Needing advice on setup for capturing horse racing & other sports

mathay2603 · Jul 3, 2015

Good afternoon all,

After doing a fair amount of research, I have decided to take the plunge and buy a DSLR. My main passion is sport and in particular horse racing and everything concerned with it. A friend who enjoys his photography recommended a Nikon D3300 as a good beginners unit and this appears to be backed up by other sources. I do have a question regarding what type of lens/combination of lenses would be best for capturing sport and in particular horse racing.

Pictures that I would be looking for would include parade ring shots, where I wouldn't be too far away from the horses, jockeys, trainers etc. Across the course action shots where I could be between 10 and 20 meters or so away and shots taken from a grandstand, potentially high up and quite far away. One further thing I thought of that could add to this decision making process, is the different weather I will encounter over the year. Whilst racing is an all year sport, I particularly enjoy National Hunt racing which takes place in the winter (possible rain, snow etc.)

Overall I am looking to spend approx. £500 - £600 max. for a DSLR and lens. I would be eternally grateful if anyone could point me in the direction of what body and lens/lenses I should look at that fit my needs.

Thanking you!

Designer · Jul 3, 2015

If you can afford it, get this lens:

Nikon 70-200mm f 2.8 VR II

Unfortunately, it is out of your price range, but that is the lens that I would want to do the type of photography that you described.

Braineack · Jul 3, 2015

I'd suggest the 70-300 VR over that.

Overread · Jul 3, 2015

I've recently starting doing equine photography, mostly show jumping for me; but a little of cross country as well.

The 70-200mm f2.8 lens mentioned above is a very very good lens and honestly when I shoot equine most of the time I've my 70-200mm bolted to the camera the whole time. It's a very versatile range and in many situations its all you need.

Sadly your budget is very restrictive; that's ok you can do well in racing with different lenses since much will be outside so you don't "need" f2.8 all the time. Furthermore you can hone your skills well and in todays market even cheaper market lenses are still very good performers. A 70-300mm would be my suggestion as well.

With horses they have a large body and a very deep body and face; this means that if you shoot too close you get perspective distortion very easily (that's when areas closer to the lens are enlarged over those further away - eg big nose and tiny body). Shooting from a distance helps and general advice is shoot a horse with 100mm or more (though down to 70ish you should be fine in most cases).

70-300mm should be enough reach to for most venues so long as you're at least at the barriers (indeed sometimes being at the barriers is too close). Up in the grand stand and other areas you might struggle; but 300mm should be ok in most situations. Up high can make backgrounds easier in shots because you end up shooting more down so there is less in the background; but at the same time they also tend to miniaturise the horse and rider - they are not as dramatic nor "powerful" in my view (as a whole) as when you're shooting level or looking up to a horse.

After that its a case of learning your camera and how to use it. I would recommend the following topics to look up on:

1) Exposure - you need to be able to work toward using the camera in any mode up to and including full manual. From there you can make your choice (most people shoot aperture priority much of the time) from an informed position on what mode to use rather than being stuck in auto or progrm.

The book "Understanding Exposure" by Bryan Peterson is a worthwhile and very good starting point.

2) Shooting horses I've found 1/640sec is the slower shutter speed for frozen detail in most situations. 1/500 is ok in a pinch but chances are unless its a slow walk and no wind you will get some blur on moving parts; any slower and you're very much into motion blur (This still has a use if you're panning and wanting one of those "legs moving with blur" shots).

3) Histogram - you want to learn the basics of how to read the histogram so that you can make use of it on the LCD on the back of the camera when reviewing shots.

4) Remember to keep your flash off; at most venues flash is a right out no. You can always ask, but most its a no; even the pro working there is often under the same restriction.

5) For formal posed shots you want horse ears forward and for that you need an array of tricks - some use hose whinnies on a mobile phone; rattlers; shakers; beeping sounds; clickers - something that isn't going to startle, but will draw attention. Treats are an iffy area as some riders refuse to allow their horse to be treated - whilst others are concerned about the nature and type of treat (that and treats is going to end to end up with a horses nose in your face for more).

6) OPTech Rain Sleeve - cheap and you get two in a pack. An instant, very portable rain cover. Sure its not as durable as many other kinds of higher priced optoins; but its a very solid approach on budget and easy to use. Certainly a big must for wet weather.
In general the biggest problems with the weather are sunshine - which when strong is a nightmare to expose for; and excessive shade (and an early sun setting in winter). So you either have too much or too little light. For the latter learn to use your high ISOs. Many times for action photography you might start at ISO 400, 800 or even 1600 and go from there

7) Always check ahead at venues for what the photography policy is. Some major events might have blanket "no DSLR" bans or "no lens over X cm long". Otherwise if they don't have a policy big events tend to be easy to go to with a big camera. Smaller events can be more tricky because there might already be a pro working the event. It is curteous to contact the organisers of the event to ask for their policy and permission - its also a good way to start opening doors. If there is a pro working the event it might mean the organisers say no - if you are allowed then it is curteous to introduce yourself (email before ideally as on the day the pro will be working) to the working pro on the scene.

mathay2603 · Jul 3, 2015

Wow thank you very much for the detailed and informative response. I shall get my head around all this information this evening over a cold beverage - much appreciated!