Settings, Gear, and Tips for Low Light Sports Photography and Bad Weather

These were some of the worst conditions I've ever photographed in. See how I make the most of bad weather and low light to get great photos. You'll see how I photograph high school sports in low light. Specifically how to photograph high school football at night with low light. Not only was it low light it was bad weather. So I share tips and gear for hot to photograph sports in bad weather too.
I've photographed in rain, snow, wind, and terrible light. These are my tips on how to get better photos in bad conditions. Improve the sharpness and decrease the noise with the correct settings for low light and bad weather.
0:00 - Intro
0:46 - Tip #1
2:11 - Tip #2
3:34 - Settings
5:00 - Gear
6:58 - Editing
Follow along on Instagram @paulrutherford_
Check out my images at www.paulrutherfordphotography.com
As always, leave any questions in the comments!

[@Paul_Rutherford]

Whats the worst conditions you've ever shot in? Ever snapped your monopod?

[@michaelgagnon6246]

Nice job, stay on the positive side of how to shoot in that type of lighting. Don’t compare that lighting just give us the best of how to survive the night 😊

[@Paul_Rutherford]

Survival is a great way to put it when its that bad. haha

[@Twobarpsi]

It's amazing that the gear holds up in conditions like that. Also, having good waterproof shoes is a must!

[@Paul_Rutherford]

Totally agree!

[@levisphotography13]

I've dealt with very similar conditions awhile back lol; you seemed to handle it well! Great video

[@Paul_Rutherford]

Thanks!

[@AndyClaryPhotography]

My worst rain conditions were at Barber Motorsports Park a few years back while covering IndyCar. The race was postponed until the next day because of the rain and that doenst happen very often. I used the cheap clear plastic covers and they did keep my gear dryish and nothing broke but they slid all the time and would not stay on the lens hood so I was always needing to adjust it. I bought Thinktank right after that and finally used them for the first time a few months ago at a night high school football game and loved them! I still keep a few of the cheap clear covers around but only for emergencies like you do. Thanks for the video and the tips!

[@Paul_Rutherford]

They are definitely harder to use, but great in a pinch.

[@boostedmaniac]

I have the think tank cover. Works pretty good.

[@nigelowen9618]

Great tips!…..

[@Paul_Rutherford]

Glad it was helpful!

[@russgifford]

Shot in a lot of small school fields like that in the rain. Definitely a pain but sometimes you get something really nice. The worst thing that has happened to me so far is having to replace the camera mainboard on my D4S years ago because it got too wet (cover failure.) I use Topaz Photo AI right now (successor to Denoise and Sharpen) and on most shots like that a little better than Lightroom's Denoise. LR creates a new file anyway so using a third party tool doesn't take any longer. You can use it in LR or outside and on more than one picture. I've also used DxO PureRaw 3 and Neat Image 9. They are all close in functionality, there are some process differences that might make you choose one over the other. Right now Photo AI gets regular updates, which is a plus to me. Thanks for the videos!

[@Paul_Rutherford]

Thats tough that you had to replace a camera mainboard. Thanks for the info about Topaz. Heard only good things.

[@TroutBrookFarms]

I always stay til the end. Thanks for another great vid! ;-)

[@Paul_Rutherford]

haha, I appreciate it!

[@earlregilo6978]

You have a great camera. I have a Canon T7i and a 70-200mm f/2.8 lens. I usually set my maximum ISO to 1600 because I can't control the noise at 3200. My shutter speed is usually 1/500 or higher.low light is always a problem😄😄

[@Paul_Rutherford]

Totally agree! It can be tough with those cameras. I started out with a T2i and it was unforgiving in the low light.

[@NKolakovic]

Tip 1: accept your fate. it only goes uphill from. Rain makes me so happy when I shoot!! the dark is no fun tho!

[@Paul_Rutherford]

Miss photographing in the rain with you!

[@bquinn722]

Enjoyed the video and perspective. That fields lights looked horrible! I use topaz denoise and that seems to work well.

[@Paul_Rutherford]

They were the worst. Good to know! I've heard and seen good things about Topaz. I used it a few years ago. Can you batch a bunch of images at once?

[@bquinn722]

@@Paul_Rutherford yes. Select the settings you want, select all, and one button and it goes photo to photo. It takes a little bit of time for the program to get through all of the photos depending on how many you have, but well worth the wait in my opinion. I just let it go, walk away for 5 minutes and come back.

[@candicecorbin4690]

is your 400mm lens f1.4

[@Paul_Rutherford]

It is a 2.8

[@abdisalan9255]

This is Camiro man What we want to become is a picture of a lunch and aha plesa help me