Soccer (or football, depending on your location) isn’t known as the ‘beautiful game’ for nothing. It combines action and skill to delight or exasperate the viewer. For sports photographers, it can present a challenge.
Here are 10 soccer photography tips to ensure your next sports photography photoshoot is successful.
In sports photography, the longer the camera lens, the better. It isn’t impossible to shoot soccer games with a shorter lens. But chasing the ball or relying on soccer players to bring the game closer to you can result in missed opportunities.
A 70-200mm telephoto lens is a good start. Super-telephoto lenses in the 400mm range can prove even more useful. A teleconverter (an extender or multiplier) is another way to extend a lens’s reach.
But keep in mind that teleconverters tend to magnify lens aberrations. They can also compromise your fastest apertures and focus speeds.
Soccer is a fast-moving sport with many components. To capture players in action and minimize motion blur, it’s best to use a fast shutter speed.
Ensure you’re in manual mode (or shutter priority with auto ISO for beginners). Start with a shutter speed of at least 1/800 s (seconds). This reduces the effects of hand-held camera shake and freezes movement in a photo.
But you may be looking for a more artistic rendering of a soccer match. Experimenting with a slower shutter speed can produce interesting and unique results with blur.
Panning involves dialing down the shutter speed. It can go as low as anything between 1/30 and 1/125 s. The faster the subject, the faster the required shutter speed. Incorporating subject motion can also emphasize the fast pace of the game.
The aperture setting regulates the amount of light that reaches a camera sensor and the depth of field in each image.
If possible, shift to f/2.8 to shoot a single-player. This isolates the lone player from the background noise of the surrounding soccer field. To maintain the sharpness of multiple players in one frame, use a smaller aperture (bigger f-number).
After your aperture is set, use ISO to adjust the brightness of your exposure. If your images are too dark, increase the ISO to increase the sensor’s light sensitivity. Remember that the ISO value degrades images with digital noise if set too high.
The correct autofocus mode is an important aspect of all sports photography. Subjects in motion need autofocus that tracks movement to maintain sharpness.
Switch your camera to settings like AI-Servo on a Canon camera or AF-C on a Nikon or Sony camera. Then, half-depress the shutter button while aiming the camera lens at a moving subject.
The autofocus keeps adjusting to maintain the focus on the subject in the viewfinder. After you have lined up your shot, depress the shutter button to take the photo.
During soccer photography, a lot happens between each shutter button click. Burst mode is a camera setting where several photographs are made quickly.
Burst mode is also known as continuous shooting mode, sports mode, or continuous high-speed mode. Cameras with high continuous shooting rates increase the chance of capturing great action shots.
With continuous shooting mode, you can depress the shutter button in anticipation of potential action peaks. This way, you won’t have to rely on reflexes alone to capture an image the moment it occurs.
If you aren’t familiar with the ins and outs of soccer, try watching a few matches. Research is critical in figuring out the important parts of the game. Here are a few examples of dramatic moments to capture in a soccer match:
Being familiar with soccer lets you intuit key moments in the match to photograph. Knowing the game increases your ratio of successful images.
Whether in a stadium at night or at the local pitch on a Sunday afternoon, soccer isn’t only an event for the players. Soccer fans are often boisterous and vocal throughout the game. When it comes to soccer, no one stays on the sidelines!
Take some time to capture the crowd for a well-rounded series of images. Crowd reactions add depth to your narrative of the football match.
Soccer is played in various locations. This includes stadiums, dedicated sports ovals, high schools, open fields, and streets. Cosmonauts have even tried their hand at soccer in space!
A fundamental aspect of soccer is that it can be played almost anywhere. You could shoot at a dedicated sports facility or park nearby.
Either way, document the environment in which the game is held—photograph details like the nets, ball, gear, terrain, and location. Doing so conveys the event’s atmosphere, providing context for your photoshoot.
If you’re like me, you are probably in the habit of pressing one eye to the viewfinder and shutting the other. There’s an old trick for not missing out on the action in fast-paced games like soccer. Next time you’re shooting, try keeping both eyes open.
It may be a little disorienting at first. But keeping both eyes open while one eye is on the viewfinder is a great way to stay on top of the action on the field.
I’ve also found that this method makes it easier to maintain balance when panning. With both eyes open, you can see what is happening around you. That way, you don’t miss those key moments about to occur just out of the shot.
It’s easy to stay in the same spot while everyone else moves around you. When there is so much action in front of you, staying put seems to make sense. But a series of photographs taken from one spot can be predictable.
Shifting position is crucial for maintaining a good variety of images in your body of work for the day. Don’t worry about physically chasing the soccer ball up and down the field. You’ll get too tired and miss other opportunities!
Instead, try simple techniques like shooting from a low or high angle. This creates a variety of perspectives. Place the camera on the ground to get a worm’s eye view of the game, or stretch up high with the camera in hand for an elevated viewpoint.
You can also walk to different ends of the field to increase the diversity of your images. These simple changes of views give the viewer a sense of physicality and a unique look at the game through your eyes.
Soccer is challenging and rewarding to photograph. If you can photograph a game, immerse yourself in the event’s culture.
Document the game as if your audience knows nothing about soccer. Capture the emotional intensity of both the players and spectators. Don’t forget to take environmental shots and take some time to enjoy the match yourself!
