6

CHAPTER
NIGHT AND LOW-LIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY / Shooting Sports

create a custom white balance for the venue so

that the color is as close to true as possible. For

directions on creating a custom white balance for

your camera, check the camera manual.

To get the proper exposure in this type of light-

ing, just do the following:

1. Set the camera to the manual exposure
   mode.


2. Set the shutter speed at a setting that you
   believe can stop the motion. I usually start
   at 1/500 second.


3. Open the lens up to the widest aperture
   it offers.


4. Set the ISO to 1600.


5. Take a photo and check the exposure on
   the camera’s LCD. If the image is underex-
   posed, you have to either increase the ISO,
   open the aperture up wider, or reduce the
   shutter speed.
   For example, the light in the gym in Figure 6-2
   was constant but low. I needed an ISO of 2000
   to get the shutter speed up to an action freezing
   1/400 second. I started at 1/500 second and ISO
   1600 at f/2.8, but the image was underexposed. I
   increased the ISO from 1600 to 2000 and tried
   again and the image was still underexposed. So I
   switched to a lens that had a wider aperture and
   finally dropped the shutter speed to 1/400 second.
   I was able to now concentrate on the sport and
   capturing the moment instead of worrying about
   the exposure settings.
   Natural light is any light that may be filtering in
   from outside through windows or doors, or that is
   mainly available at smaller halls and gyms.

Indoor lighting

There are three types of lighting that may be
available when shooting sports photography
indoors: available artificial light, natural light,
and electronic flash.

Consider available artificial light first. The lights
in the building that are used to illuminate the
sporting event can range widely in both type and
power. However, these lights are most often in
the ceiling, providing even illumination to the
entire sports area with no shadows or dark spots.
This makes it easy for the players and spectators
to participate and observe the game without any
deep shadows appearing in the playing area.

Overhead lighting is great for watching a game
and can be good for photographing if it is bright
enough. Many times in smaller gyms and venues
the lighting is low, making it tough to get a high
enough shutter speed to freeze the action without
using very high ISO settings and having to deal
with a lot of noise or using a prime lens with a
very wide aperture. The real plus when it comes
to photographing under these lights is that
because the intensity of the lights and the illumi-
nation is constant, once you have set the shutter
speed fast enough to freeze the action and the
aperture and ISO, you don’t have to change the
settings much — you can set it and forget it.

A concern when shooting under these lights is
the color of the light and the white balance set-
ting. The best thing to do is to set the white bal-
ance in the camera to a setting that looks good
when you check it on the camera’s display.
Chances are you will have to adjust the white
balance using software later, but it pays to get
it as close as possible in the camera. If possible,