College Football

<p>Hello! My name is Alysia Horcher. I am a college student interested in photography and I work for the football team as a photographer. All of our games are during the afternoon and I have access to the sidelines. <br>

Last year, I made a few purchases. I bought a Canon EOS Rebel XS camera, which came with a 18-55mm IS lens. I also bought a 70-300mm Tamron lens around Christmas. I used the 18-55mm lens all season. It worked great, but I felt like sometimes the action was too far away. <br>

I guess I have 3 questions. (I am still new to this whole photography thing and trying to figure everything out). <br>

1) Will the Tamron lens work for games? I haven't had the chance to use it much, but I want to get a new lens before the season starts if necessary. <br>

2) If the Tamron lens isn't ideal for sports photography, what lens should I invest inl? I am a student, so I don't have the budget for the really fancy lenses you see on the sidelines of NFL games. <br>

3) What are the best settings to have my camera on? </p>

<p>Thank you in advance!!<br>

-Alysia Horcher </p>

<p>Alysia - </p>

<p>1) Since you're shooting mostly afternoon games - you should be fine. If you go to night games or cloudy days - you may have an issue - or maybe not... You should be able to crank up the ISO (light sensitivity) a little bit to get fast enough shutter speeds. </p>

<p>2) There really isn't a lot of cheap, fast, super telephoto lenses available. In fact the 3 are pretty much mutually exclusive. The best idea that I can come up with is a SIGMA 150-500 (Used) - it's a slower, heavy lens, but should work fine for what you need and may be had for $1,000 or less. Compared to the $3,000 + for the lenses you see on the NFL sidelines. </p>

<p>3) Tv or Av mode - Tv you pick the shutter speed (1/300 +) Av you pick the aperture (as wide open as your lens will go). ISO 400 - 1000 depending on the light. 200 ISO if it is really bright. </p>

<p>Dave</p>

<p>Hi Alysia, welcome to photo.net!<br>

I rarely shoot (american) football, but lot of other sports. The „gold standard” for many sports-photographers is the Canon 2.8/70-200mm. This lens is/was made with and without Image-Stabilisation (IS), a feature not really necessary in the afternoon. A good used copy of the Canon 2.8/70-200 without IS will be a worthwhile investment. <br>

Same goes for the 4/300mm. A used one without IS will deliver very good image-quality and a good bit more „reach” than the 70-200. <br>

The 300 should be used with a monopod in my opinion.<br>

Hope this helps, Georg!</p>

<p>BTW, here's on of my rare football-shots. It was shot with the Nikon-equivalent of a Rebel XS and the 300/4 at f/4.</p><div></div>

<p>I like George's ideas - buy top quality, used lenses. I've bought from KEH.com before and love my older, Nikon 300 f4. The difference in sharpness and color rendition will amaze you as compared to the lenses you have now. <br>

Next will be moving up to higher end camera bodies. They will give you better performance at higher ISO settings, and faster burst rates. The faster burst rates give you 2-3 images closer together than the 3-4 frames per sec. of the Rebel line and comparable Nikons. Higher end bodies and pro lenses will, in most cases, focus faster also. Important for sports photography!<br>

I typically shoot Aperture Priority and keep the ISO high enough to insure fast shutter speeds in the existing light. I use a wide aperture to blur the BG.</p>

<p>Hi Alysia,<br>

While the 70-200 may be the gold standard for some sports, I would not call it that for American Football. I have all of the big Nikon Fast Telephoto Lenses, (300 2.8, 400 2.8 and 500 F4) and as David says, they are mutually exclusive as far as cheap goes. If I had to have one lens for football I think it would be either the 300 or 400 2.8. If you are shooting in the afternoon, the 300/F4 would work as well. I see a lot of college students on the side/end lines of college games and I think it is fantastic. I shot some NCAA Basketball tournament games this year and saw the school I was covering even sent students on an 800 mile trip to cover the game, it is a great experience. Getting credentials to a college game is no easy feat, so seize the day:)<br>

You will get as many opinions as you will camera and lenses out there, but one of the things you could probably ask yourself is just how interested you are in this. I like Steve's idea about buying off of KEH. I have had luck on eBay since they started offering buyer protection. I got my 400 and 500 on ebay and am very happy. Camera technology will constantly improve, but lenses tend to have more staying power:)<br>

Good luck and enjoy:)<br>

Harry</p>

<p>Hi Alysia,<br>

I just want to comment the Sigma 150-500 that David H mentioned and which I own. It is a large, heavy lens, and it demands lots of light. I would consider using it with a monopod, as it is not easy to hand hold, even though it has OS. At least my copy is a bit too soft above the 400mm.</p>

<p>assuming you will be hand holding and not using a monopod the 70-200 2.8 is a great lens it can be heavy after carrying it around the whole game. Being a student you may look at the Canon 200mm f2.8 L prime lens ~$800 and about 1/2 the weight. And if your xs provides good enough quality at ISO 800-1600 (not everyday is clear skys) 300mm F4 IS ~$1400 is also an option. With the primes you won't be able to zoom out for shots close on your side of the field but for most of the game you are shooting into the middle of the field or down the sideline 20+ yards not 10 feet away when the reciever is doing a route right next to you. both are less expensive and both will take the 1.4 TC and autofocus (center only on the 300+1.4 at 5.6) and the 200 with take 2x (but only center point focus) if you need the extra reach and have enough light. <br>

The focus speed/accuracy and FPS if the rebel will be lower than a higher end body but usable. Good glass > higher speed most of the time, I can blast out 10FPS with my 1dIV but if I had crappy glass thats just 10 crap shots per second. I would rather get 3 good shots per second.</p>

<p><br />It is always important to arrive early so you can shoot the team running through their warm up session. This is a perfect opportunity to work out your exposure settings, and game time shooting location. You want to find a place that is central to the action, but where your view will not be blocked. With football, you will often end up working your way up and down the sidelines, so wear comfortable shoes!<br>

Get more tips from following how to photograph football articles :<br>

<a href="http://blog.photoshelter.com/2009/12/how-to-photograph-football/">http://blog.photoshelter.com/2009/12/how-to-photograph-football/</a><br>

<a href="http://www.photographytalk.com/photography-articles/1796-how-to-take-great-photographs-of-football-part-one">http://www.photographytalk.com/photography-articles/1796-how-to-take-great-photographs-of-football-part-one</a><br>

<a href="http://www.popphoto.com/how-to/2008/12/how-to-photograph-football">http://www.popphoto.com/how-to/2008/12/how-to-photograph-football</a></p>