UK Football Photographing advice

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Name
Rob
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Guys ive been asked by my Local Rugby and Football team to go take home game shots, ive done it once before but only leisurely are there any specific dos and donts I need to adhere to
Like always sit behind or at the goal end, or do you all wonder up and down the side lines.

Lens I will be taking are

Nikon D500
70-200 F2.8
150-600 Sigma C

What shutter speed you all use I was going to start at 640 and work uphill.
F number probably f5.6 upwards towards 11 etc.

I'm unsure if I need a Monopod but I,ll probably take mine for when I'm sat down to take the weight a little
Any advice would be appreciated

thanks Guys

Rob
 
Hi Rob
I mainly shoot football and occasionally rugby and In my opinion don't wander around pitch side as you will be chasing the game. I personally sit behind the goal line but that's not to say other places won't give you a good angle to catch the action. I use a Canon EF 100-400mm f4.5-5.6 L IS USM and rarely shoot anything below 1000th sec, obviously with the lens I have it limits what I can do in low/poor light. It seems over kill using a monopod shooting at fast speeds but I use one because of the weight of the kit I use.
How much processing do you do? If you already know this then please ignore.
Leave enough space above the heads and below there feet but crop tight to hide any background distractions also stray arms/legs can be distracting. Some people will say it's a no no to clone out distractions around the edges of the picture but I do it if I cannot crop it out. Photographing backsides of players is not good too. Sport is all about players faces and expressions which can add so much to a image.
The more you practice the more you'll improve.
I hope this is of help and it is just my opinion.
Finally have fun and enjoy it.
 
Yeah thanks Andrew, i did the day today, started with the 70-200 which was 105-300 on the APS-C then switched out to the Sigma 600, seems to fit the bill nicely, i did what you said and stood facing them as they came towards me worked fine.. thanks
 
It might sound obvious but don't get too drawn into the idea of needing to capture great action shots. It's easy to stop photographing and miss out on the players reacting in a way that really sells what is happening in the game. Look to capture scoring celebrations, players reacting to missed opportunities/fouls etc All of those things make for interesting pictures.
 
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