Amateur Footy

Phil1974

Phil1974

Suspended / Banned
Messages
868
Name
Phil
Edit My Images
Yes
My company has a charity 5 a side footy tournament coming up and I'm thinking of volunteering to take some photos for them. My question is what will I need? I have a D5000 and thinking of using my 35mm 1.8 and a 55-200 to get in closer. I also have a Jessops 360 flashgun. Will this be ok? I'm not getting paid, it's just for fun, but I would like some good shots to show off.
 
Last edited:
Mods, any chance of moving this thread to Basics? Might get a few more replies??

Thanks.
 
Hi Phil, the guys on here will have been working nearly all weekend, so they will be sorting out their pix etc, so you will find that you can usually catch them more in the week.
 
Ahhh good point. Didn't think of that. Will hold on for a bit then, cheers mate :)
 
If its just for fun and your first time go and have a go with what you currently have and see how you go on. I wouldn't bother with the 35mm and no to the flash as well unless its for presentations and team photos when you will probably need your wideer lens as well.

There is no point spending £1600 on a 70-200 2.8 for somthing you are trying for the first time. Just hope for good light and don't hope for too much especially on the first time. I had a 70-200 2.8 and my first match was junk a lesson from Kipax while he shot a match helped me no end and the next time I shot my photos were miles better.

The Kipax master class went somthing along the lines of get the photo no matter what, use the full capabilities of your camera and equipment. The main thing was keep your shutter speed up, blured photos don't sell, I was keeping my ISO low to prevent noise which resulted in lower than a desired shutter speed and blured players and ball so up the ISO to allow you to use 1/500th which should freeze a football.

A few ideas for settings to use, if you can manual set your shutter speed to the 1/500 and apperture to wide open, and ISO to auto and see how that works for you, I know my 500D sort of only goes up to 400ISO in auto so I have to set it higher manually if I need it. I'm not sure about nikon kit but focusing should track moving objects not single shot focusing AI servo on canon. Thats should be good for you to get you started.

Things like metering for dark and light coloured kits can be fun depending on your metering setting I usually use spot and +1 EV for a white shirt and -1 for a dark shirt one of each can be fun.
 
Cheers Little John. I will see if I can get down there to practice a bit. Will the fact I'll be shooting under floodlights at night make a difference to the settings needed? I'm normally in Aperture priority but am thinking of sticking it in P mode and raising the shutter speed from there.
 
Phil1974 said:
Cheers Little John. I will see if I can get down there to practice a bit. Will the fact I'll be shooting under floodlights at night make a difference to the settings needed? I'm normally in Aperture priority but am thinking of sticking it in P mode and raising the shutter speed from there.
Click to expand...

Night game you will need to shoot in manual. Aperture wide open, ISO as high as you can and see what shutter speed you have left
 
Thanks Andy. Might get out in the garden tonight and make the Mrs run around a bit under the security light to practice ;)
Also sorely tempted to hire some faster glass for the evening as I'm not sure my 55-200 will cut it at f5.6 at full stretch!
 
Phil1974 said:
Thanks Andy. Might get out in the garden tonight and make the Mrs run around a bit under the security light to practice ;)
Also sorely tempted to hire some faster glass for the evening as I'm not sure my 55-200 will cut it at f5.6 at full stretch!
Click to expand...

Even under premier league standard lights f/5.6 would struggle. I would think twice about hiring kit unless the company are willing to pay for it, why should you be out of pocket?
 
Phil, do you know anyone who could lend you a lens?....just a thought.
 
Unfortunately not. Lensesforhire has a 70-200 f2.8 for £77 per week. Might look at this as it's a lens I would like to try anyway. As for the company hiring the lens for the occasion this wouldn't really be an option.
 
Try lenspimp.com. They do 3 day hire so can be a bit cheaper. Not used them myself but there's a thread somewhere on TP about them.
 
Last edited:
Thanks Andy. Had a quick check on Lenspimp but they're only £17 cheaper for 3 days as opposed to 7. Now I just have to persuade the wife that parting with £77 is a good plan. At least I'm not asking to buy it, at £1700 I think I may already know the answer ;)
 
I use a D50 with 18-70 lens for under 12's footy and on an overcast day need to shoot iso 800 to get shutter speed quick enough to freeze the ball

Camera set to Manual 1/500th and the lens wide open but at the far end is about f4.5
 
Cheers mate. It's going to be a night tournament now, late October. Think I need to hire the good stuff :)
 
What are the floodlight like ...I hope they are decent or you may have a tough night ...
 
Not sure to be honest. It's a Powerleague venue so will go and have a look in the next few days. Not holding out much hope of good light :(
 
If you have time Phil, its always a good idea to do a recce before the event...Sometimes it's just not possible so you have to go equipped for the worst and then be pleasantly surprised when the light is great ...Be lucky !
 
Tugster said:
If you have time Phil, its always a good idea to do a recce before the event...Sometimes it's just not possible so you have to go equipped for the worst and then be pleasantly surprised when the light is great ...Be lucky !
Click to expand...

I've been asked to do a local leagues divisional cup finals at the end of the season and I know where the finals will be held and I plan to contact the clubs and ask if I can take a few shots of their next night games.

I've also had a look at the grounds on google maps, one looks ok but the other looks like the same lights on our rugby clubs 2nd pitch and they are terrible 6400, 2.8 and 200-250th sec.
 
An 85mm 1.8 on a crop will give you a longer reach of around 130mm, and a stop. Its also a lot easier to carry for a few hours than a 70-200. I have the latter, but seriously think that an 85mm would cover many of my sports shots (granted its not going to work when players are at the other side of the field, but... use your legs!)

Incidentally, LFH do 3 day, weekend, and other durations for their hire. Their P&P is usually cheaper than others too.

Edit: of course, a cheap monopod will help you with slower shutter speeds.
 
See if you can get down and take some practice shots before speding on lens hire

it could be a long frustrating night with poor lighting

I know some grounds I have shot at evening games are terrible, ISO 1600/3200 shutter speed of 1/250th and F2.8 with not the best of results
 
Some great advice thanks all. Like I said originally, it's only for fun and something I would like to try so not going to be laying out a fortune in gear (buying or hiring). Might have to see if I get a bonus next month before I decide :) whatever happens it seems I will need a lot better glass than I currently own/can afford. Maybe it's time to sell that kidney after all, who needs two anyway ;)
 
The thing to consider is at just under £80 its an expensive bit of fun should you not enjoy it
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top