September is a big month for sport in Melbourne, so we have enlisted renowned sports photographer and michaels media school instructor Delwyn Hewitt to share her top tips for creating compelling sports photographs.

BACKGROUND

The first thing a sports photographer should do is look at the background, and position themselves accordingly. A plain, dark background is preferable, so there are no distracting elements behind your subject. This will ensure your subject stands out in the photograph, and the viewers eyes won’t ‘dart’ away from your subject.


CAPTURING “THE” MOMENT

Cameras have extraordinarily advanced features, but one of the things your camera won’t do for you is choose the right time to press the shutter button to capture that special moment!

In order to get the best action shots, first think about your position. Are you standing in the best spot to capture the moment you are looking for? Are you close enough? Are you standing in a good position for the best angle? If the opportunity arises, look through your lens prior to taking any photos; observe other people and objects through your lens to work out if there will be any obstructions and if you are standing in the right spot before your particular subject of interest enters the scene. Sports photography is often about only having one opportunity to capture your subject. This will help you to be ready, so you won’t miss the best moment.

Sometimes the best time to take a sports photograph isn’t the action of your sports person or subject; for example crossing the finish line at a race. Capturing the EMOTION of sport is just as important as the game or race itself. For example, photographs taken moments after completing a race are often where are the best shots are. There might be punching fists in the air, tears, jubilation, grimaces or people collapsing. This can make for very compelling sports photographs.


EQUIPMENT


LENS SELECTION:

Use the longest focal length lens you have, and buy the longest one your budget can extend to! Stand as close as you can to your subject. Your subject needs to be as large as possible in the photograph, ensuring any enlarged prints will not degrade in quality.

The longer the focal length of the lens, the more the background will be blurred, ensuring your subject will stand out more in the photograph.


SCENE MODES:

Your camera may have a ‘Sports’ scene mode, indicated by a picture of a running person. This means your camera will do all the work for you, given the amount of available light and the ISO your camera is set on. The camera will prioritise and select the fastest shutter speed, and then select the appropriate aperture in order to achieve the best exposure. This scene mode has its limitations, as it doesn’t know how fast your subject is moving. You could be photographing a Formula 1 racing car at ‘break neck’ speeds, or photographing a small child who has just learnt to run. These two examples would require very different shutter speeds in order to freeze their movement.


APERTURE SETTINGS:

The aperture controls the amount of light coming into your camera by either opening up a wide circle inside the lens to let more light in; for example an aperture setting of F 3.5 is a wide opening. Conversely, a small aperture opening will let less light in; for example an aperture setting of F 22. Use the widest opening setting you can; for example F 3.5. This will let in lots of light, which will therefore require a faster shutter speed for correct exposure. You will then have a nicely exposed photograph and the action will be ‘frozen’.


SHUTTER SPEEDS:

The shutter speed controls the amount of light coming into the camera by the amount of time it stays open for. A slower shutter speed allows more time for the light to come into the camera. If you are wanting to stop, or ‘freeze’ the action, use the fastest shutter speed you can. An example of a shutter speed fast enough to freeze a football player would be 1/500th of a second.

A panning effect is where you follow the subject with your camera, and take the photograph whilst they are ‘whizzing’ past you. This creates a nice ‘motion blurring’ effect of the background. Try using a slow shutter speed of approximately 1/30th second. One of the tricks with achieving this type of blurred background is to move your camera at exactly the same speed the subject is going past you.

Experiment and see what shutter speeds are best for your subject and the effect you desire.


AUTO FOCUS:

Most Single Lens Reflex Cameras and lenses have an auto focus system. Your camera will do the work for you, but you need to use the right settings. When your camera to subject distance keeps changing, as is the case with most sports, use the setting where your camera will continually refocus as the focusing distance changes between your subject and yourself. On Nikon cameras it’s the ‘AFC’ setting. (Auto Focus Continuous) On Canon cameras, it’s the ‘AI Servo Mode’ (Artificial Intelligence). This will ensure the auto focus constantly tracks your subject, and will continuously refocus your lens as the distance changes.

Improve your photography skills by practising focusing your sports subjects on manual focus...just like the good old days!



You can find out further information at our forthcoming Sports Photography free Lunchtime Seminar on Thursday September 15th, 1.10pm – 1.50pm. No bookings required.