) throughout. Believe it or not, the shaking will diminish by at least 50%! Try it! (inhaling doesn't work as well)

FWIW, most amateurs can take a "steady" picture only up to 1/30th of a second WITHOUT doing any of the above. They can improve that to as long as 1/15th of a second (for the math challenged among us, that's twice as SLOW as 1/30th of a second!), which is about the ability of professional photographers (my uncle is a semi-pro photographer who can take steady pics down to 1/8th of a second, but it took YEARS of practice; now, it's "second" nature to him (no pun intended!)).

Good luck!

P.S. "Boosting" is referred to as "pushing" in the photo biz!

P.P.S. Good thing I didn't add any "trivial explanations", eh? ;)

Answer 2

First you need a long lense. Use a 400mm or longer lense, even use a doubler if you like.

Next, set camera on shutter priority at 1/500 sec. and bracket down to 1/320 sec. and let the camera do the rest. See how that works.

Highschool stadiums often have less light available than pro stadiums. You were right to crank up the iso to 1600, you'll loose color that way but seing that your photos were still blurred at f 3.3, you still need a faster lense. Buy or rent a prime lense a f 2 and see if that helps.

Also, get out of the stands and onto the field. Arrange this in advance of the game. Good luck!

Yeah, photoface has some good thoughts on this too, I agree.