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Bad Light – Sundown
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Hi there, Can anyone recommend techniques to combat the poor light during the period when the sun sets and darkness falls?? I am particularly referring to sports photos in a place that is not lit up by floodlights. It’s hard to describe but getting sharp images proves really difficult and even with the Canon 500 flash its range seems to only keep the photos sharp to within 3 – 4 metres! Have to admit a large dislike of doing action photos in those conditions…
A few quick tips for you… some you might be able to do with your current equipment others ye might not…
Your main objective is to obtain high shutter speeds to freeze the action whilst getting a good exposure at the same time.First if the light is really bad try raising your ISO value. Most modern DSLR’s take pretty decent low noise high ISO images. Depending on what sport
you are shooting you should look for shutter speeds at upwards of 1/250… even at that speed you will still probably have some image blurring. Remember
also that the longer the reach of your lens the faster the shutter speed you should be looking for. Others on the forum would be more specific re what shutter
speed for what sport than I.Also lower (smaller f number) your aperture value. By doing this you are letting more light into your camera and therefore obtaining faster shutter speeds. By
doing this you are also reducing your depth of field which can have the effect of separating your subject from the background. Again, the longer the lens and lower
the aperture the separation effect will be increased (if thats what ye want).Try using a monopod to try and reduce any movement at your end…! If ye havent got one perhaps try supporting your elbows/camera on something at a height
appropriate for the shot your looking for.If ye have an Image Stabilizer turn it on. It may help for slower moving sports or if you are panning.
Most cams have a sports mode so perhaps try that and se what happens…!
Remember too that if there is some type of artificial light that ye may have to set your white balance appropriately…!
Thats as much as I can tell ye…! Experiment experiment experiment… ah the beauty of digital…!
Richie
1. Learn to manual focus incase your AF isn’t working quick.
2. Get fast lenses – for footy the 400 F2.8 is the lens of choice. For other sports, 500/600 F4.
3. Up your ISO.Thanks a lot I really appreciate that guys. I have read about the ISO alright and will try the suggestions regarding the white balance. It’s a great opportunity to get stuck into the manual settings of my camera…Just as an example of what my mistakes are, here’s an example of such a photo….
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