to get the images you want when working with
them. Each type of lighting needs to be dealt with
slightly differently, but in all cases the main goal
is getting a fast enough shutter speed to freeze
the action.Many of the images in this book were taken at
long, sometimes very long, shutter speeds. These
long shutter speeds allowed enough light to reach
the sensor to make a proper exposure. This chap-
ter ventures in the opposite direction — all the
shutter speeds used here are fractions of a second
to freeze the action. To get a motion-stopping
shutter speed in low light, the other exposure set-
tings have to be pushed, sometimes to their lim-
its. For example, many times the ISO was pushed
to 3200 and the aperture was wide open at f/2.8.
Even with these settings, the highest shutter
speed I was able to use and still get a properly
exposed image was only 1/320 second. The 1/320
of a second shutter speed is enough to freeze a
basketball player as he rolled the ball off his hand
into the net but not fast enough to freeze a
hockey puck flying across the ice. Had I needed a
faster shutter speed, I would have had to push the
ISO even higher because I was already using the
widest aperture available for that lens. There are
times part of the scene is in focus because it isn’t
moving as much as other parts of the scene. For
example, when photographing a boxing practice
in Figure 6-1, I used a shutter speed that froze the
defender while the woman throwing the punch is
moving faster and is therefore blurred.
SPORTS VENUE LIGHTING
Regardless of whether it is an indoor venue or an
outdoor venue at night, the lighting is deceptive
because it looks bright. When you actually try to
freeze the action, you realize how hard it is to get
a proper exposure. The following sections go into
the specific lighting types used and the best way
ABOUT THIS PHOTO Photographing a boxing practice allows
me to not only practice photography but to also learn more about how
boxers move, allowing me to anticipate the action. Taken at 1/60 of a
second, f/1.8, and ISO 400.6-1