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Capturing the Moment: The Best Lens for Sports Photography and Pro Tips for How to Take Sports Pictures
Sports photography is all about capturing those split-second moments that define movement and emotion. Whether your shooting indoor or outdoor sports, having the right lens can make all the difference in bringing those moments to life in your photographs. Let's take a look at what makes a lens ideal for sports photography and some sports photography tips to elevate your action shots.
Choosing the Right Sports Photography Lens
Fast Aperture: Many people want to learn how to take sports pictures in a gym, in low light, and indoors without a flash. A fast aperture lens is key. A lens with a wide aperture, typically f/2.8 or wider, lets you use faster shutter speeds that are crucial for freezing fast-moving subjects. A fast aperture also helps to capture sharp images in low light conditions such as indoor sports.
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Telephoto Reach: Sports action often happens at a distance, so a telephoto zoom lens is an essential lens for sports photography. Look for lenses with focal lengths in the range of 70mm to 400mm or even longer for outdoor field sports. The wider end of the tele zoom lets you grab sideline action photos while the tele end lets you zoom in on the action across the field and at the goal posts. A lens that offers wide-to-telephoto versatility is great for indoor sports like basketball, so that you can grab the action as it comes closer to you in a smaller space.
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Image Stabilization: Since sports photography requires you to be agile and follow the action, you will shoot hand-held more often than not. When shooting handheld, image stabilization can be a lifesaver, especially at longer focal lengths, as it helps to reduce blur caused by camera shake, allowing you to maintain sharpness in your shots.
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Fast Autofocus: A lens with fast and accurate autofocus that can quickly track moving subjects and maintain focus is crucial for sports action photography.
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Durability: You are at the mercy of weather when shooting outdoor sports, so a lens built with weather sealing is important to protect your gear when shooting in inclement weather.
Recommended Lenses
1. TAMRON 50-400mm F/4.5-6.3 Di III VC VXD for Sony E-mount mirrorless cameras is a great Sony sports lens choice. This compact and versatile ultra-telephoto zoom lens offers a great range for outdoor sports. Shoot the action across the field and zoom out when the ball comes closer to the sidelines. Tamron’s VC image stabilization ensures excellent handheld results, while the VXD autofocus system provides the high precision and accurate tracking required for fast-moving subjects. This lens has weather sealing as well as a fluorine coating on the front element for easy cleaning and is compatible with Ø67mm filters.
2. TAMRON 70-180mm F/2.8 Di III VC VXD G2 for Sony E-mount mirrorless cameras. This Sony E-mount zoom lens is a game-changer for indoor sports photography. With its fast f/2.8 aperture, it excels in low-light conditions, ensuring crisp and clear images even in dimly lit indoor environments. This Sony sports lens offers a versatile focal range of 70-180mm that allows photographers to capture wide-angle shots of the court action, key action moments from afar, and close-up details of players’ intense expressions and movements. Its advanced VXD autofocus system ensures swift and accurate focusing, crucial for capturing fast-paced moments with precision. Additionally, the lens’s built-in VC (Vibration Compensation) feature helps stabilize images, reducing blur caused by camera shake, resulting in professional-quality sports photographs that truly stand out. This lens has weather sealing as well as a fluorine coating on the front element for easy cleaning and is compatible with Ø67mm filters.
3. TAMRON 150-500mm F/5-6.7 Di III VC VXD for Sony E, Fujifilm X and Nikon Z mirrorless cameras. This is an incredibly lightweight and compact ultra-telephoto lens that zooms to 500mm making it ideal for all outdoor field sports. At just 8.4 inches in length (11.1 when fully extended) and weighing in at under 66.3 oz with the tripod collar, the lens is easy to carry around and move up and down the sidelines. The 150-500 is a perfect Sony sports lens, Nikon sports lens and Fujifilm sports lens as it is equipped with Tamron’s VXD linear autofocus motor that ensures fast and precise autofocus. It also features VC (Vibration Compensation) to suppress camera shake when shooting handheld or in low-light situations. Its optical construction consists of 25 elements in 16 groups to provide high resolving power and the lens features an incredible MOD of just 23.6 inches at 150mm for a great close-up shooting experience with this ultra-telephoto lens. This lens has weather sealing as well as a fluorine coating on the front element for easy cleaning and is compatible with Ø82mm filters.
4. TAMRON 35-150mm F/2-2.8 Di III VXD for Sony E and Nikon Z mirrorless cameras. This unique all-in-one zoom lens for Sony E-mount and Nikon Z-mount has the perfect focal length for indoor sports photography. The amazing minimal focus distance allows photographers to capture court-side action as close as 13 inches at 35mm and still zoom to 150mm when action moves across the court. The lowlight aperture of F/2-2.8 will help isolate subjects and create beautiful soft backgrounds. Capturing the sudden movements of the players will seem easy with the VXD autofocus motor that provides excellent autofocus tracking to deliver high speed, high precision images. This lens has weather sealing as well as a fluorine coating on the front element for easy cleaning and is compatible with Ø82mm filters.
5. TAMRON SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 is an ideal Nikon and Canon sports lens for DSLR cameras or with mirrorless cameras when using the manufacturer adapter. This ultra-telephoto 150-600mm lens provides superb optical performance and features a fast and precise USD (Ultrasonic Silent Drive) autofocus to capture fast motion. The 5-stop VC image stabilization has several modes, including a panning mode to follow flying birds. This lens has weather sealing and a fluorine coating on the front element for easy cleaning and uses Ø95mm filters.
How to Take Pictures of Sports by Anticipating the Action
Familiarize yourself with the sport you're photographing so that you can anticipate the key moments. By knowing what to expect, you can position yourself in the right spot along the field or court sidelines; have your camera lens focused in on the basket or goal; or, be zoomed in on the ball as it is being tossed or passed. You will be ready to capture the action.
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Use Burst Mode
Burst mode or continuous shooting mode is a mandatory setting required for sports photography. It lets you capture a rapid sequence of images and increase your chances of getting that perfect shot.
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Focus on the Eyes
When capturing an individual in your sports photos, focus on the eyes to add depth and emotion to your photographs, creating a stronger connection between the viewer and the subject.
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Best Camera Setting for Sports Photography
Use faster shutter speeds to freeze motion or slower shutter speeds to convey a sense of speed through motion blur. Set your camera to aperture priority and select the widest aperture (f/2.8 or wider). Adjust your ISO as needed to get the highest shutter speed possible. A good rule of thumb is to use a shutter speed that is double the focal length setting. For example, if you are shooting at 500mm, use a shutter speed of at least 1/1000th sec. If your sports action is particularly fast, like car racing, you will need to use even higher shutter speeds to freeze the motion.
For Creative Sports Photography, Utilize a Panning Technique
To convey a sense of motion while keeping your subject sharp, try panning. Follow your subject's movement with your camera while using a slower shutter speed. This technique creates a blurred background, emphasizing the speed and direction of the action. If your lens has multiple VC image stabilization modes, put the mode on panning while hand holding. If you are on a tripod, make sure you turn the VC off completely to avoid blur as you are already in a stable position.
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Pay Attention to Composition
Composition plays a vital role in action photography. Look for dynamic angles, leading lines, and interesting backgrounds to add depth and visual interest to your shots.
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Conclusion
Sports action photography requires the right combination of the best camera lens for sports photography and expert techniques to capture those key moments with precision and impact. With the best lens for sports photography in your arsenal and these tips for sports photography in mind, you'll be well-equipped to capture the moment and create action photographs that tell captivating stories.
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Want to learn more about photographing sports action?
Download TAMRON Magazine Issue 7 with our cover story “Pro Tips for Action-Packed Sports Photos: A special guide to sports photography.”
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