Advice needed on Sports photography

[Iguanasan]

MA has some wonderful advice on gear and settings to which I can't really add. However, I will add something I've found when I've done some shooting at karate events. Know the sport. I know this is an Ironman which most people know what's going on, however, if you've never participated in one you may not have the understanding of where interesting things will happen. For me, knowing karate, I know when the subject is going to move into a particular position and so I set up the shot to capture that moment - I can anticipate the movement and pick the best times for a capture.

MA has a great shot of someone coming out of the water. I would suspect that as fast as they want to go, that's a great point to catch them since the water slows them down. The dive in might be a cool spot as well but how can you get from one spot to the other? Unless they are swimming in a circle? So, you need to get to know the route. Where do they start and where do they finish. Regardless of whatever else you capture, make sure you catch him coming across the finish line. Be there before him and set it up. You know generally where he'll be so you can manually focus and wait for him to cross the line.

[Mad Aussie]

Know the sport. I know this is an Ironman which most people know what's going on, however, if you've never participated in one you may not have the understanding of where interesting things will happen.

you need to get to know the route. Where do they start and where do they finish. Regardless of whatever else you capture, make sure you catch him coming across the finish line. Be there before him and set it up. You know generally where he'll be so you can manually focus and wait for him to cross the line.

Good points I didn't think of. But I do exactly that. I make sure I've got a course map and even go out a reccy the course if that's possible. Unless you can get close to the swimmers it's very hard to get a good shot. Even harder picking your mate out in the froth and crowd.

Aren't you worried about blinding a competitor and making them trip or miss a turn or something?

Nope ... they expect camera flashes. Some will joke about it ... "ahhh you blinded me" but not really ... and in the end ... whatever it takes to get the best shot when you want to sell them I don't use flash when animals are involved in sport though.

[Mad Aussie]

Just looking through Richards link and there's more I do but had forgotten.

I often use burst mode, but only if there's good reason to do so. Someone sliding around a corner on a bike for instance.

Shooting in JPG ... yep ... when using the flash it helps the camera and flash to keep up and the card to buffer better. And with so many photos taken, you pack more on a card. With sport, you're not usually after the advantages in processing that RAW brings anyhow.

I don't agree with the f2.8 tip though unless you really need it. I shoot almost all my sport on ISO 400 so rarely need f2.8 during the daylight hours.

[casil403]

Thanks so much guys for the advice and tips and kudos. Thanks too for the link Richard. I remember the swimmer shot MA and I loved it then as much I love it now.