Hello! are you a fan of basketball & you want to capture stunning photos for a basketball match? here is your full guide & tips for basketball shooting.
Photographing basketball may be a rigorous task because of it being a very dynamic sport. By use of a DSLR camera, it becomes really easier and worthwhile to take photos, since the camera takes very good shots.
Here are some very good tips that may enable you to shoot basketball matches effectively by use of a DSLR camera.
Basketball photography tips:
Make use of a wide aperture:
this may come in very handy because during games you are usually placed in an assigned seat. You should, therefore, choose your composition and your lens very wisely. You should, therefore, use a wide angle lens. To shoot a perfectly sharp image that is well exposed, especially in an environment with low light, choose the widest aperture and make use of a monopod chair to rest your camera. This is important so as to prevent blurring.
Zooming:
Remember to actually zoom in on what you’re photographing at – Suppose you are positioned very far from the point where the action is taking place, then a zoom of the lens of about seventy to three hundred millimeters set very wide open should be very useful for you. Fill the frame with the basketballer and also try to capture the expressions on his face. Set the lens focus mode to autofocus and also select continuous focusing mode so as to automatically recapture the image on the moving basketballer. Another similar method is to focus the net before and then wait for the basketballer to score.
Get hold of the action
Let us say, you are in a very bright area, set the camera mode to manual and use a shutter speed of about a two-hundredth of a second or even faster to freeze the expected action. Use a wide aperture and then increase the ISO to eight hundred or higher. Try to capture the most interesting parts, for example when the basketballer dunks the ball or when the basketball is in midair. Use the burst shooting mode and also press the shutter button for as long as you may want when you want to take multiple shots. Each and every DSLR camera has its own bursting mode capture rate and frame rate, hence setting the abilities of your camera for multiple or shot photography.
Make sure that you use a slow shutter speed
Photo credits to Sam Javanrouh
This will help you a lot especially when you want to create a motion blur. Set your camera to a slow shutter speed and then place it on a tripod or hold it still while pointing it at the moving basketballers. This will make them look blurred while making the other part of the photograph look very sharp. You can also try making use of the panning method that enables you to focus on a basketballer before, then follow him or her with your lens in a slow horizontal space while pressing the shutter button.
Make use of very dramatic angles
Practice taking your shots from dramatic angles so as to increase the likability of your photographs. Position yourself accordingly so as to be able to take these shots as effectively as possible. Set the shutter speed to two hundred and fifty of a second or even faster. If you wish to take memorable shots, stand on a ladder behind the backboard.
Information sourced from www.picture-power.com and www.adorama.com
Recommended lenses to use in capturing basketball matches:
Canon 70-200 mm F/2.8
Canon 35 mm F/1.4
Canon 50 mm F/1.8
Canon 85 mm F/1.8
Sigma 150-500 mm F/5-6.3
Canon 24-70 mm F/2.8
Sigma 24-70 mm F/2.8
Note: If you choose the prime lenses you will be a little restricted as no zooming option but it can be a good choice if you sit in the front seats, Also they are lightweight lenses & inexpensive.
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Thanks for reading, if you have any question just leave a comment below & I will be glad to help you.
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Just awesome basketball photography tips, thanks a lot for making a nice Post for us………..
You are most welcomed Terri!
Thank you for this information, I appreciate your effort, please keep us update.
Basketball fan here. I’m an NBA fan, though I wouldn’t say I’m a “basketball guru”, I just really like watching it and paying attention. My cousin however, I got him into basketball and he’d love this information, because he likes taking vidoes and pics of himself playing basketball at the local gym.
Thanks!
Hello!
Unfortunately Today I’ve become too lazy to make such tricky things. As many of us I take a pics by iPhone.
My ex-wife (we are good friends, if it can be called so) has recently begun to seriously deal with the shooting, even bought a Sony camera for $ 1500th. I certainly will forward this link her.
Thanks Andre for your comment, i am sure she will like the tips.
Not bad information for those who are on this environment. If you want to be good as a photographer, you must definitely apply what you said on the post. Sport involves a lot of emotion and good screenshots make a huge difference. It can be also a very good source of income, if you are considering taking it to the next level. Well done my friend.
Thanks Javier I appreciate your feedback.
Hi and thanks for sharing these tips. I do not know about Basketball photography, but I do know how difficult is to shoot action and sport. There are lots of moving objects and fast moves etc. and you should be one step forward all the time or otherwise you are going to miss the best parts of that game.
Thanks Jess, glad you liked the article.
Some great tips here, thank you for sharing… and I love the photographs you’ve shared within the post too – did you take these pictures yourself??
I can’t say I’ve ever been overly into basketball, however I do find bboys (breakdancers) fascinating and always used to enjoy taking photographs of them when I went to jams and stuff – I think these skills would transfer directly into bboy photography too, so thank you for sharing!! 🙂
Zoe
Thanks for passing by, actually these photos are royalty free images for commercial use.