Michelle in San Diego is wondering about which AF point she should use for sports, and is looking for pointers about shooting a children’s production of The Nutcracker.

Michelle in San Diego asks:

Which AF point(s) are best to use when shooting sports?

Any camera setting advice for shooting a youth production of the Nutcracker ballet?

 

 

Hi Michelle-

 

Thanks for your questions.

Most pro sports photographers we talk to almost always rely on the center autofocus point when shooting, and this for one simple reason: That’s the area of the sensor where the autofocus is most sensitive and thus most responsive.

There are a few situations you might want to change it up, but in our experience they’re few and far between. When shooting baseball from down low with a super telephoto lens (300mm or higher), for example, you might find that you need to rely on the bottom center AF point in order to keep shots of people sliding into base in focus. In that particular situation, relying on the center point might land you some shots focused on the outfield.

Now, let’s move on from sports to the Nutcracker (it sounds like you have a fun job, by the way).

If the production you’ll be shooting is in a venue with bright stage lights, you’re in luck and you’re going to get to have some fun with your shots: Stage lighting is prime territory for light pockets. By exposing for the hot spots and snapping shots of the kids as they dance into those portions, you’ll get nice isolated shots of them in focus with a clean, dark background behind them.

We highly recommend you read freelancer Mark J. Rebilas’ great post on using light pockets to your advantage. You can check out the settings he used for those shots, but keep in mind that those were almost all taken in daylight.

In terms of actual camera settings for your specific situation, it’s pretty tough to say without being there, but for the sake of explanation we’re going to assume you’re shooting in a theater with some lights, but not really hot, professional stage lights.

If you’re not already, you’ll DEFINITELY want to shoot in manual mode (M). In fact, shooting in manual mode all the time is generally a good idea, since it’ll give you a better understanding of how light and your camera settings can affect the outcome of your images.

You’ll want to keep your aperture as wide as you can–f/2.8 if you have it. Your shutter speed can’t really go below 1/200th of a second, and higher would be better (1/320th or 1/400th). If you go below 1/200th, you’ll get an unacceptable amount of motion blur. You’ll have to keep your ISO high–800 or possibly higher–since you’ll have your shutter that fast.

If you’re in an elementary school gymnasium or similarly lit environment, then we feel for you. Shooting in those types of circumstances almost always involves striking a balance between graininess, underexposure and blurred shots. Your best bet would be to shoot in RAW, keep your ISO up and your aperture wide, and brace yourself for a long Photoshop session.

Thanks for your questions, and send in some of your shots!

 

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