| |
 |
| Photo by Jack Howard |
| Click photo to launch a gallery of Jack's baseball and softball images. |
It's spring, which means the flowers are blooming, days are getting longer, and millions of kids and adults alike are heading for America's ballparks. It doesn't matter if it's little league on a 60-foot diamond or the Yankees versus the Red Sox at Fenway Park, the fundamentals of shooting bat and ball sports are the same at every level. Here's a quick crash course on how to get the best shots on game day.
No matter the level, the challenges to shooting games are the same: There's a pitcher, a batter, and infielders and outfielders to capture, and umpires and base coaches to get in the way of your shots. Although it can be challenging, with the right tools and some real-world advice, you'll soon be on your way to making strong action shots of your favorite team.
Cameras for Softball and Baseball
If you want to make the strongest baseball images possible, use a digital SLR. Some very high-end EVFs may come close to DSLR-type performance, but this article is SLR-specific. Much of the advice is the same for the EVF or compact camera photographer, but to make great sports images, you're far better off using a DSLR. We're using a pro-level Canon EOS 1D Mark IIN and a "prosumer" Canon EOS 20D, but even an entry-level DSLR can produce winning images. The biggest advantage DSLRs offer the sports photographer is one of speed: faster autofocus and a dramatic increase in frames per second. (There's more to it than that, but for our purposes, those are the big ones.)
Lenses for Softball and Baseball
Long glass is a necessity for sports photography. There's no option of getting closer and shooting wide on a play at second base. You're on the sidelines, in the stands, or in a photo well, so a telephoto lens is your best friend. For 60-foot diamonds (most little league and softball), a 300mm lens may be enough. (And when we say 300mm we mean either a prime 300mm or a zoom that reaches this far, or a 200mm lens with a 1.4x extender). On a 90-foot baseball diamond, you might feel a little under-lensed even with a 300mm. A lens in the neighborhood of 400mm is good to have in your on-deck circle. (We're talking actual focal lengths here, not effective focal length due to sensor size factors. Even with a 1.3 or 1.6 sensor, these are good baseline focal lengths.)
Don't be discouraged if your longest lens only reaches to 200mm. Shoot the action as best you can, knowing there will be a lot of dead space, and crop in, but realize severe crops will drop your resolution and final output size. If you're serious about getting the best shots, you'll probably want to start saving up for the best telephoto lens you can justify paying.
Briefly, the faster the aperture, and the longer the lens, the more the lens will weigh (and cost). The Canon 400 f/5.6L weighs in at about 3 pounds and costs $1,100, while the 400 f/2.8L IS weighs in at a whopping 12 pounds for $6,500.
Why would anyone pay so much more for two f/stops and a hernia? To be able to shoot two full stops faster in the same light: 1/1000 @ f/2.8 equals 1/250 @ f/5.6, and one of these will freeze a player diving headfirst into second, while the other will probably show subject blur. (And remember, Image Stabilization can diminish camera shake, but it cannot stop subject movement at slow shutter speeds.)
If you're shooting with a variable aperture zoom with an f/stop of f/5.6 at the long end, you'll have to crank up your ISO to get shutter speeds over 1/800 second, which should be the minimum shutter speed for day games. For night games you'll have to crank up the ISO even higher, slow the shutter speed down, and hope that motion blur is mostly contained, regardless of maximum aperture.
To summarize lens choices: Long fast glass costs more and weighs more, but allows for significantly faster action-stopping shutter speeds at lower ISOs. Compact, slower aperture lenses weigh considerably less, cost significantly less, but you lose several stops of action-freezing, light-gathering power.
|
