So ummmm.....

[bronc_fan23]

Hi, I'm new here. I'm a photographer for my High School yearbook. Photography has always been an interest for me and always will be.

Today I took some pictures of my JV High School football team.

This was with a Nikon D50 and a 80-200mm lens.

What did I do wrong?

 

[fightheheathens]

looks like your shutter speed needs to be faster. You can do that by bumping up the ISO and opening up your aperature to its widest setting

 

[bronc_fan23]

looks like your shutter speed needs to be faster. You can do that by bumping up the ISO and opening up your aperature to its widest setting

So pretty much same old story for alot of people taking football photos.
Haha

Thanks a bunch!

 

[gizmo2071]

It's just because the amount of action going on.
So you need to set the shutter speed faster and it also seems like your moving the camera with the flow.
So you need to practice smoother panning techniques.

Photographing sporting events is always tough with the amounts of movment.

Keep at it.

 

[TBaraki]

Your timing and composition is great though. Speed up the shutter and adjust exposure accordingly and you will be golden.

 

[Big Mike]

Welcome to the forum.

Were you using the 70-200 F4? or the 70-200 F2.8?
I'm guessing that it was the F4...but I may be wrong.

As others have pointed out...you need to use a faster shutter speed. This can be a problem because the lighting on football fields is usually pretty poor, and this one looks to be no exception. You will need to use your widest aperture and then maybe adjust your ISO higher...and that may still not be enough.

Have you seen the lenses that Pro photographers use at football games? They are easy to spot because they are huge...and they are so heavy that use of a mono pod is almost mandatory. Those lenses cost about as much as a small car....but that it what it takes to get their shots...and those games have better light that you have here...so you may be fighting a loosing battle.

You can do the best with what you have though. Use your maximum aperture, and a high ISO. Use a tripod or monopod...or at least rest the lens on something solid. Try to shoot when there is action...but not a lot of fast movement...like at the top of a jump, or a quarterback about to throw etc.

 

[dsp921]

Looks like you shot these at f/2.8 and 1/60s. You'll need to bump the ISO up so you can get the shutter speed as fast as possible. Looks like motion blur and camera shake. I know people that get nice results with a similar setup to yours, so it is possible. The D50 is good at high ISO so don't be afraid to bump it up.

 

[fmw]

A lot of things go into making good sports shots and timing is a big one. Take a look at the shot below of a pitcher. I made this photo with a really long lens mounted to a monopod on a 35mm camera. I don't remember the exposure but it was shot on ISO 100 Velvia ( not fast film. ) It was shot wide open at F4. Notice that I caught the pitcher when he was almost motionless. His arm is cocked to throw the ball but he hasn't started the forward motion of his arm yet. The shot is nice and sharp despite having to shoot with a big lens from the sidelines. I made a bunch of exposures to get this one just right which became a program cover.

The lens you used is excellent and very fast. It will handle what you want to do with ease. Use aperture priority and open up the lens all the way. That will give you the shutter speed you need.

At any rate, here's the pitcher.

 

[Tiberius]

The lens you used is excellent and very fast. It will handle what you want to do with ease. Use aperture priority and open up the lens all the way. That will give you the shutter speed you need.

For sports, I find it much safer to use shutter priority and set the shutter as fast as it will go before reading as underexposed, and then just rely on the fact that it'll leave the aperture wide-open and guarantee that the motion is frozen.