The Budget Photographer: Sports Photography
By Dan
It was a sunny and hot day when I went out to cover a sporting event. The event was an International Rugby Seven’s tournament. Many teams from different countries competed on 3 different rugby tournament category. Australia, South Africa, Tonga, New Zealand are just some of the countries that competed on the 2-day event.
While I was taking photos, I was overwhelmed with the “big guns” and “big body” of the photographers who were covering the event. The big things I was referring to were the pro-grade lenses such as 300mm f/2.8, 400mm f/4.8, 200-400mm f/4 and pro grade bodies of Nikon D2x and Canon 1D Mark III.
Then questions popped on my mind:
Ever wonder on how to gear up on a budget?
Ever wonder how to take great photos on a budget?
I bet you are thinking, how and when would I ever get to hold on those big toys? NOT!
The above questions are very common among photographers on a tight budget. Particularly in the world of photography, it doesn’t come cheap when it comes to having a complete gear. You have to invest on the gear that you want to have.
Going back to the questions about budget, well here are some tips that I would like to share to fellow photographers on a tight budget. These tips are aimed towards sports photography coverage; particularly those having an entry level or advance amateur camera system. Below are some of the tips when covering a sporting event.
- Fully charge your battery and have a spare one in-case your main battery runs low.
- Memory cards, be it an SD/CF card, have it handy and bring at least 2-3 spare cards. Get a “fast” memory card for fast read/write on the camera while taking pictures.
- Set your camera to take “jpeg” pictures. Setting it to “raw” mode would slow down your shooting frame per second and takes time to write to the memory card. Most entry level or advance amateur cameras has 3fps shooting capability which is fair enough to take decent shots.
- The following are some consumer lens suggestion that you could use in taking action packed shots:
- 18-200mm f3.5-5.6
- 55-200mm f4-5.6
- 70-300mm f4-5.6
- 100-300mm f4
The above lenses are very common among different lens manufacturer.
Some lenses have the VR (Vibration Reduction) or IS (Image Stabilization) feature that could help you take sharp and steady photos, yet you have to add extra cash for the lens feature.
The pictures below are taken with Nikon D50, Tamron 70-300mm f4-5.6
- Pan and zoom your shots, depending on the image you want to capture.
- It’s not all about sports action when taking pictures. Pan your eyes during the event, be on the lookout for some candid shots, be it during the game or half time breaks. Get people shots, crowd reaction, and the venue. Be creative in some of your shots, do some experimental shots with the camera and lens.
- Bring a monopod, this will be a great help for those lenses without the VR or IS feature. A tripod will do but the monopod is more flexible and handy.
- Water. Yes, bottled water or isotonic drink is recommended for outdoor sporting events. For sure you will be thirsty if the conditions are hot and sunny. Better rehydrate and keep yourself cool.
- Wear a long sleeves shirt, hat or sports cap if you’re under the heat of the sun. We don’t want to get sun burned do we?
- Have an umbrella, raincoat or plastic poncho so you won’t get wet if it rains. This is if you feel the possibility that it will rain on the event day otherwise stay in a shelter to shoot. To protect your gear from being wet have a plastic bag for your camera gear and lenses.
- Keep a camera flash handy if in case; the tournament extends through the night.
Hope you find the tips above useful during your sporting event coverage. I will be posting some more tips on my next article on budget photography.
Just enjoy taking pictures, not just snapshots but great pictures. As what they say practice makes perfect.
