How do I take good indoor sports pictures?

[Ben Schwartz]

I have a Canon Rebel XSi and a Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM Telephoto Zoom Lens.

I often take Arena Football pictures and I am struggling BIG TIME with getting non-motion blurred images. I have great timing but I can't seem to get sharp images 90% of the time. I've jacked the ISO up as far as possible and have tried every mode but am still stuck. The lighting is not bad at all, and should not hurt the pictures as much as they are.

They are dark as well, but that isn't the big issue (can be easily corrected in PS).

I am not completely versed in advanced functionality so if anyone has any suggestions they would go a long way!

 

[JE Kay]

You need a lens that is f2.8 at a min. Faster is better.

You gotta be able to keep your shutter speed at least at 500 in order to stop most motion, for the most part.

 

[gsgary]

I have a Canon Rebel XSi and a Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM Telephoto Zoom Lens.

I often take Arena Football pictures and I am struggling BIG TIME with getting non-motion blurred images. I have great timing but I can't seem to get sharp images 90% of the time. I've jacked the ISO up as far as possible and have tried every mode but am still stuck. The lighting is not bad at all, and should not hurt the pictures as much as they are.

They are dark as well, but that isn't the big issue (can be easily corrected in PS).

I am not completely versed in advanced functionality so if anyone has any suggestions they would go a long way!

I'm sorry but you have no chance with the lens you own, you need F2.8 minimum eg. 70-200F2.8L

 

[KmH]

You ever notice those big honkin' white $8000 lenses and $7000 camera bodies the pros use to shoot sports?

As mentioned above it's all about shutter speed. About the only other thing you can do (besides upgrading your glass) is pan with your subject to minimise a slow shutter speed caused by your consumer glass.

Be mindful that you don't need as much shutter speed to stop motion that is coming directly at you or is moving straight away from you. The most shutter speed is needed for subjects moving across your line of sight.

So, get seats at the end lines not on the sidelines until you can upgrade your glass and body.

 

[Saddlebreds4me]

With my f/2.8 lenses I was having some issues (operator error no doubt) but if you check out my thread "high speed low light" that should be near the top of this page - it might help you. I received some wonderful help and I don't care if it's arena football or horses - I'm pretty sure the focusing techniques I was given would work for both. But just to be on the safe side, someone with more experience than I might want to chime in on this one.