EOS Rebel T3 Wrestling Photography Recommendations

[mmwellsfarm]

My son has a tournament coming up that I want to try to take pictures at and I know my one lens is too big down by the mat but my smallest is an EF-S 18-55mm 1:3.5-5.6 IS II. That's all I have to work with. What settings are the best to set on my Rebel T3? I usually just use the action setting but I want to make sure the come out decently and not blurry. I'm not camera savvy with changing settings and what everything means but I take a lot of photos just with the action setting with other sports.

[Waddizzle]

A shorter focal length may also yield greater depth of field.  

[stevet1]

In this case, I think I might agree with Ricky.

Back off some distance and use the 55-250.

Also, learn how to use the burst shooting on your camera. If your son's matches are over in 10 seconds, that's not very much time to acquire and frame him in the viewfinder.

Have you given any thought to doing video instead of still photos?

Steve Thomas

[Waddizzle]

I recommend a fast prime with a wide aperture.  Your camera will struggle to gather enough light with your current lenses

[ebiggs1]

"I recommend a fast prime with a wide aperture."

I don't and almost always never recommend or suggest an amateur photographer buy or use a prime. Besides the faster aperture, which is all they offer, they are way more difficult to frame in limited space. Plus the wider aperture will reduce your DOF considerably.

But first off besides Rodger great advice, my opinion for amateur photographers is to use Av mode. I very much prefer it over any of the Sports modes that the T3 offers. Here is how I would set up the T3 but keep in mind you may need to change settings a bit depending on the lighting. And most of all always remember even the best high dollar photo gear has its limits. Set Av mode, this allows the T3 to select the fastest SS it can for proper exposure. With your lens I think that will be f5.6. Set Auto ISO. You can set a lower and upper limit as you prefer. Somewhere like 200 to 1600 or even 3200 if grain isn't a problem for you.  Set the T3 to One Shot and just the center focus point. Don't try any Ai-servo modes or multiple focus points. Ai-servo screws up more beginners than any other thing you can do.

The very best thing you can do is get there early and try some shots. Consult your manual if you don't know how to set these settings but they are pretty simple to do.

"Back off some distance and use the 55-250."

This too, IMHO, is bad advice. Closer is almost always, 95% of the time, better.

[ebiggs1]

BTW, it is going to be a hard task indeed to get the results that Rodger gets. He has the best of gear and is extremely talented. 😊

[Waddizzle]

“ I don't and almost always never recommend or suggest an amateur photographer buy or use a prime. “

This is true.  He never recommends using a prime.  Never.  

There is a LOT for a new photographer to learn from using a wide aperture prime.  There are a few bad habits that you can develop by always using a zoom lens.  

For indoor sports, you really need a wide aperture lens.  A wide aperture prime will almost always cost far less than a wide aperture zoom.  You might want to take a look at the Sigma 50-100mm f/1.8 zoom lens for indoor sports.

[ebiggs1]

"This is true.  He never recommends using a prime.  Never."

Ah, but my friend, it is not true. I do recommend primes when a prime fits the situation. However in the case of the OP it is not a good thing.

I own several (six) primes. I use them when they are needed.  Prime lenses I consider to be the best.

"You might want to take a look at the Sigma 50-100mm f/1.8 zoom lens for indoor sports."

Last time I checked that is not a prime nevertheless I thoroughly recommend it.