Tips on shooting Cricket? (My first time)

mipevo6

mipevo6

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Folks,

I am going to have my first attempt at shooting Cricket this coming weekend. I have never shot sport so looking for tips...

Kit
7D
100-400
I assume I will need to keep my shutter speed up (due to be bright on Saturday)

Any other tips for me?

Best location to stand? (local cricket club so open boundry)
Best settings ?

Thank you very much in advance
 
Cricket, you say........ As with any static subject, tripod (IS off), mirror lockup, timer or remote release. If you want to emphasise motion then try longer shutters speeds, like 15 seconds or so. You may need a 10 stop ND filter to help. Might be worth giving time lapse a go. :D

:coat:

On a more serious note, I've never shot cricket either, but it might be worth Googling some cricket images for ideas of shots and to see whether you can grab any EXIF data from images you like....

http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=cr...source=og&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi&biw=1704&bih=1087
 
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My first ever post on TP was about exactly this and with the same kit, on a thread with an identical question.

It's in here (talk sport) somewhere from about a year ago. If I have time I'll try to find it, if not a search should turn it up.
 
tdodd said:
Cricket, you say........ As with any static subject, tripod (IS off), mirror lockup, timer or remote release. If you want to emphasise motion then try longer shutters speeds, like 15 seconds or so. You may need a 10 stop ND filter to help. Might be worth giving time lapse a go. :D

:coat:

On a more serious note, I've never shot cricket either, but it might be worth Googling some cricket images for ideas of shots and to see whether you can grab any EXIF data from images you like....

http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=cr...source=og&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi&biw=1704&bih=1087
Click to expand...


Good suggestions as always :-)

I will have a google....
 
Nasty man Mr. Dodd :D but his advice on finding cricket shots on-line for examples is sound as ever.

Lots of options open to you, nice tight framing, 45 degrees on to the batsman, wide open to get blurred background and isolation of stroke play etc. ditto for the bowler but maybe 90 degrees on. Stand just to the side of the bowler's end sight screen to get both bowler and batsman in frame, F8 or higher to get both in focus to get action/reaction shots. Opposite the mid point of the wicket to get lovely side on view of the bowler releasing the ball and the batsman squaring up to receive.

Keep the shutter speed up in general (1/800+) but some blur can be useful to show movement, apertures to suit but with the long end of the 400 you can't open far can you :(

As with all sports knowing what is about to happen is key, will the batsman call for a quick single, what's the likelihood of a catch on the boundary? Practice pulling in the zoom very quickly to snap from close up to the outfielder almost in your lap :p Try to shoot right eye if you can with left eye open to try and follow the flight of the ball, difficult but can be rewarding. Keep the FPS as high as possible, slight heresy, but if you're happy/confident on getting the shot right in the camera then consider shooting in jpeg to get higher burst speeds and longer burst sequences, the slight difference in position of the ball in the frame can change the whole picture.

Don't forget the sunscreen, been there, been burnt, not nice.

Have fun
 
fitzer said:
Lots of options open to you, nice tight framing, 45 degrees on to the batsman, wide open to get blurred background
Click to expand...

I would never shoot cricket wide open.. The size of the cricet field/pitch is so big that you can use a more forgiving aperture and still have the background out. I like f5.6 but am also happy with f8

Cricket being shot in the summer and more often than not on a bright sunny day its just about impossible to go wide open on a 2.8 lens BTW :)

Dont rely on av or whatever mode or all your pics will be under exposed due to all the white.. either shoot in manual or use exposure compensation

shoot from behind the wicket if you can.. if the bowler (with back to you) is on the left then you go to the right of the wicket.. this will give you great shots when the bowler turns to the umpire for a decision.. usually arms in air and screaming like a madman.. great pics :)

Dont try and follow the ball with you eye or camera IMHO.. its just not going to work.. you and the ball will get to a fielder at same time..not good!.. as soon as a player hits the ball big time.. lower camera and look in the direction its going.. if a catch about to happen you will see the fielder preparing in plenty of time to point, focus and start shooting.. (this is when all the you should be able to shoot in one shot if your good people have egg on there face) start shooting when you see him holding his hands ready.. dont wait until you see the ball or you will be too late believe me :)

I say position behind wickets.. if your there for the day then move around for different angles and experiment.. plenty of time.. however as soon as you do move a wicket will fall and you will swear :)

It is possible to get a diverse range of pics.. it isnt as boring as people make out for photography

search tp.. lots of pics and lots of advice... these where just mine based on the above posts..
 
I was wondering where my reply had gone?

turns out you ahve double posted and i replied in another part of TP :(
 
KIPAX said:
I would never shoot cricket wide open.. The size of the cricet field/pitch is so big that you can use a more forgiving aperture and still have the background out. I like f5.6 but am also happy with f8

Cricket being shot in the summer and more often than not on a bright sunny day its just about impossible to go wide open on a 2.8 lens BTW :)
Click to expand...

Since he's shooting with the 100-400 F4.5 is as wide as he can go and @ 400 5.6 is wide open
 
fitzer said:
Since he's shooting with the 100-400 F4.5 is as wide as he can go and @ 400 5.6 is wide open
Click to expand...

You said wide open with a blurred background. That's implying f/2.8 or /4 at cricket distances, not /5.6.
 
Tip I learned the first time out, don't walk across the back of the screens while play is going on, between balls is ok but not during chucking and hitting. also don't sit to close to the screens its distracting apparently and everyone shouts at you.

Ohh yeah and park as far away as you can, the guy who comes on last to bat usually really goes for it.

Don't forget there are others playing as well not just the 2 running up and down with bats and the guy chucking at them. i like to get shots of the guy just stumped/caught what ever with the other team celebrating on the back ground, you normally need to sit near the pavilion for those to catch them walking off.
223420_10150163461403387_673418386_6833479_1624845_n.jpg


Keep an eye on the individual run tally, when they get 50 or 100 they usually salute the crown raising their bat in the direction of the larger group usually the bar area. Yes cricket is an excuse to sit outside drinking copious amounts or alcohol.

Best place? I like to shoot down the wicket at the hitter or chucker but you need a long lens for that.
223516_10150163461208387_673418386_6833476_4334082_n.jpg


I also like to go side on to the crease get them at full stretch. Not so long a lens as depending what part of the square they use you can be quite close to them. I was a little behind him on this as he kept going for the boundary towards this way but after I moved there he went for somewhere else.
222264_10150163460768387_673418386_6833463_1074073_n.jpg


Ohh yeah keep an eye on your background, the carpark doesn't make a good one neither do fat shirtless men ;)
 
Little John said:
Ohh yeah keep an eye on your background, the carpark doesn't make a good one neither do fat shirtless men ;)
Click to expand...

says he after just posting a pic full of red cars in the background hahahaha

your right though.. and some grounds have bright blue or red bins scattered about.. they stick out like a sore thumb..

you cant beat a good background at cricket :)

salesbury.jpg
 
This same thread is in tlak sports.. trime to merge?
 
KIPAX said:
says he after just posting a pic full of red cars in the background hahahaha

your right though.. and some grounds have bright blue or red bins scattered about.. they stick out like a sore thumb..

you cant beat a good background at cricket :)
Click to expand...

It was there as an example :lol:

We all learn things quite quickly, I found myself moving all day last weekend as the car park filled up

that is a stunning shot, not many cricket pitches round here on the edge of a cliff, just watch for the diving catch over it.
 
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KIPAX,

Thanks very much for the excellent advice...

I will only be there for a little while, but will try a few different points of view....

Behind the stumps / bowler etc..
45 degrees to the batsman etc...

Should be a bright sunny day so should be able to get F8 with a decent shutter speed.

I will also look at my exposures very closely due to all the white


Thanks
 
John are you using a converter or straight off wiht the 300 for cricket? i found the 1.4 and the x2 brilliant wiht the 300
 
Most are with the 1.4TC attached I could do with a little more so am looking at a 2x but am not sure if to get the mk2 or mk3 the mk2's seem to have gone up in price 2nd hand now and the 3's are comming down.

Side on I usually go 300mm bare at f/4 unless light is failing and I go to f/2.8. With the 1.4tc on and the 95% viewfinder its more luck if I get the player in the frame. I normally use the 70-200 on the 2nd body to catch the closer stuff and a wider view of whats going on.
 
Yeah I saw them, I bought the 1.4 becasue they didnt look like i expected them to be
 
sorry for the double post as I realised I had put it in the wrong place LOL....

great advice all round folks, i will take my time and have a play, they are close to me so i can go back a few times over the summer I hope :-)
 
Lovely photo that Kipax.
 
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