Indoor Sports pictures

[hunter91]

Does anyone have any tips on taking pictures at basketball games. I took some pictures at my daughters Basketball game and of course a lot came out blurry, but some had some players in focus and others blurred or the ball blurred. Any tips would be appreciated. I am shooting a Cannon Rebel XSI with a 18-55mm lens and a 75-300mm lens. She has another game tonight so I can try some of the tips out. thanks in advance.

[Shane]

You need a fast shutter speed to stop the action. That means you either need to use a flash (may not be allowed in the gym) or you need a lens with a larger aperture - lower f/stop setting (more expensive). In a basketball or volleyball game, you can usually get by fairly well with a Canon 50mm prime lens. They have a super fast f/1.4 version, but it's more expensive. The f/1.8 version can be had for $100 or so, and it's plenty fast.

The kit lenses that you have just don't have a large enough aperture to get enough light for a fast shutter speed without a flash. I have used both of those lenses before myself, and I got similar results. They're fine for situations where you have plenty of light or when there is not a lot of fast movement in your photograph, but sports in a gym aren't their strong suits.

Here's the Nifty Fifty - Fantastic Plastic:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...0mm_f_1_8.html

[jbiswell36]

oh

[aggie2000tx]

Which setting were you using on the camera? Shane is right though on the lenses. It is far easier to shoot action shots at a football game verses a basketball game.

[Shane]

One more thing.....you can bump your ISO setting up to 800 or 1600 with your current lenses, and that will get you faster shutter speeds. You'll get more noisy (grainy) images, but you will be able to stop the action.

[hunter91]

Thanks guys, I took some and should be able to get them on my machine soon. I was initially shooting on "P" I changed to "AV" On Monday and took the f Stop as small as it would go.

[Shane]

Thanks guys, I took some and should be able to get them on my machine soon. I was initially shooting on "P" I changed to "AV" On Monday and took the f Stop as small as it would go.

That will help. If they're still blurry from movement, then bump up your ISO.