What are the best practices for shooting sports events?

ARTICLE- SPORT PHOTOGRAPHY

I consider myself mainly as a street photographer, but I also like sport events, and that’s the subject in this article. I’ve been around ice hockey, go-kart and cycling. In the good old analog days, it was ice hockey, bodybuilding, speedway, boxing and American football.

In all sport photography it’s important to shoot a lot of images. It is better to be able to select between images of the same situation because not everything is gold. Set the camera to autofocus continuous AFC and be ready and concentrated.
I’m not a gear freak. I have no intension in changing cameras or lenses. My equipment is 2 Sony a6600 and 2 fantastic zooms – a Zeiss f:4 / 16-70 mm ~ 24-105 mm in full frame, and a Tamron f:4,5-6,3 /70-350 mm ~ 105-525 mm in full frame. By letting the lenses stay on the houses, I avoid a lot of dust on the sensors, and I spare time by changing lenses.
In sport photography you must decide whether you want an all-over sharp image or one with just partial sharpness and set the shutter speed after that. In the ice hockey images I have used 1/1000s in attempt to freeze everything, and in the go-kart images 1/200s and traced the go-karts with the camera.

Man lifting weights in a gym, wearing a t-shirt and lifting belt, focused on strength training and fitness.
Woman in a bikini lifting dumbbells in a gym. Fitness and strength training concept in black and white.
A dynamic black-and-white photo depicting a motorcycle being pushed at night, capturing the intensity and speed of the moment.
Black and white photo of a motorcycle doing a wheelie at night, with a man holding a checkered flag in the background.

If there’s not enough light, you must raise the ISO or use a flash. With a flash you can use a slow shutter speed and get a sharp motive and  motion blur. Below there are examples of that. I did a lot of flash photography in the analog days. Not anymore, I don’t even own a flash. In the analog days, I had a period of several years, where I almost only used flash.
As a sports and street photographer, you don’t have time for measuring the light and setting the right exposure. Before you finish measuring the motive is far away. I shoot automatic on P, S, A or M and always RAW, where there is a lot of potential with correction in Photoshop, if you miss the correct exposure.

Blurred action shot of football players in mid-tackle on a sunny field, showcasing dynamic movement and competition.
Black and white image of football players practicing on a field, showcasing dynamic movement under a bright sky.
Two men talking in a busy locker room, one in athletic wear, with people and sports gear in the background.
Young boxer shadowboxing in a gym locker room, surrounded by jackets and people; a vintage black and white scene.

Till now the images have been my analog sport photography. Except the infrared images, all the images in this gallery are shot with automatic flash and a slow shutter speed between ¼ and 1 second.

You must choose the right exposure time, depending on which sport you are taking pictures of. For example, 1/200 s is way too long in ice hockey. I go with 1/1000 s to freeze the movements. The exposure time also depends on which effect you want. 

Digital sport photography:

Cyclists competing in a race on a city street, surrounded by spectators and colorful buildings on a clear day.
Cyclists in colorful jerseys racing intensely during a cycling competition, surrounded by cheering spectators.
Runner with a flare celebrates during a street race, surrounded by cheering spectators on a sunny day.
Runners participating in a city marathon on a sunny day, with one athlete wearing a bright pink vest and sunglasses.
Ice hockey player attempts to score against goalie and defenders in blue during an intense match on the rink.
Hockey players in an intense on-ice tussle, with a referee overseeing the action during a competitive game match.
Athletes competing in a cross-country race, wearing colorful team uniforms, running on a grassy track with spectators.
Runners competing on a muddy track at the Aarhus cross-country event, showcasing endurance and athletic prowess.
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