How do you set up your camera for sports photography?

To make a sports photo, use a large focal length of 200 or 400mm, for example. Lenses with this focal length are zoomed in a lot, so you can bring a subject closer. That's useful, because you often take sports photos from the sideline or from the audience. If you also want to include the surroundings of the athlete, use a smaller focal length. You don't have to zoom in a lot in that case. A focal length of 70mm is enough, for example.

For sports photography, you often take a photo of action moments. Use a fast shutter speed for this. With this fast shutter speed, you freeze the moment and your photo is sharp. For example, use a shutter speed of 1/1000. If you want to show movement in your photo, choose a slower shutter speed like 1/100. You can move the camera along with a cyclist while you press the shutter release button, for example. The subject is sharp and the background blurry this way, so you emphasize motion.

Because you often use a fast shutter speed with sports photography, you need a higher ISO value. This value depends on the location where you take photos. Hockey matches often take place outside and during the day. In that case, you have enough light to take photos. Use an ISO value of 800 or 1600. For indoor or evening matches, there's often less light. Choose ISO 3200 or 6400. Note: a ISO that's too high can cause noise.

The aperture number indicates how big the aperture is. The smaller the aperture number, the larger the opening. With indoor games, you need a large opening of f/4.0. You can determine the aperture based on the shutter speed and ISO. To take a photo of an action moment, you use a shorter shutter speed. The light has less time to reach the sensor. To still catch enough light, use a large aperture like f/2.8.

Autofocus is indispensable for sports photography. This allows you to capture fast-moving objects sharply. It's very difficult to focus manually during an action moment. You often don't have time to do this. With the continuous autofocus (AF-C or AI servo), the camera continues to focus on your object even when you press the shutter release button. That way, you can keep focusing on the athlete while tracking them.

Take as many photos as possible. For sports like Formula 1 and soccer everything happens fast. This way, it's not easy to choose 1 moment for the best photo. That's why it's useful to use the burst mode on your camera. This makes a series of photos in a short time. You can choose which photo is best afterwards. Don't forget to bring memory cards.