First Ever HS Soccer Match

[depack]

I thought I'd go and take a few pictures at a high school tournament. Since this was the first soccer match I ever watched, I wasn't sure what to expect. Well, the first 10 minutes had the following injuries, one dislocated knee, one shin contusion and 2 concussions!! I thought this was a non-contact sport. Since I know lots about sports, I know it was just a fluke but certainly made it interesting.
Since I'm really a beginner and need help with my settings and tips on how to make my pictures better, I was hoping some of you could help.
It was a very sunny day so I set the first two pictures to 200 ISO, F/9 and 1/640.
The last two were 200 ISO, F/8 and 1/400. I tried to include the striking of the ball. I really see a difference in the 2nd two, blurry to me and also the color doesn't seem as sharp. The first 2 maybe alittle dark. Am I close on what I see?
Any tips are very appreciated. I really like this forum because the people that reply really know their stuff and are helpful to us beginners.
Thanks in advance
Depack

[swmdrayfan]

Speaking strictly for myself, I use a 70-300mm zoom and I have all kinds of trouble with shadows from bb caps, so I can't give you much advice on exposure. The bottom shot is a little crooked, and you need to straighten it a little. That's mainly my only nitpick. It looks like you're doing ok.

[jorgemonkey]

They look pretty good to me for your first time out.

I just got back from shooting a soccer tourny in Idaho, and here are some of my tips:

Shoot at the smallest Fstop you can, try around F2.8 -F4 or so. That will keep your shutter speeds up to get rid of the blurry foot/ball as in #3

The last one looks like its more of a high compressed jpeg than a bad photo.

Also try to shoot with the sun behind your back. That will get the faces nice & bright & the colors good.

[depack]

Thanks for the tips. I do have a problem with the backgrounds. I really need to work on that. Also, if I set the F stop high are you then shooting in shutter? Then how high would I set the shutter?
Thanks
Depack

[jorgemonkey]

I shoot in aperture priority mode, in which I pick the F-stop & the camera picks the shutter speed. Depending on the light & lens I'm using, I'm getting shots at 1/2500 @ F5.6 That will stop any motion in the players.

Sometimes with backgrounds (Especially in sports) you get what you get Thats the nice thing about shooting with a large aperture, is it will blur the background & make your subject stand out.

Which camera/lens combo are you using?

[depack]

I was shooting in manual but when I took basketball pictures (first season doing that) I did shot in aperature. I will give it a try and see what happens.
I have a nikon D50 and use 80-200mm lens. Thanks so much for helping a beginner. I'm learning so much.
Depack

[depack]

Nikon Samurai
Just took a few pictures with aperature. Didn't set where I should have. Softball was 3.2 and shutter was 1/1600. Baseball was 3.2 and 1/640. I do have another question. My lens got a few flecks of dirt (wind was really blowing at these games). What do I purchase to clean the lens. Cannot see the dirt on the pictures but I see it on the lens.
And as always, any ideas how to fix my pictures is always welcomed. This is the only way to get better. Two problems with the field, have to take most pictures in sun and through the fence.

[JSPhoto]

#1: buy a Hoya UV(0) filter to protect that lens!
#2: I use Kodak lens cleaning solution or Canon, but I am sure Nikon has it's own
#3: a bulb blower - use it before anything
#4: soft lens cloth

Normally dust will come off with just the bulb though.

As for your shots, open that lens up all the way. I usually shoot around 800 ISO and adjust shutter for one step over center on the exposure meter....in Manual mode

JS

[depack]

JS, Thanks for the tips. I do have a few questions now. I looked into the hoya filter and what mm filter would you recommend? The lens I really want to protect is a nikkor 80-200mm one. The next question is a very beginner one, but I'm here to learn. What does open the lens mean? Sometimes this gets confusing because everyone I am figuring out shots alittle different. Some go aperature,shutter or manuel. I am trying them all but getting the right settings is tricky. Would a store like Best buy have a bulb blower or do I have to go to a photo shop. (my town doesn't have a photo shop).
Thanks again for the help. I really appreciate it.

[jorgemonkey]

I think best buy would have a bulb blower, its been a while since I've been there.

On the filter size, you'll need to see what the diameter of the front of your lens is. Since its a 80-200 I'm guessing around 67-72mm. It should be stamped in the front of the lens how big it is.

Opening the lens up all the way means shooting at your lens's biggest aperture, such as F2.8, 4, 1.8, whatever the smallest number is. That will give you nice fast shutter speeds to freeze the action.

The nice thing about shooting for fun is you can experiment & try different things since you're not under pressure.

[JSPhoto]

I don't know about bestbuy, I got mine at Roberts Distributors in Indianapolis, they have a website and you can order online. I don't suggest the ones with brushes on them, but a plain bulb blower.

Shoot in manual mode and follow what I said below.

JS

[MonkeyWrench]

Great start. I'd echo the shooting with the sun to your back. I tried to cheat with the sun coming from the side to avoid background clutter and got too many shadows on the face. The best shots for me came with the sun to my back or when the sun was hiding behind the clouds. Also I would recommend a second camera with a wide-angle lens. I missed quite a few shots because the action was too close for me to capture with my zoom. I am new to this whole sports picture taking too and have found this forum to be very valuable. Keep Shooting and Posting. Looking forward to seeing more pics.

[depack]

Thanks for the tips. I will check out best buy and Roberts. I was actually looking at my len instruction sheet and read under the lens care that I should get a 77mm screw in filter. Cannot look at my lens tonight since I left it at work. They also said I should have a NC filter on at all times. Could anyone help me out on what that is? Since I bought this camera D50 I have really learned to appreciate how tough it is to take pictures. I know I should have had more knowledge before I spent the money but it also give me so much motivation to learn and improve. I really cannot thank all of you enough how much you have helped me. I'm really starting to understand a few things. Keep in mind when I bought the camera I had no idea what aperature, shutter speed, ISO etc meant!!! Sometimes I make myself laugh at how stupid I was to buy an expensive camera before I really understood anything.. with all your help someday I will get the perfect picture. In the mean time, the parents and my students think my pictures are great. If they only knew.

[jorgemonkey]

NC filter is pretty much the UV filter JS was talking about. It'll help protect the front of the lens from dust, water & other junk

[JSPhoto]

The NS and Hoya UV(0) are very different filters. The NS will alter colors, the Hoya UV(0) will not, and thats important! But thats why the Hoya UV(0) costs $47 and the NS is much cheaper.

JS

[jorgemonkey]

Ah, I didn't know that difference in those filters

Guess ya learn something new everyday

[JSPhoto]

BTW, thats the approximate price for the Hoya UV (0) 77mm that I pay at Roberts.... within a dollar or two.
I found out the hard way, but noticed the difference the first day out with the Hoya. Make sure you don't get any number but 0 as the others will affect color, ever so slightly, but it makes a difference.

JS