need advice

[robdavis305]

buddy wants me to take pics of his son playing football this afternoon and ive never done action shots, im using a nikon d90 and all i know to do is to put it on the sports setting. any pointers

 

[Annamas]

I'm actually not a fan of any of the pre programmed settings unless I don't have time to set up my shot.

You should be ok for the most part. As a general rule, your going to want to let as much light in as possible as quickly as possible. So a fast lens is essential, hopefully with a good length. I've shot with a 70-200mm f/4 in daylight conditions and it worked well enough. Also, because its youth football, chances are you get close to the field which will help alot.

If shooting Manual, stick with the lower aperture (likely around f/4 or lower), and a fast shutter speed (I can't remember off the top of my head and with a hangover) I think that around 1/1200 should be quick enough to freeze any motion. (Also remember that if your having a hard time getting the motion shot from the side, it's easier to stop motion if he's coming right at you, so you might want to change your position).

(I got called away on work related stuff in the middle of my train of though, sorry, can't remember where I was goign

So

 

[Derrel]

I don't know what lens or lenses you have access to, but if you have consumer type lenses like the 18-70 or the 55-200 kit zooms, make sure you keep the ISO setting up in the 640 to 800 range, even during daylight hours!

You need to ensure that the shutter speeds are high enough to freeze action. In daylight (so I assume this is maybe a jr. high or Junior Varsity game) high ISO settings will not result in too much noise with any Nikon body ever made.

Get as close as you can. If you look and act like you know what you're doing, at junior high and HS games, the officials will usually let almost anybody walk right up to the field's edge. Try to stay 5 yards ahead of the line of scrimmage and watch for action to develop. Not sure what position the kid plays....if he's a cornerback or safety that's one thing...if he plays noseguard or defensive tackle, you might want to be shooting from BEHIND the line of scrimmage, so you can see his face a bit more.

Try and keep your camera trained on the specific player you're after. Get some shots of him just standing there,before each play, or during a timeout if he removes his helmet. Try for action, but also get a few shots of the kid just within the context of a game of football. Do NOT WASTE shooting opportunities reviewing plays on the LCD....check your exposures every few minutes if the light shifts, but don't let chimping cause missed shot opps!