Football Blurry pics

[jdmcpherson]

Hello from a newbie.  I have a Canon Rebel T7i.  I have been using my 75-300mm lens to capture my son’s high school football game.  They are now a 7-0 team and are going to the playoffs, for sure.  It’s my son’s senior year, so I don’t want any more lost shots to blur.  I am struggling with capturing non-blurry action shots.  I realize I need to get out of these auto programs into manual mode.  The fields are well lit, as they have to be for football.  I had a suggestion from another "fairly new to photgraphy" person of 1/400 on the shutter speed (this camera’s range is from 30 to 1/4000).  That seems slow to me, given that the range is so vast.  Should it be quicker?  I also had the suggestion of the aperture at 8?  Does that sound right?  I am having difficulties trying to decide leaving ISO on auto or setting it.  Any suggestions?

[ebiggs1]

John the reason I usually recommend Av over Tv is, and in this case, the lens is the weak factor.  Otherwise, I see the two as equally important, depending on conditions of course. Most lenses will have fewer stops for adjustment than SS.  Certainly the case for the 75-300mm which will most likely be limited to f4 / f5.6. However, the varying light conditions on a football field the SS can adjust much more flexibility.

I never let the camera have or control two auto functions.  So, Auto ISO is out if Av or even if Tv was used. I am sure if you think about it, you would tend to agree with that? Fix the ISO to a high value like 1600 or perhaps even 3200.

While we are here and I don't know if anybody suggested M mode but if they did that is not even a possibility in this case. And, finally while we are here, if the budget allows the lens of choice would be the Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS III USM Lens. I could not talk the school into buying them because of cost.

[ebiggs1]

" I have a Canon Rebel T7i.  I have been using my 75-300mm lens ..."

I didn't read thoroughly all the posts up to now but I did glance at them.  Most of what was said is valid but some is not, IMHO, of course. Some of what I am going to suggest might have already been said so bear with me.

The three most important things in sports photography is location, location and location.  Yes, it is where you shoot from. Along with this comes knowledge of the game or sport.  You need to know how football is played. Shooting from the bleachers for instance or being on the opposite side of the field when the action is at the other goal line will result in failure. Even if you have the best gear in the world.  You have to know the sport. You have to anticipate what is going to happen. Can you shoot from the side lines?  That is best.

Your lens is considered to be a slow lens. It is f4 only at 75mm.  It is not f4 even at 76mm as it starts its slide down to f5.6. So, a faster lens is a good idea. I read where someone suggested you use Tv mode.  That is wrong because we already know the lens is the weak link here. You need to use Av mode and set the lens to its widest aperture.  Then the camera can select the fastest SS possible. Why is it this way? Because that lens will be at its widest aperture most likely all the time anyway. I also would select a high fixed ISO number. Try a high as you can get decent photos, say 1600 or even 3200.

You need to set One shot and just the center focus point. Turn all the others off. You need to use Raw file format never jpg. You need a good post editor. Canon has a free one called DPP4. You can d/l it from the Canon web site. Most of the conversion form Raw to jpg will be automatic.  However using Raw you will have a greater deal of adjustment possible.

What I have suggested will get you the best possible results from what you have. I have taught it to many Moms and dads over the years.  You will not get every shot. Nobody does, not even the best of the best out there gets every shot.

[ebiggs1]

BTW, a further word about post editing.  You can get the free DPP4 or you can go all the way to the industry standard Photoshop. A good intermediate choice is Photoshop Elements.  Not free but has tons of features for Moms shooting kids.

The point here though is great photos are made in post editing.  Using Raw format lets you change  or edit things that jpg doesn't allow or it allows just a small amount.  The really good thing is Raw is, it is not destructive like jpg is. About half of the data your T7i captures is thrown away with jpg. Yup just trashed never to be recovered. Every time a jpg is saved whether you change it or not some data is lost. Raw files never do that.

Post editing requires you learn the post editor whether it is DPP4 or PS.  However most of the time it is a matter of how much do you want to do.  As you can do as much to a photo or little as needed or you want to.