How could i miss this video. Didn't notice the notification. Thank you, Mr.Lai! I'm heading to my first ever sports event on December 3rd and it's a national boxing tournament! Can't wait to test what i've learned!
Thanks for this video! I can't seem to master back button focus (and I've been doing this over 20 years), but all of the other things I wholeheartedly agree with-especially knowing the sport. I specialise in girls volleyball, dance competitions, and until a few years ago, horse shows. I also know lacrosse and field hockey. I've shot football and basketball only very occasionally, and my shots show this (as I had NO IDEA how to follow the action as I am VERY unfamiliar with those two sports)
I think I would initially be a little lost at your dance competitions and horse shows. I’d get a sharp photo and look for good backgrounds but it would take a bit to figure out what is going on!
@@JerryTLai Here is a link to a dance competition: www.flickr.com/photos/sjhfoto/albums/72157719466522339 The first few shots are highlights, but then it is just the photos in order taken. The problem is, you really don't have time to get oriented. You see, I sell photos by the dance, and there is a new dance every 4 minutes or so for 14 hour days (usually 3 or more days in a row) There can't be mistakes as invariably, the dance you mess up is a dance a parent wants and will be VERY verbal about your error if you don't get it, or if the photos are subpar. No editing is done usually as we sell onsite. Here is a horse show link: www.flickr.com/photos/sjhfoto/albums/72157646564675808 Depending on the discipline (I usually shoot English riding, hunter/jumper, and dressage shows), there may be a bit more time between each routine, but you still need to capture them all. One rule of thumb is that the riders who buy the most are young girls-say under 18. So, if you need to miss a routine, try to make sure it is an older man's (but as murphy's law goes, that will be the one guy who wants to buy pictures!) I know that what I do is probably far different than most of the shooters that view your page, but I think that the vast majority of people shoot high school sports in the dark gyms that I shoot volleyball, instead of the high-end major league photoshoots. Is that a fair assessment?
Thank you Jerry for the informative videos. I was glad to hear you mention the challenge of following a QB throwing and then locating correct receiver. I have been shooting kids and HS sports for 18 years with latest setup-D500/70-200 and now finally stepped up to the D5/400mm prime combo and now having trouble locating players down field, albeit only experienced two FB games with 400 thus far. Any suggestions other than anticipating 3rd and long? Also, my keeper (focused) rate is about the same with D500/70-200. I was hoping to improve. My current technique is back button focus, AF-C, single point AF, 9 point dynamic-area, M mode, Shutter 800-1000, auto ISO, f/2.8, using VR. Anything you see wrong? I can bump up shutter to your 1600, turn VR off? Lastly, I accessed Nikon's Auto AF fine tuning to -17. We shall see tomorrow night if this helps. Many thanks!!
Jerry, enjoying the videos, great job! Quick question, its either BBF or Eye/face focus correct? I'm assuming BBF would be better when photographing action by a group of players.
Combo of both. I will use BBF with a single point to acquire focus, but then in cameras that have it, I allow eye/face focus to take over and track the subject.
I use a 1d IV and have done for quite a few years, with great results in motor sport/ football / boxing / just to name a few. You could also look at the Canon 7d II .
@Hero Shotz! Thank you for watching. Any thing in the 1D line is superb and a step up from any of the consumer or prosumer series. I would perhaps try to find a 1D IV before the III... there are some III's out there that have some sharpness issues.
I use a 5D mkiv and 7Dmkii, but I am probably going to upgrade soon either to the 1Dxmkii or R5 or R6-I'm still deciding. But I shoot youth sports events. I guess a big factor would be what you make per month to determine how much you want to spend
Splendid content. Jerry, I was wondering how does a publication such as yours receive your pics from your photographers? Are your shooters providing the final, or do you have editors making that final decision. I'm also thinking if we're shooting to the booth @30fps there may be some peeved-off people doing that work.
Good question, it depends on the event. For most events, photographers do their own edits & captions and provide the "final" images. Editors just verify the caption data is formatted correctly, and clean up any exposures/edits if necessary. For big events, yes sometimes what is delivered is straight out of the camera. In most cases, we actually do not shoot at 30fps. Even 20fps is sometimes too much (although helpful in some situations). The amount of content is just overwhelming, plus it's a problem for storage.
Hi Jerry, hope you can help me with this. Is it allowed to use a three legged stool shooting college football on the sidelines? I am unable to kneel down, as I won't be able to get up unassisted.
Generally no, you won't be able to bring a stool or seat or anything like that on any football sidelines. You'll probably have to stand the whole game unless kneeling is required in certain areas.
Great video! the rear auto-focus has also helped prevent trigger finger for me when I'm out shooting. What are your thoughts on the 28-300mm Canon f/3.5-5.6L as compared to a dedicated 300mm lens? There are scenarios where I'll be going back and forth with a 100-400mm camera/lens and a 18-135mm camera/lens and it'd be nice to carry only 1 camera.
The prime is always going to be sharper, although the newer zooms are pretty darn good these days. I've not had direct experience with the Canon 28-300 but the newer EF 100-400 can yield some amazing results. The tradeoff for the convenience is you won't get as nice bokeh and you'll generally have to up your ISO to get the results you are looking for. Hopefully most of your motor events are daytime events!
@@acardena13 If I can add my opinion, I think a big factor in determining what gear you need would be what sport you shoot. I can "get away" with the 300 f/4 lens for baseball and lacrosse, but I would like to have a zoom lens for soccer, field hockey and other sports. I've used the original 100-400mm, but find the 300 f/4 to be sharper. That said, if they are moving all over the field, and if you are shooting for a team where parents want decent pics of every player, I would say the zoom is your best bet
I almost always shoot in manual mode. On rare occasion I will switch to aperture priority, and just make sure my ISO is high enough so that the exposure calculation will give me an adequate shutter speed.
Nice video. My number one accessory to get sharp sports pictures is a quality monopod.
Great tip! I should do a video about top accessories for sports photogs - and a quality monopod one is a good one to include!
Congrats! I love your tips
Thanks for watching!
Excellent points raised
Thanks as always for watching @NikCan!
@@JerryTLai you welcome & wonderful video yet again
Well said Chief, to have top-of-the-range equipment is not necessary can make you a good photographer. Practice made perfect.
How could i miss this video. Didn't notice the notification. Thank you, Mr.Lai! I'm heading to my first ever sports event on December 3rd and it's a national boxing tournament! Can't wait to test what i've learned!
Best of luck! You've got this!
Thanks for this video! I can't seem to master back button focus (and I've been doing this over 20 years), but all of the other things I wholeheartedly agree with-especially knowing the sport. I specialise in girls volleyball, dance competitions, and until a few years ago, horse shows. I also know lacrosse and field hockey. I've shot football and basketball only very occasionally, and my shots show this (as I had NO IDEA how to follow the action as I am VERY unfamiliar with those two sports)
I think I would initially be a little lost at your dance competitions and horse shows. I’d get a sharp photo and look for good backgrounds but it would take a bit to figure out what is going on!
@@JerryTLai Here is a link to a dance competition:
www.flickr.com/photos/sjhfoto/albums/72157719466522339
The first few shots are highlights, but then it is just the photos in order taken. The problem is, you really don't have time to get oriented. You see, I sell photos by the dance, and there is a new dance every 4 minutes or so for 14 hour days (usually 3 or more days in a row) There can't be mistakes as invariably, the dance you mess up is a dance a parent wants and will be VERY verbal about your error if you don't get it, or if the photos are subpar. No editing is done usually as we sell onsite.
Here is a horse show link:
www.flickr.com/photos/sjhfoto/albums/72157646564675808
Depending on the discipline (I usually shoot English riding, hunter/jumper, and dressage shows), there may be a bit more time between each routine, but you still need to capture them all. One rule of thumb is that the riders who buy the most are young girls-say under 18. So, if you need to miss a routine, try to make sure it is an older man's (but as murphy's law goes, that will be the one guy who wants to buy pictures!)
I know that what I do is probably far different than most of the shooters that view your page, but I think that the vast majority of people shoot high school sports in the dark gyms that I shoot volleyball, instead of the high-end major league photoshoots. Is that a fair assessment?
Thx
Great advice from a Pro!
Thank you Jerry for the informative videos. I was glad to hear you mention the challenge of following a QB throwing and then locating correct receiver. I have been shooting kids and HS sports for 18 years with latest setup-D500/70-200 and now finally stepped up to the D5/400mm prime combo and now having trouble locating players down field, albeit only experienced two FB games with 400 thus far. Any suggestions other than anticipating 3rd and long? Also, my keeper (focused) rate is about the same with D500/70-200. I was hoping to improve. My current technique is back button focus, AF-C, single point AF, 9 point dynamic-area, M mode, Shutter 800-1000, auto ISO, f/2.8, using VR. Anything you see wrong? I can bump up shutter to your 1600, turn VR off? Lastly, I accessed Nikon's Auto AF fine tuning to -17. We shall see tomorrow night if this helps. Many thanks!!
Jerry do you have a video on your best custom settings I just recently got the r6 ll
Great tips
Glad you found this helpful!
Jerry, enjoying the videos, great job! Quick question, its either BBF or Eye/face focus correct? I'm assuming BBF would be better when photographing action by a group of players.
Combo of both. I will use BBF with a single point to acquire focus, but then in cameras that have it, I allow eye/face focus to take over and track the subject.
I'm guessing that most of the time up close and personal shots/crops are the most desired. But, what are the times when you shoot for more context?
For someone on a budget trying to get into sports would a 1d mark iii or IV get the job done better than the newer RP ?
I use a 1d IV and have done for quite a few years, with great results in motor sport/ football / boxing / just to name a few. You could also look at the Canon 7d II .
@Hero Shotz! Thank you for watching. Any thing in the 1D line is superb and a step up from any of the consumer or prosumer series. I would perhaps try to find a 1D IV before the III... there are some III's out there that have some sharpness issues.
I use a 5D mkiv and 7Dmkii, but I am probably going to upgrade soon either to the 1Dxmkii or R5 or R6-I'm still deciding. But I shoot youth sports events. I guess a big factor would be what you make per month to determine how much you want to spend
Used 1Dx bodys are getting to be quite reasonable these days..
Splendid content. Jerry, I was wondering how does a publication such as yours receive your pics from your photographers? Are your shooters providing the final, or do you have editors making that final decision. I'm also thinking if we're shooting to the booth @30fps there may be some peeved-off people doing that work.
Good question, it depends on the event. For most events, photographers do their own edits & captions and provide the "final" images. Editors just verify the caption data is formatted correctly, and clean up any exposures/edits if necessary. For big events, yes sometimes what is delivered is straight out of the camera. In most cases, we actually do not shoot at 30fps. Even 20fps is sometimes too much (although helpful in some situations). The amount of content is just overwhelming, plus it's a problem for storage.
1/1600 second? You must not do high school volleyball like I do! I'm fortunate to shoot at 1/800sec!
Lol yeah… been a while since I’ve had to shoot in a HS gym.
Yeah, the poor lighting in HS gyms forces some really high ISOs to get the shutter speeds I want.
Hi Jerry, hope you can help me with this. Is it allowed to use a three legged stool shooting college football on the sidelines? I am unable to kneel down, as I won't be able to get up unassisted.
Generally no, you won't be able to bring a stool or seat or anything like that on any football sidelines. You'll probably have to stand the whole game unless kneeling is required in certain areas.
Great video! the rear auto-focus has also helped prevent trigger finger for me when I'm out shooting.
What are your thoughts on the 28-300mm Canon f/3.5-5.6L as compared to a dedicated 300mm lens? There are scenarios where I'll be going back and forth with a 100-400mm camera/lens and a 18-135mm camera/lens and it'd be nice to carry only 1 camera.
The prime is always going to be sharper, although the newer zooms are pretty darn good these days. I've not had direct experience with the Canon 28-300 but the newer EF 100-400 can yield some amazing results. The tradeoff for the convenience is you won't get as nice bokeh and you'll generally have to up your ISO to get the results you are looking for. Hopefully most of your motor events are daytime events!
@@JerryTLai Thanks for the reply! I'm very fortunate that most of the racing happens during the day, thought the trade off is massive amounts of dust.
@@acardena13 If I can add my opinion, I think a big factor in determining what gear you need would be what sport you shoot. I can "get away" with the 300 f/4 lens for baseball and lacrosse, but I would like to have a zoom lens for soccer, field hockey and other sports. I've used the original 100-400mm, but find the 300 f/4 to be sharper. That said, if they are moving all over the field, and if you are shooting for a team where parents want decent pics of every player, I would say the zoom is your best bet
@@SJHFoto Thanks! Yeah, I have vehicles that start off in the distance but are coming in pretty close at a turn where I'm switching between 2 cameras
@@acardena13 So, what are you shooting? Did you ever say?
Do you shoot in manual mode or shutter priority
I almost always shoot in manual mode. On rare occasion I will switch to aperture priority, and just make sure my ISO is high enough so that the exposure calculation will give me an adequate shutter speed.