Football photography help

nicknack

nicknack

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Hey folks,

Im new to photogrpahy and most of what ive done so far is pictures of my kids...there has been some improvement in my technique since i started...even if only a little:)

My eldest son plays for a local under 11s team so this is a great oppurtuntity to learn a different aspect of photography. I will be using a tamron 70-300 lens for my canon 60D...one thing i do know is this isnt a very good lens, as its very cheap...but im aware it does have the focal length i need.

If anybody can give me some tips please...The weather in Manchester is overcast(as it alwasy is):lol: so that pretty much covers the lighting.

PS : I started a similar thread a while back but couldnt find it..so apologies i didnt mean to post again.
 
Hi Nick, the 70-300 aint a great lens but it aint that poor either.
I would look around at some others work on here and try to find the best tactics that suit you.

When I have done football, I found that the halfway line and the goalpost line give you the best options for shots. Try not to concentrate on just your son and get the feel of the game. Get low, take a small stool and experiment.

BTW here is your previous post on the subject :thumbs:

Phil.
 
Top tip for kids sport is to lie or kneel down so you are shooting on their level rather than getting that 'my dog' angle that comes from shooting at adult eye height. where you are on the touchline shouldnt be critical as a 300mm is easily long enough to cover a kids pitch
 
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A couple of things, firstly the lens will be poor at the 300mm end (from personal experience) but will improve dramatically under 200mm. To freeze the action you will need to shoot above 1/400 second but more often than not at 1/640 second - footballs move surprisingly fast. Best places to shoot from are either midway between the goal post and the corner flag or up the touchline in line with the edge of the 18yard box. The first position gives you access to strikers going for goal / players coming down the touchline and corners from that area of the pitch and the second gives you access to shoot corners and the goalkeeper making saves. The halfway line is rarely useful due to nothing really happening there other than midfielders vying for headers which usually make for poor pictures. Another thing to bear in mind is that everyone who reads the sport in papers is seeing pictures taken from the kneeling or sitting position as the pro sports photographers have to stay below the hoarding, so you get used to seeing shots from this angle in the media. Sometimes seeing shots from the standing position look a bit weird.
 
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