Nikon's guide to sports photography

Sports photography captures dynamics and movement in an image, often showing drama and emotion. These insights are what make good sports photos so fascinating, and many people with a passion for photography and sport want to photograph such thrilling sports motifs themselves. Here you will find a few useful tips for sports photography.

Why choose a Nikon for sports photography?

Sports or action photography places four essential demands on a camera:

- precise, fast autofocus
- fast shutter speeds
- high ISO values and a
- high frame rate

Fast autofocus and fast shutter speeds are essential for capturing athletes in their fast movements, freezing a moment of the dynamics of many sports and avoiding motion blur. Fast shutter speeds mean that less light falls on the image sensor, making it necessary to compensate with higher ISO values. With a high frame rate, your camera takes several shots per second and the probability of taking the perfect sports photo increases.

Many cameras have these necessary features, but only Nikon has developed or adapted some cameras specifically for the requirements of sports or action photography. The predominantly robust and weatherproof design of most Nikons provides protection at outdoor sporting events. This is why you will always find at least one Nikon such as the Nikon Z9 or Z8 and some older models such as the Nikon Z6III, a Z50 or a D300S in the sports photography equipment of professionals.

The Nikon D300S DSLR camera, for example, is a good entry-level choice for photographing sports subjects. If you want to delve deeper into this genre of photography, it is best to choose a mirrorless model. Although this does not necessarily offer technical advantages, it is actually mandatory for some sports such as golf, gymnastics, tennis or gymnastics due to its quiet operation, so as not to disturb the athletes' concentration.

Especially if you are shooting at quiet sports venues, quick, unobtrusive access to your camera equipment is a decisive advantage. A high-quality, silent-opening photo bag with an individual interior not only helps you to quickly switch between cameras or lenses, but also reliably protects your equipment - both indoors and outdoors in wind and weather. Look out for models with well-thought-out padding, a modular interior layout and a timeless, professional design that can also be seen at official sporting events.

Tips for sports photography - what else you need

Pay attention to the photographers on the sidelines during sports broadcasts, as you will see the majority of them working with telephoto lenses. These are part of the basic equipment for most sports in order to be able to zoom in as close as possible to the action from the outside. However, for some sports, such as table tennis, you can get by just as well with a shorter focal length. You can also use a lens such as the NIKKOR Z24-70mm f/2.8 S for close-up or wide-angle shots. All lenses should be fast if you want to capture fast movements.

Professional photographers have several ready-mounted setups in their camera bags so that they never miss a moment because of a lens change. If you only have one camera at the start, this will also not happen if you decide on a perspective, close-up or long-distance view, before the event and choose the right lens.

At the beginning, you can then concentrate fully on developing the right timing; a kind of sixth sense as to when you need to press the shutter release for unique sports photos. Some of these moments announce themselves - a penalty in soccer or a gymnast's exercise on a piece of equipment - but many develop rapidly out of the action and require a little intuition to anticipate them as they happen.

If you want to remain flexible when taking photos, you will benefit from having lenses, memory cards or batteries quickly and securely to hand, regardless of whether you are taking photos from the edge of the pitch or moving between different positions. Practical additional cases can be easily attached to the photo bag or stored in its compartments. This keeps all the equipment organized, stowed away and ready to hand at the crucial moment.

How the pros shoot: camera settings in sports

With these tips for sports photography from experienced professionals, you don't have to struggle to find the most important camera settings for sports or action photography yourself:

- Use the manual camera mode with continuous autofocus for sports photography.
- Activate the continuous shooting function. Depending on the camera model, you will then receive up to 20 images per second, from which you can later select the best image.
- In low light, the shutter speed should be a maximum of 1/1600 second, in bright light at 1/2500 second or even faster.
- An open aperture is ideal for this: such as f/2.8, which gives your subject plenty of space in the image.

Professionals mainly use the JPEG format for camera settings in sports. However, this is only for reasons of efficiency, as vast quantities of images have to be viewed in a very short time during or immediately after the events and the best ones forwarded to agencies or editorial offices. There is hardly any time left for the extensive corrections that the RAW format allows. You are probably not under this time pressure, and with RAW images you have the opportunity to optimize your images later at your leisure.

If you then develop your RAW images on your computer, it is all the more important to transport your storage media safely and securely. Robust card cases that can be easily stowed away in your camera bag or jacket pocket not only offer physical protection, but also provide an overview - especially during long events with lots of card changes. Invest in accessories that are specially made for professional use to keep your data safe between location and computer.

Nikon sports photography: creative tips

Sports and action photography are only superficially determined by one event. Nevertheless, both still leave enough room for your own creativity and special effects.

Pulling the camera along

Sports with steady movements, such as a bike race, are ideal for this. You focus on one or more riders and pull the camera along with the movement of your subject. This is then captured sharply, the background blurs and the impression of real speed flows into the image. With a slower shutter speed, you can achieve a further effect to visualize the movement: Motion blur is created.

Crop

This creative technique can be used for practically any type of sport and is widely used. Here you open the aperture as wide as possible and select a fast shutter speed. Your subject in the foreground will appear sharp, while the background will become increasingly blurred as the aperture or f-number increases.

Change of perspective

Try out different perspectives and gain new angles on a sporting event. It can also be worthwhile playing creatively with other lenses such as fisheye or wide-angle lenses and small focal lengths in order to photograph sports motifs in a special way.

And finally: can you turn your hobby into a profession with these tips for sports photography? Yes, and in principle anyone can. Sporting events regularly take place on our doorstep. You don't need big arenas, top events or sports stars to learn sports photography with cameras like the Nikons. A children's soccer tournament around the corner is enough. Here you can get to know the camera and lenses in peace and quiet. Mastering them, even blindly and in a matter of seconds, is the decisive quality behind the sports photos that appear in major magazines or on websites. Once you have developed a meaningful portfolio on a small scale, you can send it to agencies that take photos for magazines and the Internet. Perhaps this will open the door for you to the biggest arenas, events or stars and to professional sports photography.

If you work with passion and consistency on your sports photography, you should choose your equipment with the same care as your Rocky Mountains photo backpack or Frankfurt camera bag. Invest in a bag that grows with you right from the start: robust enough for the first children's soccer game, stylish enough for the media tent in the stadium, functional enough for every day in between. Because when you take every step towards becoming a professional, your equipment should be able to accompany you every step of the way.