How to Photograph Basketball

How to Photograph Basketball

 (All images copyright Michael Berkeley Photography - no reproduction without permission)

Basketball is fast and furious, and there is never a dull moment.  I also find it very difficult to photograph – possibly the hardest sport that I have covered.

The action moves quickly from end to end, and then a large number of players jostle for position in a very confined space around the basket, many with their back to you.  In this respect, it is very similar to ice hockey (see How to Photograph Ice Hockey).

(Nikon D500; 24-70mm at 24mm; f/2.8; 1/1000th sec; ISO 4000)

My experience comes from photographing my local basketball team – the Salisbury Suns (Wiltshire, UK) – who play in a school sports hall.  The lighting is ‘challenging’ because it is quite dim and can vary in different parts of the hall.

This causes problems with exposure.  I use a fast shutter speed in order to freeze the action (1/1000th sec, considering the speed of the players move); the lens wide open to let in as much light as possible and also to provide a shallow depth of field; and use ISO Auto within parameters.

(Sony A9II; 70-200mm at 148mm; f/2.8; 1/1000th sec; ISO 10000)

Reviewing my photos for this blog, I realise that I allowed the ISO settings to creep far too high in many cases, meaning that some of the images are not as sharp as I would like.  With my Sony A9II, I could probably get away with an ISO setting of 6400, but some of my images go beyond that.  I also shot a mixture of RAW and JPEG, and this is probably a circumstance where I would recommend shooting RAW so that as much information is retained for use during post processing.  It’s worth taking some shots while the teams are warming up to check the exposure.

(Sony A9II; 24-70mm at 65mm; f/2.8; 1/1000th sec; ISO 8000)

I use Continuous Hi shooting, so that I have a sequence of images from which to choose the best shot; and focus tracking (3-D tracking on my Nikon D500, and one of the tracking modes on my Sony A9II).  This means that when you have locked onto the subject you want to photograph, the camera will keep it in focus as it moves through the viewfinder.

(Nikon D500; 24-70mm at 24mm; f/2.8; 1/1000th sec; ISO 4000)

Because of the variable lighting in the hall, I leave the White Balance on Auto and address any colour cast issues in post processing.

As mentioned above, a wide aperture allows the depth of field to be as shallow as possible and makes the main subject stand out from the background, but in a small sports hall, it is going to be difficult to find a completely ‘clean’ background, because there will always be kit bags, spectators, health & safety notices etc in the way.

(Sony A9II; 70-200mm at 113mm; f/2.8; 1/1000th sec; ISO 8000)

This is one of the reasons why I try to position myself at the end of the court, because the ends of the court tend to be less cluttered (see above).  Moreover, with ‘my’ team coming towards me, I can capture the player’s face as he attacks the basket – this is the same principle that I use for other end-to-end sports, such as football, ice hockey and rugby.

(Sony A9II; 70-200mm at 102mm; f/2.8; 1/1000th sec; ISO 8000)

Because of the size of the court, a 70-200mm lens is ideal for shots further away, and a 24-70mm for closer shots – and therein lies a problem.  The action moves so quickly that it is impossible to switch lenses as the players approach at speed.  One option is to have 2 camera bodies (if you can afford that luxury), but it is still a challenge to change over at such speed.  I have tended to use one lens for one period and then swap over to the other for the next to provide variety.

Photographing sport is all about capturing action, movement, emotion (highs and lows), and telling a story.  And basketball has all this in abundance, but how do I capture this?

(Nikon D500; 24-70mm at 52mm; f/2.8; 1/1000th sec; ISO 5000)

Probably the easiest way to get a good picture is when a player is on a break and is running up the court at speed.  In the photo above, the player is in full flight, with both feet off the ground, conveying the impression of speed.  In the image below, taken straight down the court, the facial expression adds emotion…

(Sony A9II; 70-200mm at 95mm; f/2.8; 1/1000th sec; ISO 16000)

I like to get the whole of the player in the picture (i.e. including their feet), but this becomes very challenging when the players are close to you.  I also like to get the basket – or some part of it – in the image to provide context.  This creates a problem because of the height of the basket, such as in the image below where the players are cut off at the waist.

(Sony A9II; 70-200mm at 70mm; f/2.8; 1/1000th sec; ISO 8000)

One way round this is to take the photograph in portrait, rather than landscape, orientation.  The image below was taken as a landscape and then cropped to a portrait format afterwards to concentrate attention on the main action.  With the lens I was using, it would have been impossible to have included both the whole of the player and the basket in the picture – I was just too close.

(Sony A9II; 70-200mm at 95mm; f/2.8; 1/1000th sec; ISO 10000)

It’s good if you can take a photograph that tells a story.  In the image below, the player who has just passed the ball, has realised that the player in front has taken his eye off the ball and he is therefore trying to get his attention before it hits him in the back …

(Sony A9II; 70-200mm at 95mm; f/2.8; 1/1000th sec; ISO 16000)

Another way to convey the emotion and speed of the game effectively is to reduce the shutter speed to introduce intentional blur into the image, as below.  This was taken with a 50mm f/1.8 prime lens and the blur is obvious at 1/200th second, but not so great that the picture becomes confused.  With the wider aperture and slower shutter speed, the ISO setting is far below most other images in this blog. 

(Nikon D500; 50mm; f/2.2; 1/200th sec; ISO 2000)

As with all sports, it is worth keeping an eye open for interesting pictures away from the main action.  For example, the image below of the coach giving a team talk during a time out provides something different to tell the story of the game.

(Nikon D500; 50mm; f/2.0; 1/200th sec; ISO 2000)

Basketball is a challenge for the photographer, but well worth the effort.  I can’t wait to get back and give it another go!

With special thanks to Salisbury Suns Basketball Club.

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How to Photograph Lawn Bowls

(All images copyright Michael Berkeley Photography - no reproduction without permission)

I originally wrote this blog just after I had set out my thoughts on How to Photograph Polo, which is a particularly fast and furious sport.  Bowls is almost diametrically opposite in terms of pace, but my experience of photographing at my local Bowls Club was that it is equally – if not more – social than polo.  It also proved to be one of the most competitive sports that I have ever witnessed!

As is often the case when I photograph a new sport, I had no idea how I was going to approach bowls.  In such situations, I have a look on the internet to see what others have done and see if there is a ‘How to Photograph [Sport]’ article – maybe you are doing this right now by reading this blog!  There wasn’t a huge amount of information on bowls, so it was a voyage of discovery …

(Nikon D500; 70-200mm at 200mm; f/2.8; 1/2000th sec; ISO 100)

In this case, I actually went along for a recce.  Some of the Club members were having a practice during the week, in advance of the men’s match the following Saturday.  There were only a few people practising and, in the very informal atmosphere, I was able to walk on the green itself (which – understandably – was strictly forbidden on match day) and take close ups of the players.

(Nikon D700; 24-70mm at 38mm; f/7.1; 1/320th sec; ISO 250)

During the recce, I used both of my camera bodies, so that I could try a number of different ideas. The photo above was taken with the full frame Nikon D700, providing opportunities for a wider angle than the crop sensor Nikon D500, which - at the time - I used to use most of the time for my sport photography (I now use a Sony A9II).

While invaluable in preparing for the main event, the light was different in each case.  The practice session was in the early evening, which meant that there were long shadows on the green.  The sun was much higher for the match and the players’ hats cast a strong shadow, making it difficult to get a good shot of their face.  Moreover, the players on the Saturday were wearing their match kit, which was bright white, leading to high contrast.

(Nikon D500; 70-200mm at 160mm; f/2.8; 1/5000th sec; ISO 250)

I set out my ‘standard’ camera settings in my blog  'Getting into Sport and Music Photography'.  In the case of the bowls match, I kept the lens wide open to achieve a shallow depth of field and blur the background, as usual.  But as it was such a bright day, I had to set the shutter speed to up to 1/5000th second to compensate for the wide open aperture.  With the ISO set on ‘Auto’, the ISO readings that I was getting were in the 100 to 1000 band, which was fine.

Although I do often shoot JPEG files, on this occasion I did shoot RAW, because I knew that the lighting condition were particularly challenging and that I would therefore want to recover as much detail as possible from the shadows.

(Nikon D500; 70-200mm at 185mm; f/2.8; 1/5000th sec; ISO 200)

I was anxious that the sound of my camera – and my presence itself – did not become a distraction for the players who were concentrating hard.  With this in mind, I had offered to take photographs of both the teams before the match started, so that they were all aware that I was there, knew what I would be doing, and had got used to my presence. Of course, if I had had my current Sony A9II with me, I would have been able to set it to silent shooting and I would have been less conspicuous!

(Nikon D500; 24-70mm at 31 mm; f/8; 1/1250th sec; ISO 160)

On match day, I used 3 different lenses on the Nikon D500 – a 24-70mm f/2.8; a 70-200mm f/2.8; and a 200-500mm f/5.6.  As the Nikon D500 has a crop sensor, this last lens is equivalent to 300-750mm.  This variety of lenses allowed me to get very different perspectives on the action.  The 70-200mm was probably the most useful for ‘straight’ player shots (as above), but the wide-angle lens and long lens allowed me to take more imaginative shots.  

(Nikon D500; 200-500mm at 240mm; f/5.6; 1/5000th sec; ISO 500)

I took the photo above from the far end of the lawn with the long lens (note the heavy shadows over the faces – recovered as far as possible in post-production). A quite different perspective is achieved in the image below, taken from right behind the players.

(Nikon D500; 24-70mm at 48mm; f/2.8; 1/5000th sec; ISO 250)

As a general rule, I try to get as low to the ground as possible as this makes the players appear ‘heroic’ and you also feel as though you are there in the middle of the action with them - see below.

(Nikon D500; 70-200mm at 200mm; f/2.8; 1/5000th sec; ISO 320)

I tried to get as many shots of individual players as possible, so that they would each have a good image of themselves, but also tried to capture some of the atmosphere of the game.  This included the total concentration shown by the players, as well as the occasional messages being passed to teammates through sign language …

(Nikon D500; 200-500mm at 320mm; f/8.0; 1/1250th sec; ISO 250)

(Nikon D500; 24-70mm at 52mm; f/2.8; 1/5000th sec; ISO 200)

As well as the hugely competitive nature of the match, the players were having a hugely enjoyable time.  The contest may have been intense, but it was also sociable, both with teammates and the other team.  

(Nikon D500; 70-200mm at 160mm; f/2.8; 1/5000th sec; ISO 360)

(Nikon D500; 70-200mm at 200mm; f/2.8; 1/5000th sec; ISO 110)

Special thanks go to Downton Bowling Club, Wiltshire.  They were immensely hospitable, and I was made to feel extremely welcome. Despite repeated invitations, I politely declined the offers to have a go myself - I left that to the experts!

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How to Photograph Football (Soccer)

(All images copyright Michael Berkeley Photography - no reproduction without permission)

I have been one of the official photographers at Salisbury Football Club (The Whites) since October 2016 and I have now photographed over 100 matches for them. There are 2 other regular photographers: John Rose who takes photos for the local newspaper, the Salisbury Journal; and Roger Elliott who worked for the Journal for some 40 years as a photographer – and for over 20 years as Head Photographer.  When John is unavailable, I step in and cover for the Journal.

Sam Roberts (Sony A9II; 200-600mm at 600mm; f/6.3; 1/2500th sec; ISO 800)

Photographing football is very easy and very difficult.  It is easy to get a stock shot of a player kicking the ball (see above), but it is much harder to take an image that tells a story.  This is where Roger excels.  He has spent his career telling stories in the newspaper through his photographs and he has that knack for capturing the right moment while still taking very few images - a discipline born out of using film for many years.  Photographic ‘stories’ are what the club wants because we provide photographs to illustrate the Match Reports, as well as to adorn the front cover of the programme for the next home game.

In the photograph above – used in the Match Report – Jack Stanley has been sent off for a tackle on the opposition player who is writhing in agony on the ground.  This is described as a ‘Gamechanger’ because Salisbury were then down to 10 men and therefore faced an uphill struggle – so the photo succeeds in ‘telling the story’ of that stage of the game. Needless to say, the opposition player jumped up and trotted off merrily after the red card had been raised by the referee!

That hurt! (Sony A9II; 200-600mm at 470mm - f/6.3; 1/1600th sec; ISO 250)

Part of ‘telling the story’ is capturing the emotion of the moment, whether it is the pain of a heavy challenge (above) or a missed goal (below). In the image below, the emotions range from despair (the striker); disbelief (his team mate); relief (the goalie); to wry amusement (the defender). The ball is set against the context of the goalpost, so - as well as having vitality - the image is a self-contained story.

(Sony A9II; 70-200mm at 129mm - f/3.2; 1/1600th sec; ISO 2000)

As with other sports where the play moves from end to end (e.g. cricket, rugby, polo, basketball etc), I position myself at the end of the pitch towards which the team I am photographing is playing.  This means that I am more likely to capture the face of the players coming towards me and, all being well, will be in the right position when a goal is scored.  Of course, there is a large amount of luck being in the right place at the right time and there is no knowing whether a goal scorer will celebrate on the side of the pitch where you are.  You can be in the ideal place and the scorer comes towards you – as in the 2 images below – or can disappear off towards the other side of the pitch and you are left photographing the number on their back … Even so, I am sure that some of the players look to see where the photographers are before starting their celebration!

Dom Jefferies celebrates scoring (Sony A9II; 200-600mm at 200mm; f/5.6; 1/1000th sec; ISO 2500)

Harry Baker (bottom) celebrates scoring (Sony A9II; 70-200mm at 95mm; f/2.8; 1/1000th sec; ISO 1600)

These goal celebration images are ideal for the front cover of a match programme because they show the club being successful and set the mood for the game ahead.

I described my ‘typical’ camera settings in my blog on Getting into Sport and Music Photography. Setting these generic setting in context, Salisbury FC’s ground - the Raymond MacEnhill Stadium - is surrounded by advertising hoardings and these can be very distracting.  I therefore start by setting the aperture ‘wide open’ in order to blur the background as best I can.  I usually use a 70-200mm (f2.8) lens and/or a 200-600mm (f5.6-f/6.3) lens. Reducing the depth of field provides a degree of separation between the players and the background.  Next I set the shutter speed depending on how bright the day is, but it will usually be faster than 1/1000th sec for football in order to freeze the action.  The ISO is set to automatic, within limits (usually a high of 6400) – I will check from time to time to ensure that it is as near to 100 ISO as possible.

Toby Holmes through on goal (Sony A9II; 200-600mm at 200mm; f/6.3; 1/1250th sec; ISO 200)

I always shoot with the Drive Mode set to Continuous (High), because it is difficult to capture the decisive moment effectively with just a single shot (for reasons that I set out in greater detail in my blog on How to Photograph Cricket).  Some purists might accuse me of ‘spraying and praying’, but the camera has the facility to do it and it doesn’t cost anything – except in time processing the photos – so, why not?!

The 2 images below were taken from a burst - with only a fraction of a second of each other. It never ceases to amaze me how much can change in such a short period of time, so the more frames per second your camera can take, the better.

(Sony A9II; 200-600mm at 200mm; f/6.3; 1/1250th sec; ISO 800)

(Sony A9II; 200-600mm at 200mm; f/6.3; 1/1250th sec; ISO 800)

Some sports, such as motorsports, lend themselves to panning and motion blur (see my blog on How to Photograph Speedway), but football isn’t really one of them.  While there is a risk that freezing the action may make the photos look a little ‘static’ and lacking in emotion, it means that the drama and movement in the photographs need to be generated by the action itself - the body shapes, expressions, composition etc. The image below was taken in the pouring rain during a match at Dorchester - football photographers also need to be prepared to get cold and wet!  

Harry Baker scores (Sony A9II; 70-200mm at 187mm; f/2.8; 1/1000; ISO 1250)

On the other hand, one of my favourite images came as a result of inadvertently setting the camera up incorrectly.  Way back in April 2017, Salisbury were in contention for promotion at the end of the season and during the first of two play-offs it was ‘all square’ towards the very end of the match, when … Tommy Wright scored!  There was a huge release of emotion from the home crowd.  At this level of football, the photographers have the luxury of being able to move around to get the best shot (at higher levels, they are allocated a place which they have to maintain throughout the game) – so, when Tommy headed towards the corner flag brandishing his shirt, I was running alongside him trying to keep up and photographing in continuous mode.  

Tommy Wright celebrates in April 2017 (Nikon D700; Nikkor 50mm f2.2; 1/250sec; f2.8; ISO 1250)

The resulting image is slightly blurred and is overexposed, but it captured the emotion of the moment and was used extensively by the club – and was described by my colleague, Roger, as “the defining image of the season”.  Not bad for a blurred photo!  But it shows that an image doesn’t have to be technically perfect and that capturing emotion is more important.

To see more images, view the Football Gallery.

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