Metering mode for soccer action.

[Joe N.M]

Hi there,

Can anyone give me some advices on which metering mode should I use for taking soccer shots in action?

[billpepsi]

Originally Posted by Joe N.M Hi there, Can anyone give me some advices on which metering mode should I use for taking soccer shots in action?

You may want to check with these sport shooters (John Tan, Jed, sehsuan...)

[KNIGHT ONG]

There is no fixed rules ...

[billpepsi]

From experience, before covering any event, always do a few test shots with various settings, and do check the picture and histogram. But sometimes situation may change during the event, eg: shooting against bright spot light or colour temp may change (esp. during a concert). Hence need to adjust accordingly.

So yeah, there are no fix rules.

my 2 cents

[szekiat]

Depending on when the game is played really. In sg, where most games are played at night, i'd go for manual mode. Get a good reading early on and stick to it. Lighting is quite even across the field but sometimes a spotlight in the background or top corner, can send your AV/TV off. For outdoors, bright daylight, i'd go for AV mode for evening and manual for mid day, afternoon.
As a general rule, if the lighting is constant, i'll go for M mode. Its slightly faster too i think (prob wrong here).

[Jed]

Bingo.

And since I think I need 10 letters minimum, I'll type this sentence too.

[szekiat]

glad you approve. Got your laptop sorted yet mate?

[Jed]

Nope, still waiting for the criminal report, to get the number so I can get the insurance through. I reckon I've decided what I want though; that Sony S series thing is nice.

[Smurfie]

Originally Posted by Joe N.M Hi there, Can anyone give me some advices on which metering mode should I use for taking soccer shots in action?

Daytime, I let AV handle the metering.

Nighttime, I set it at manual, meter the penalty box, set shutter speed and aperture, then leave it at those settings for the whole shoot. Compensate accordingly during post processing.

[Joe N.M]

Originally Posted by Smurfie Daytime, I let AV handle the metering. Nighttime, I set it at manual, meter the penalty box, set shutter speed and aperture, then leave it at those settings for the whole shoot. Compensate accordingly during post processing.

Thanks Smurfie...

may i know how do u meter the penalty box or any other areas?

[flash77]

Originally Posted by Joe N.M may i know how do u meter the penalty box or any other areas?

Never shoot soccer before, here's my newbie take on it:

Point your camera towards the penalty area direction, hopefully there's some player warming up around that area, then looking at your camera's metering, dial your camera to set the shutter speed and aperture accordingly.

But at night usually we shoot F2.8 to F4.

[Smurfie]

Originally Posted by Joe N.M Thanks Smurfie... may i know how do u meter the penalty box or any other areas?

Use the grass at the penalty box. Treat the grass as 1 stop below medium tone.(eg. If metering the grass at the penalty box gives you ISO 1600, f/2.8, 1/250s shutter speed, I would then set the camera to ISO 1600, f/2.8, 1/500s.) By the way, you have to use partial or spot metering. Matrix or Evaluative metering might not give you the desired results, unless the whole frame is just green grass(even then, I still won't trust it).

However, don't just take my word for it. Try a few test shots around the field, or on the players doing their warmups. See if the exposure is correct.

Caveats about night shooting for soccer.
1. There will be some parts of the field where your shots might be underexposed. This is due to the floodlights not being able to equally light up the whole field. Not much you can do about that though. Live with it and post process, or limit your shots to the areas where the lighting is maximal.
2. Shadows might be especially harsh because the main source of lighting is from the floodlights. You might get cases of the soccer jersey being well exposed, but the player's face being severely underexposed.
3. Night soccer is inherently difficult. Don't despair if your first few attempts turn out to be bad. It took me a good number of matches before I could get a satisfying set of photos.

[Witness]

eh i juz shot one ytd..... i used spot meter to meter the scene on the overall....

noticed tt at the front part of the penalty box is better lighted compared to the other zones in the field... end up...i found a mid point and set it manually.... i guess this would change w diff stadiums....

cheers...

[Joe N.M]

Originally Posted by Smurfie Use the grass at the penalty box. Treat the grass as 1 stop below medium tone.(eg. If metering the grass at the penalty box gives you ISO 1600, f/2.8, 1/250s shutter speed, I would then set the camera to ISO 1600, f/2.8, 1/500s.) By the way, you have to use partial or spot metering. Matrix or Evaluative metering might not give you the desired results, unless the whole frame is just green grass(even then, I still won't trust it). However, don't just take my word for it. Try a few test shots around the field, or on the players doing their warmups. See if the exposure is correct. Caveats about night shooting for soccer. 1. There will be some parts of the field where your shots might be underexposed. This is due to the floodlights not being able to equally light up the whole field. Not much you can do about that though. Live with it and post process, or limit your shots to the areas where the lighting is maximal. 2. Shadows might be especially harsh because the main source of lighting is from the floodlights. You might get cases of the soccer jersey being well exposed, but the player's face being severely underexposed. 3. Night soccer is inherently difficult. Don't despair if your first few attempts turn out to be bad. It took me a good number of matches before I could get a satisfying set of photos.

You say, .(eg. If metering the grass at the penalty box gives you ISO 1600, f/2.8, 1/250s shutter speed, I would then set the camera to ISO 1600, f/2.8, 1/500s.)

How and which mode do u use to meter the grass, is it P mode?

If so, it does not gives you the ISO reading. Or is it by your judgement you assumed that the ISO is 1600?

I really need to know, thanks.

[scandisk]

hmmm...useful tips on soccer shots especially the metering part. So ISO's set to 1600 for nite shots ?? Tried some soccer shots during the recent lion city cup. My nite shots turn out horrible but had some OK ones for the daytime shots.

[scandisk]

my pics are in the reportage and sports section of the gallery....

[Smurfie]

Originally Posted by Witness eh i juz shot one ytd..... i used spot meter to meter the scene on the overall.... noticed tt at the front part of the penalty box is better lighted compared to the other zones in the field... end up...i found a mid point and set it manually.... i guess this would change w diff stadiums.... cheers...

You are right with that observation. It's an unavoidable fact that floodlights will light the field unevenly. Some stadiums light the center of the field better, with the corners lacking, some light the corners better.

Makes shooting more fun, doesn't it?

[Smurfie]

Originally Posted by Joe N.M You say, .(eg. If metering the grass at the penalty box gives you ISO 1600, f/2.8, 1/250s shutter speed, I would then set the camera to ISO 1600, f/2.8, 1/500s.) How and which mode do u use to meter the grass, is it P mode? If so, it does not gives you the ISO reading. Or is it by your judgement you assumed that the ISO is 1600? I really need to know, thanks.

No, use the M mode. Let me try to explain metering a bit, anyone who can do better, please feel free to correct me, or call me stupid.

Do you ever notice this bar in your viewfinder? It looks something like this.

|--|--|--|--|
      ^
-2 -1  0  +1 +2

Now, during M mode, when you halfpress the shutter button, you get the camera to do a meter reading and calculate exposure, etc. The meter reading is what we are interested in now. M mode forces you to manually set the aperture, ISO and shutter speeds.

Let's return to that bar. The little arrow pointing towards the bar, is trying to tell you if the camera thinks your exposure settings is correct for the scene it is metering. Assuming your bar reads

|--|--|--|--|
         ^
-2 -1  0  +1 +2

That means that the camera thinks your scene is currently too bright and you should close down by 1 stop. So assuming if your camera is at 1/60s, f/4, ISO 100, you can compensate by switching to 1/125s shutter speed. Once that is done, the bar should read

|--|--|--|--|
      ^
-2 -1  0  +1 +2

which means the camera now thinks it will be properly exposed. What you are trying to do, is to adjust your camera's exposure, to bring this bar to the center.

That's as simple as I can try to explain it in a nutshell.

Now, some technicalities that must be mentioned. The camera's meter always attempts to read the subject as a medium tone. What's medium tone? Ever seen an 18% grey card? That's medium tone. So the camera is trying to read the scene as having tonality similar to medium tone and metering it as it is. So you have to have a gauge of the tonality of the subject you are metering against. Usually, field grass to me, is 1 stop below medium tone.

[Smurfie]

Originally Posted by scandisk hmmm...useful tips on soccer shots especially the metering part. So ISO's set to 1600 for nite shots ?? Tried some soccer shots during the recent lion city cup. My nite shots turn out horrible but had some OK ones for the daytime shots.

For sports and action, a high shutter speed is not just preferable, it's almost a must. Of course, feel free to experiment with slow shutter speeds for some artistic sports photography.

But back to high shutter speeds. Since most soccer in Singapore happen at night(I'm sure it's due to the weather), it is difficult getting enough lighting to maintain a high shutter speed. So you compensate by having faster lenses or faster films. Today, instead of film, for digital users, you set to a higher ISO setting. In general, I prefer 1/500s or faster shutter speeds when shooting soccer. You can drop down to 1/320s or 1/250s, but although sometimes you can still freeze the player's actions(I emphasize sometimes), the ball will almost always be a blur.

[scandisk]

Originally Posted by Smurfie For sports and action, a high shutter speed is not just preferable, it's almost a must. Of course, feel free to experiment with slow shutter speeds for some artistic sports photography. But back to high shutter speeds. Since most soccer in Singapore happen at night(I'm sure it's due to the weather), it is difficult getting enough lighting to maintain a high shutter speed. So you compensate by having faster lenses or faster films. Today, instead of film, for digital users, you set to a higher ISO setting. In general, I prefer 1/500s or faster shutter speeds when shooting soccer. You can drop down to 1/320s or 1/250s, but although sometimes you can still freeze the player's actions(I emphasize sometimes), the ball will almost always be a blur.

its time to get more practice then....especially for nite shots. Will need to get a faster lens too. In the mean time just have to make do with the lenses that I have. Possible to get a reasonably good nite shot at f/5.6 or even f/8 ?? or is it a must to have f/2.8-4 ??