suggestions for sports photography books

[rookie2]

any recommendations for books, mags or links specifically on sports photography for entry level photographers like me?

I want to use my 70 - 300 ED for son's cricket in coming weeks.

just about to do ebay search and will of course refer back here.

thanks
rookie 2

[Raskill]

I got a good book for christmas called 'Snap', it's a collection of sport photos from some great photographers, it doesn't give you info on how to take shots, but gives you great creative ideas.

I haven't used the 70-300mm ED, so can't comment on the glass, but as with most sport, more focal length is good. 300mm should get you fairly close to the action, especially if your son is still playing junior cricket.

I got photos at the ODI final last year with the 70-300G (long since sold to someone else ) and with a bit of cropping I got in fairly close to the action from the Doug Walters stand at the SCG.

If it's a nice sunny day, make sure you try to use as fast a shutter speed as you can. If you find it is overcast, then sacrifice ISO for speed, and increase the ISO. You can always remove the noise later if it is an issue.

You may also wish to get an inexpensive monopod (depending on how serious you wish to get), as at 300mm even small movements with a fast shutter speed will result in loss of sharpness.

Just looking through my books I really have nothing I can recommend, as everything I've learned is either from this website, DPreview or by trial and error.

Good luck, expect to see some pics from the match come Monday!

[rookie2]

thanks for the advice. I have a Manf. monopod and took some photos late last year but not up to posting - freezing the action to get a sharp ball or point of contact shot has so far proven elusive.

I'm happy to get out and practice ASAP - as long as I dont get roped into umpiring or coaching!!

cheers

R2

[losfp]

I took some decent photos (and quite a number of really bad ones!) at the MCG on boxing day last year, and I came back with a couple of lessons on how to shoot sport with a D70s and a 70-300G (apparently very similar optically to the 70-300 ED)

- Cricket is dead easy as you know where the action is going to occur (I haven't yet successfully snapped a catch being taken!!). You can pre-focus on the batsman, or the stumps at the bowler's end, and then go for it at the perfect moment.

- I got the best sharpness at f/8-f/11, 1/1000 shutter-speed. Maybe even all the way down to about 1/400 if you like the "speed blur" effect.

- Don't be afraid to bump the ISO up to get the aperture/shutter-speed above.

- Try to shoot with the sun behind you - otherwise you will have to spot-meter on the players, or compensate using the exposure-compensation.

- Get as low to the ground as you can (ie: don't sit in the grandstand.. if such a thing can be found at grounds catering for jr cricket!!!!). I found that my best shots were at ground level so that there was a fair distance behind the subject to the background.

- Take plenty of shots, because you will get duds. Timing and a bit of luck will get you through

[rookie2]

thanks again..cut & pasting your advice into my own 'book'

I did fluke this shot during footy season - not sharp but unusual as his boot came off without him (nor me) knowing til I got home and downloaded.

cheers

[PiroStitch]

As time consuming as it may sound, go to your local newsagent and peruse the sports magazines they have there and flick through some of them for ideas. If you see a mag which has great shots, buy that one

Sports photography, I guess it's a bit of trial and error to see what sort of effect you want to achieve. If you want to freeze the action, increase the shutter speed as losfp mentioned. If you want some wacky panning effects, lower the camera and pan the camera as the bowler or whoever runs past you

Good luck and enjoy the day. Don't let taking pics get the better of you.

[losfp]

I did fluke this shot during footy season - not sharp but unusual as his boot came off without him (nor me) knowing til I got home and downloaded.

Nice capture

That's the beauty of sport. For the most part it is unscripted, you never know what you're going to get. Also very frustrating when you are trying to anticipate a player's position and movements!