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How to: Tamron Pro Tips for Sports Photography


Sports photography is certainly one of the more exciting types of photography, and the opportunity to capture a thrilling win or devastating defeat is what draws so many photographers to sporting events. But it can often be very difficult to get clear and crisp photos of the action because subjects are almost always moving, and it’s often difficult to predict what’ll happen next and where that great shot might be. If you’re looking to take better photos on the field, court, pitch, or stadium, check out these tips below!

Tip #1) Use a Fast Shutter Speed. To capture clear and crisp images of the action taking place, you’ll need to use a fast shutter speed to avoid blur. We recommend playing with these settings early on and getting them in sync with the athlete’s movements before play starts.


© Vic Buhay
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Tip #2) Focus on the Athletes. Everyone at a sporting event is there to watch the athletes perform and cheer them on, so the athletes should be the main focus of all your shots. Try and highlight the intensity and emotion of the moments by isolating your subjects from fans, lights, and parts of the stadium that may be in view.


© Vic Buhay
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Tip #3) Adjust Your AF Approach as Necessary. Especially when shooting new sporting events that you’ve never attended before, you may need to adjust your autofocus to get sharper images. This is true even if you primarily shoot with single-focal-point autofocus.

Tip #4) Tap into Exposure Compensation. Exposure compensation often gets neglected in not just sports photography but many other forms of photography as well. If you haven’t heard of this feature before or don’t know what it does, it can add or subtract up to three stops of light. This makes it very valuable when shooting an outdoor sporting event and in other situations where you want to compensate for certain lighting conditions.


© Vic Buhay
Click image to view larger

Keep these tips in mind on your next visit to the stadium, arena, court, field, or pitch, and you’ll be guaranteed to take better photos of all the excitement.




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