Picture Perfect: Photographing Performances and Sporting Events

By Candice Stringham

I have never been a sports fan—the thought of sitting through several hours of basketball was not my idea of a good time. Until, that is, I was blessed with two very active sport-loving boys. As a parent, my opinion has changed. Today, I’m a crazy mom cheering and clapping on the sidelines—and maybe I’ll even admit to getting a little teary when they make a goal or a basket. As a result, indoor photography has become an important part of my life. Soccer, volleyball, basketball, school assemblies, theatre performances, choir performances, dance and piano recitals—as a parent suddenly we must learn to adapt to less-than-perfect photography situations: low light and sitting in an audience to name a couple. Below are a couple of tips for getting those great shots.

Shutter Speeds

Shutter speed refers to how long the shutter is open letting in light. The longer the shutter is open the more light you let in. Your shutter also controls the movement your photograph shows. Fast shutter speeds freeze movement. Slow shutter speeds show movement.

If you are photographing a sporting event (or a toddler), where the subject is moving quickly, than you will want to use a really fast shutter speed (1/500 or even 1/1000.) If you want to show movement in a photograph by blurring the subject, then you would use a slow shutter speed like 1/30th or 1/15th. (The bigger the bottom number, the faster the shutter speed.)

Hint: When you are using a slow shutter speed, you should try to use a tripod so that you don’t get camera shake (from you shaking while holding the camera not the subject moving).

So how do you control your shutter speed? You can control it manually, but to simplify things, use the TV or S (depending on the camera) mode on your camera. In this mode you choose the shutter speed and your camera will choose the aperture to give you a correct exposure.

This photograph was taken at 1/20th. The subjects are blurred especially where they were moving the most, in the legs and feet. Also the background is slightly blurry because I was holding the camera myself instead of using a tripod.

This photograph was taken at 1/1000th. Even though the subjects are jumping at the same speed they are sharp, frozen in the air because of the fast shutter speed.

Low Light

Low light situations may be romantic, but they don’t make it easy to get great photos. Use these tips for improving your indoor photos.

Turn off your flash

As much as you wish it would your flash isn’t going to help. For one thing most performance situations won’t allow flash photography during the show. And something that many people don’t realize is that your flash has a very limited range in which it works. It’s different for each flash but on most standard on camera flashes it’s only 15 feet so if you are in an audience more than 15 feet away from the subject, which most likely you are, your flash will do nothing but illuminate the head of the audience members seated in front of you.

Hint: Take pictures at practices for sports teams you will be able to move around the field and get in closer rather than sitting in the stands.

Invest in the right equipment

Here are the things you need to take good pictures at an indoor event. You need a lens that can zoom or a telephoto to get close. You need to have a lens with a good open aperture so 1.8 or 2.8. So that you can let in a lot of light. It’s also handy to have a monopod (a tripod with one leg) it’s smaller than a tripod so it’s easy to move around or fit between seats and it helps to hold your camera still so you don’t get camera shake.

Hint: Ask the teachers or coach if you can come and take pictures from the side of the stage at a dress rehearsal in exchange for pictures of the performance. You can get a new view of all the action at a time when there is less pressure on the children.

Turn Up Your ISO Setting

ISO is the international standard used to denote film speed. It is now being used in digital imaging as the ISO equivalent for the sensors used in digital cameras. The higher the number, the more sensitive to light the exposure will be. For example, an ISO of 100 is great for taking pictures outside an ISO of 800 is great for taking a picture in a gym. Most cameras start around 100 and on some cameras you can dial all the way up to ISO 3200. Check your camera’s manual to learn how to change your ISO.

Adjust Your White Balance

If you are in a gym most likely the lights are florescent (change your white balance to a picture of a bar, which represents the long tube lights that fluorescents usually are). If you are in a theater they are probably tungsten (change your white balance to the picture of a light bulb). Changing your white balance will give you much better color instead of the orange or green cast you usually get when taking pictures indoors.

Open Your Aperture

The last thing you will need to do is open your aperture. An aperture is a hole in the camera that can get larger or smaller to let in more or less light. In this case you will want to open your aperture to let in more light. That means use a low number aperture, for example 2.8 or 1.8. This also blurs out the background which is great when you want your child to have all the focus.

Outdoor Sports

Outdoor sports have a unique set of challenges. Instead of a lack of light you suddenly have an abundance of bright light! And depending on which side of the field you are on you are dealing with either light in the sports players faces or backlight shining into your camera. Either way you can make it work.

1. Unlike traditional portraits a little harsh lighting isn’t going to hurt the mood of a sports photo. It may even help light up your sports player’s faces under their helmets and hats so don’t be afraid of direct light.
2. If you are in a backlighting situation and the sky is much brighter than the subjects make sure that you zoom in and meter right on the players, noting the settings your camera gives you. Then reset your camera to manual mode and adjust to match the settings that your camera gave you. This way you will expose for the players instead of the sky. The sky will blow out in some areas but it is better than having a perfect sky and silhouetted players.