Low Light Sports Photography: Football

[@beerborn]

I shoot high school night football games. I set my Canon 5D Mk IV at TV @ 1/1000 at F 2.8 with a Canon 70-200mm 2.8. ISO Auto. As far as noise is concerned I use Adobe Lightroom Luminance to suppress noise. Before the game start there is still light in the afternoon but still using the same settings by just adjusting the shutter speed. Post production using Adobe Lightroom will enhance the photos.

[@petermethner3696]

Kris, I always watch your videos and I use them as reminders when i can't get out to shoot a game. They are also great references. Thanks for taking the time.

[@KrisKasprzak]

Glad I could help.

[@markglenday7291]

Hi Kris this is a awesome video, I have never photographed a NFL game but you have some great images here. Thanks for sharing and giving up your time to make these videos.

[@KrisKasprzak]

Glad I could help.

[@dancrites453]

I enjoyed your video. I shoot a 7D as well as a 7D Mk II. I shoot lacrosse primarily and have experienced all of the same issues. You confirmed all of my suspicions. Thanks!

[@KrisKasprzak]

Glad I could help.

[@MsTBrown60]

Thank you for putting this video together! Very helpful. I'll probably sit back and enjoy the game and save myself some frustration as my equipment doesn't pass the muster.

[@KrisKasprzak]

yea...great low light shots doesn't come cheap. My gear is minimal.

[@klwdesigns]

some good stuff in this video. thanks for putting online for us

[@KrisKasprzak]

Any time!

[@samsdad638]

Fantastic video thank you

[@markglenday7291]

Hi Kris, I like the video, I too shoot with a 7D and I shoot a lot of Basketball where the stadium has low light and the home team is wearing Dark Blue uniform with a bit of Yellow and Red. I found shooting in manual mode is the best choice, and I am shooting at f2.8, SS 1/640 of a second and ISO 4000, the shots come in a little under exposed but I can fix that up in light room as with the noise with out loosing much clarity and sharpness. Thanks Mark from Australia

[@KrisKasprzak]

thanks for the feedback, my typical gyms aren't that bright. Post some pics! g'day!

[@scherbertdan]

great video. jeeze we're cut from the same cloth. I shoot sports, mainly semi pro football. Almost all under the lights. You nailed it

[@KrisKasprzak]

Glad I could help.

[@alfiecobbold3169]

Hey man, I love this video. Can you make a video like this on soccer please.

[@KrisKasprzak]

I have a few other vids for action shots. maybe this will help? kzbin.info/www/bejne/r4qUaKytobegiNE

[@alfiecobbold3169]

Thanks man, I’ll now check that out. Keep up the good work

[@happyGoldendoodle]

Holy cow! I was in your stadium just a couple of nights ago for a soccer match.Your school's logo tipped me off. :) My pictures came out so dark, I went hunting for some tips and found your video. It makes me feel better that part of the reason my pictures came out darker was lack of good lighting. I was thinking maybe I needed to upgrade to a crazy expensive Canon L series lens. I have a Canon T3i with a Sigma 70-200 f/2.8 EX HSM II. My pics came out grainy when I cropped them...but that may be because of my camera's body. I can't wait until spring when the natural light will be available for our evening matches. Thanks!

[@KrisKasprzak]

Glad I could help.

[@ahmadhazmi20]

Thank you for this video!

[@garyn7067]

If you shoot in M mode. You should/need to study the lighting over the field. As the slide of the lighting showed, the light level over the field may be different. On my field, inside the 15 the light is a stop lower than the central part of the field. And in the corners, where they often run for a TD, it is TWO stops lower. BTW, great video.

[@KrisKasprzak]

Yes, great tip, I'll set M and shoot in a specific spot until I need to move, then i'll most likely have to change settings.

[@jacquepphotography6478]

Ok I shoot with Nikon D7100 body and I just bought the brand new Nikon 200-500 mm 1:5.6 E lens. I know that you said that anything in that range is going to cause noise. In this case do you suggest using flash or just continue to use the higher ISO?

[@KrisKasprzak]

+JacqueP Photography Depending on the lighting, your biggest challenge will be the 5.6 lens. I doubt ISO 6400 will even be high enough, and with that body you can go higher in the extended ISO setting--my experience is even at 6400 the noise will be very bad. But again, i'm not sure what your lighting situation is. Last resort a flash, but that will have it's own set of issues (sync speeds, distracted players, flash range, etc.). Try and see, perhaps rent a 2.8 lens and if it works well enough, perhaps you can then justify cost.

[@jacquepphotography6478]

+Kris Kasprzak I have a son that's a sophomore in high school so I have a lot of night football games to shoot. lol I bought the lens so that I could get close to the action without being on the sidelines. However, with a lens that size comes a lot of noise unless it is the golden hour (which is only at the beginning of the first quarter). I hate to use flash in any situation. It just doesn't seem natural enough for me and I'm more of a natural light photographer. I have had my eye on that lens and saved for it but not sure now that it is exactly what I need. I may have to rent a few to try out and look into another purchase. lol More expenses are great for my business! lol Thanks so much for the great video.

[@robhurley5258]

Nice job

[@meljenkins1016]

I shoot high school football games on the sidelines. Games starts during the dusk hour until it turns into a night game. My gear: Canon 5D Mk IV, Canon 70-200 mm F/2.8 lens. My settings: TV, 1/1000th, F/ 2.8, ISO- Auto, Servo Mode, Multi-shots. A pair of well built knee pads because you will always be on your knees a lot for great ground level shots. Post production software: Adobe Lightroom using Luminance to remove noise.

[@Stalled-wm3qd]

Same problem here in Perth, Western Australia now in 2021 where our Junior version of football is being restricted more and more to floodlight matches on Friday evening. The lighting is very poor but no doubt very expensive. Panasonic micro 4/3 is my kit with a G9 and a 100-400 f4-5.6 Leica lens which gives great photos in daylight but no good with floodlights even with Dual IS. So I looked at the Panasonic FZ 300 with constant f2.8 lens with max ISO of 6400 and 12MP sensor and a 25-600mm built in zoom. With your formula of min shutter speed being focal length x Crop Factor the 25-600mm would appear to give a very long list of shutter speeds. The crop factor for MFT is 2 so at 200mm say it should be 1/400th second. Or am I missing something here?

[@KrisKasprzak]

with a crop factor of 2, yes 1/400 is needed at a minimum, to avoid blur from handshake. If you zoom way in with that lens 1/(2*600) = 1/1200. again just to compensate hand shake. Note at focal length of 24 min f is 4.0, zoomed to 600mm min f is 5.6 (200 somewhere in between). What is the noise like at ISO6400?

[@scallen3841]

Hmm makes me wonder , the high priced DSLR's struggling , yet we got it done back on the day with film .

[@KrisKasprzak]

I hear you, that has been a big disappointment of mine the noise on these things is still high. I've been looking at mirrorless cameras which seem to be better

[@BigAntTVMedia]

great videos i hate shooting night football ugh these stadiums need lighting upgrades badly

[@scherbertdan]

Big Ant TV Media LLC. someone needs to invent a better bulb or less expensive lights! LOL totally agree

[@Topgunphoto]

My kids HS is a small private catholic school and doesn't have lights, but one game a year they bring in 6 portable light towers which are just terrible. Not tall enough, give off exhaust and just not bright enough. His Senior year they decided to make their Senior Homecoming game at night which just sucked for me to take pics even with a 2.8 lens.

[@johnhughes-BostonandBeyond]

Great Video - Thanks !! Wish I watched it yesterday. I tried shooting my friends sons night football game for the 1st time last night. Like Jacquep photography below I was using the Nikon 200-500- mm lens on my Nikon D810. As usually lighting was pretty bad at the local high school. Most of the photos are not usable, I tried to bring down the SS as low as I could (320)without blur, but still the ISO had to be jacked waaaay up . The limit of F5.6 lens just does not get it done period, don't do it !!! On the plus side between that failure and this video I learned a lot, lesson learned for next time :-) Thanks !!

[@KrisKasprzak]

You're very welcome.

[@beerborn]

I take field level night high school football games and it is true, the stadium flood lights suck and lots of noise with high ISO, high shutter speed and wide open aperature at 2.8 on my Canon 70-200mm F/2.8. You really have to crank up the Luminance in Lightroom to get rid of the noise.

[@0908jj]

My Nikon D7000 is terrible with the noise factor. It is a struggle for me with night time football which I do a lot of, I use a 70200 2.8 lens but I cannot up my ISO without getting a lot of noise. I don;t want to shoot raw because then its an issue with over a thousand shots as I have to make sure to get every player, so it takes a lot of shots. So beware of the D7000 and the noise factor. Otherwise it is a great camera.

[@susanspencer6177]

Pro photographers or advanced amateurs who do this all the time...shoot sports in low light....need to be reminded the game/players come first not necessarily your shot, so adding flash is always a taboo rule which needs to be enforced by officials and the designated game supervisor...Nowadays you can purchase wonderful cameras that keep noise down and there is plenty of affordable glass out there with low numbers at 2.8 After coaching and officiating a number of sports on all levels...my plea is please consider the game and if you don't have the right equipment....barter with someone who does or rent it for a tournament.

[@KrisKasprzak]

+Susan Spencer Totally agree, i refuse to use a flash and discourage others of the same.

[@Topgunphoto]

I was shooting a girls lax game on Friday, local paper photographer was using a flash and I was shocked. He only had a kit lens so wasn't going to get much even with good stadium lighting.

[@bradleyrex2968]

I've tried flash for shots before and after the game like running onto the field or post game handshakes and it just looks terrible. I tried shooting for MaxPreps at one point and they actually encouraged the use of flash during the game. For that reason (and others) I stopped working with them.

[@shooka42]

Kris Kasprzak i own a canon 50 d and i have a 18-135 mm lens what should i use for a shutter speed and for the ISO say at a football game under the lights?

[@KrisKasprzak]

+matt schilmoeller that lens is a 3.5 - 5.6 and will probably not let in enough light. Assuming you are shooting at night, and with bad lights, i doubt you will even be able to use that lens. min shutter speed (at longest 135mm is 1/200, and shooting at f5.6 i'm guessing your ISO will be very high. Without knowing your shooting conditions, you may not be able to get a high enough iso. Try and see what ISO you can get. If it's above 3200 or so, your shots will probably be pretty noisy. Note, an F2.8 lens (expensive i know...) will let you reduce you ISO by 2 stops (cut your iso in half, twice)

[@Sertao2013]

People need to look at the pentax cameras they have built in shake reduction in the body and the lesns are cheaper because the lens doesn't have to have shake reduction in the lens . The pentax k3 can do what a 2,000 dollar canon or nikon can do for around 800 dollars. The canon and nikon lens cost difference is over 1,000 dollars and your still not getting shake reduction . If you buy a canon or nikon camera and shake reduction lens your going to pay about 4,000 dollars . If you go with a pentax k3 you can get just as good if not better photos for around 800 for the body and 800 for a 70-200 f2.8 lens and that includes shake reduction .

[@rickeyponder]

So you just have to buy a ticket to highschool football games?

[@KrisKasprzak]

Yep

[@rickeyponder]

@@KrisKasprzak so you need no pass to record?

[@KrisKasprzak]

@@rickeyponder High school i shoot at no press pass needed college different story

[@TeeFranklin256]

These high schools are local to me...bob jones is the one I recognize

[@dippa1965]

I think those shots are amazing considering the lighting at high school stadiums.If your using anything near a 5.6 lens wow at the least.

[@user-se4yt1ei3f]

50mm for the basketball??? I can't believe

[@KrisKasprzak]

Sometime....if you can get right behind the goal or on the slidelines near the basket, you would be surprised

[@woolybugger1962]

At 13:17 he claims you likely will not get the joust bending if he shoots in "rapid fire" mode. Claims he will be able to get it if he shoots at less frames per second. WFT? That makes absolutely no sense. Sorry buddy you aren't that good

[@KrisKasprzak]

Thanks for watching that long. Not sure of you are aware but the FPS on non pro cameras 4 years ago weren't the machine guns they are today so you may get lucky. Also what does WFT mean?

[@beatricebacon9736]

woolybugger1962 ...that's not very nice to say. Just stop the video & stop listening, it's that simple.

[@TannerRaine]

I just wanted to drop my two cents, never use a flash until it's half time or the game is over, and be sure and ask the refs to make sure you can stand near the sideline. I've had cases of where I went down to the side line stood on the track that went around the field and was still asked to remove my self to an area much further back, even though the track was already 15 yards off of the playing field. Be sure to ask the coaches if the refs don't come till later, ask them to see if they'd be ok with it or if it may be an issue. A vast majority of the time, they're perfectly fine with but, always ask. Why do I say that? When I was first getting into sports photography such as football where you're supposed to be in the bleachers, I got chewed out for how incompetent I was for not knowing I couldn't be behind the sideline, behind the players... That seemed to be a one time school and since then the coach had been fired for abusing the players. Other than that, just ask to be for sure there won't be an issue and don't talk about the sport that's going on to the coaches, they are trying to focus.

[@jeremylee5990]

Weak.