Sports photography is probably one of the most underrated niches in photography. Capturing excellent photos of sports stadiums and shooting players in action requires a lot of expertise and hard work.
Still, a significant chunk of the audience rarely realizes the talent of a sports photographer. Despite such lower levels of recognition at various forums, sports photography is something that many out there crave to learn.
Capturing each and every moment of a sports match gives a sense of inclusion to a crazy sports fan. As a sports photographer and enthusiast, you might be interested in turning into someone like those professional sports photographers.
Let us tell you, getting this wish granted isn’t impossible in any way. All you need is a little practice and some tricks to try with a pretty decent camera, and you’re on your way to ace sport’s photography.
Sports photographers usually consider investing in Nikon’s D7500 because of its fame as a great sports photography camera. There is no doubt about the features of this camera being very helpful to anyone trying to shoot something amidst the cheers and shouts in a stadium.
Here are some of the Nikon D7500 features that make it a good sports camera:
- Fast shutter speed
- Efficient cross sensors
- 8.0 fps speedy continuous shooting
- Environment resistant
- Efficient low light ISO
And many other such features. You’re already in luck if you have a D7500 for sports photography. Here are some essential tips that, if followed with this camera, will make you even luckier.
Don’t Rely On The Fully Automatic Mode
Does your camera have a specified sports mode that you can set it on? Well, that’s great, but just for some minor sports events where you don’t really want to take a picture that can later be published officially.
We aren’t saying that the auto mode of D7500 isn’t trustworthy. Just that relying on auto mode completely for professional-level sport’s photography is not something you would like to do. The pictures taken in fully automated mode during a sports match may not be as great in exposure and focus as you’d want them to.
Also, auto mode sometimes misses the exact detail that you want to capture and instead captures something generic. Imagine setting a perfect frame and staying all active throughout the match just to capture that last ball jumping away after hitting the racket and not being able to precisely focus on that because of the auto mode. It hurts, right?
Therefore, it is best to stay somewhere in the middle of auto and manual mode with your camera when trying to capture pro-level sports photos. This way, your chances to capture precisely what you want to increase.
The Nikon D7500 helps you easily switch between modes. You can turn your camera all auto and can bring it quickly back to the manual mode. Also, the camera’s features are extraordinarily flexible when it comes to customization.
So you can easily use your D7500 somewhere between the manual and the auto mode, capturing the best possible shots in a stadium easily.
Burst Mode Is Your Friend
Sports stadiums and players in action there are all about speed. It takes no more than a second fraction for the game’s direction to be changed. This means that as a sports photographer, you cannot afford to miss out even on a moment when the game is in its exciting peak points.
You never want to miss the turning moment of the game and would also not like to let it go without being captured. This means you’ll have to take a lot of pictures at a thunder-fast speed so that no moment is missed between the two shots. You can only ensure such a rapid speed shooting when your camera is in the burst mode.
Burst mode, also known as sports mode, continuous photography mode, or high-speed mode, allows the camera to click multiple pictures in a sequence with you pressing the shutter for long.
This mode ensures that each and every second’s movement in the sport’s ground or object under focus are recorded in your camera’s memory. Later you can either combine these shots or can simply use the best one for your purpose.
The Nikon D7500 comes with an excellent and a super-fast burst mode at 8.0 fps. Such a speed combined with an even faster shutter speed and cross-type sensors allows you to capture perfectly undisrupted moments in the highest possible quality. Again, don’t forget to make use of this mode with automatic features turned off.
Shoot From A Low Angle
Most of the sports-related action usually happened closest to the ground. Even if that’s not the case, you can tell that the spectators viewing the action from a lower-angled position find the game more fun and thrilling than someone sitting at a higher place.
This is because a low angle view of a player or a ground usually makes it easier for people to focus on the place of action. Such an angle is also great at cutting the background grass and other players out. This gives you a reason to capture your photos in a sports stadium from a lower angle to focus more on what is needed to be captured.
Keeping your camera somewhere near your knees when capturing a sport’s shot results in a clearer and a dramatic picture that focuses more on what needs to be focused. Thankfully, the Nikon D7500 comes is really handy when it’s about shooting from a low angle.
This camera is very light in weight, and its body has been designed to ensure grip. Such dynamics allow you to shoot efficiently with the camera being at a lowered angle for a longer time. Moreover, the 15 cross focus sensors of the Nikon D7500 provides for a better light blockage and processing, making your low angle shots even better and more refined.
Keep An Eye On Your ISO
People can give you a hundred tips on taking your sports photography game a step ahead. However, rarely will you come across someone who will lecture you on the importance of keeping a careful eye on the ISO of your camera.
Since they have a lot to do with the shutter speed and exposure, the ISO settings determine almost everything about the quality of the picture you take. However, what makes keeping an eye on your ISOs in sports photography a challenging task is the absence of a hard and fast rule. You can’t just set the ISO on low or high anytime you want.
Instead, it’s the time of the day, the kind of picture you want to take, the angle of your shot, as well as the lighting conditions around the stadium that determine what should be the best ISO range for the picture you’re going to take.
As a rule of thumb, however, we can help you with some basic concept of ISO settings for any kind of photography. When the light around you is sufficient, keeping the ISO on a lower level is quite a reasonable thing to do.
On the other hand, you must keep the ISO at a higher number when the light around is dim and dull. Other than this, there can be conditions where you want to keep the ISO a little higher or lower than that needed, and that’s totally up to you.
Your Nikon D7500’s easy setup can help you determine the required ISO level quickly whenever needed. Also, the sensors fit in the camera are also powerful enough to bring out the best light in results on whatever ISO you choose.
Use A Fast Shutter Speed
As said before, the world of sports is all about speed. As a sports photographer, you’d need to capture the 50th half of a second with precision so that no body movement and action are missed from being captured by you.
This makes you reliant on a very high shutter speed that is probably the only way to take a picture precisely at the intended moment. You might be surprised to know that a sports photographer needs to keep their shutter speed as quick as that or 1/500th of a second to capture the exactly needed moment. Even when it has been placed last on this list, this tip is quite the essence of what great sports photographers tend to follow.
Thankfully, the Nikon D7500 comes with a super fast shutter speed assistance. With this camera, you can even go at a maximum of 1/8000s of shutter speed. Such a range guarantees exact captures and makes this camera a shot any sports photographer shouldn’t miss out on at all.
Also, it’d be better for you to practice and get comfortable with your Nikon D7500’s shutter and other speed-related features before you go out to use it for professional sports photography. Practice and comfort automatically make room for perfection, helping you ace your sports photography dreams easily.