I'm headed to my first middle school volleyball game tonight. Thanks for your video. The technique of moving the focal point is something I never considered but sure makes sense. I'll be using that technique tonight. I'll be using a Nikon D7200 with a 70-200 f/2.8 and a nifty 50mm f/1.8.
Great information Bill, I have been shooting baseball for last three years, from youth to high school. But next week I have a chance to shoot ( just as a spectator ) a high school match and I needed the exact tips you gave. I don't know what to expect like where I will be able to stand and shoot, maybe from the bleachers. Good deal on shutter speed, I keep 1/1000 as min. usually use 1/500 baseball as I like to get a bit of movement on bat etc and 99% are in daytime here in central Florida so light isn't an issue. I guess I will take the 70-200 2.8 as is good size. The 120-300 2.8 is probably a little too close and is so big and heavy, I kind of want to be inconspicuous . thanks again, Ted
Thanks for the reply! The 70-200 will give you a lot of flexibility on composition! And the 2.8 will be nice for inside. I'm sure you'll do great on the tech side. In my opinion, volleyball is REALLY a lot of fast action over short distances. The spikes are only going from the net to the the floor (at angles), so that is a blink and missed kind of action. I really enjoy shooting volleyball, though. Have fun!
Great video for those that are just starting off and that don't have the 2.8 lenses. I'm a photo-enthusiast parent that has the 2.8L lens setup and i take several pictures of my kids and their team for free. So my daughter's middle school teacher found out and now wants me to go to her journalism class and provide some instruction on how to set up and use a camera. How cool is that? I'll be using some of information you provided to help them out.
There are two ways I would approach this. Easy mode would be to set shutter priority and let the camera find the aperture. That's how I would tell the beginners in Photo Club to set up their camera. Otherwise, it depends on the lens. My pro-sumer lenses in long telephoto range won't go very low. So, if I am shooting manually, I will try to prioritize in this order: 1. High shutter speed. 2. Lowest possible ISO (which for me will be pretty high!) 3. Aperture setting is last, least considered. Some commenters on some of my videos argue that my advices isn't very good, that their pro equipment (e.g. f2.8 telephonto lens) allows them to do thing differently. Probably true. If you have pro equipment… Anyway, that's how I shoot A LOT of sports and how I teach beginners to set up their cameras.
Other than what is said in the video, I don't recall the settings. I can say for certain that I selected the shutter speed and ISO, both set to capture / freeze the action. As I recall, I was able in that gym to get the shutter up to 1/1000.
What type of volleyball do you shoot? I do a LOT of volleyball (it used to be the #1 sport my business was hired to do. These past few years it is a close second) and 1/1000sec is correct for college and good high schools, but middle school gyms are DARK. As well, the action is...well, the kids typically aren't that good. So you actually can shoot at 1/500sec (You'll just be shooting slow bumps, not big spikes)
SJHFoto I shoot high schools. The 1/500 works sometimes and sometimes I get blurs. I push the student photographers to get to 1/800 it at all possible.
Im a begginer, i want to go to shoot my cousin matches, and this video has been very useful for me. I cant afford the lenses that sjhfoto says that people should use, and i actually have the 70-300 that bill recommended, its great that sjh is the "number one", but actually acting in this way doesnt make me trust in your recomendations, and even less wanting to pass to your youtube channel. It wouldnt be bad for you to start learning to be less arrogant
Catalina, things for the comments. The 70-300 with image stabilization is a solid choice, and if someone only has the 75-300 or the 55-250, then that's what they have. Certainly, a professional L series lens has benefits, but I think anyone who has one of those long ago stopped looking at tutorials like mine As a beginner, concentrate on getting good shots, having fun, and getting better with each outing. PLEASE reply again and let us know how your session went! (And for a laugh, remember only photographers can get away with shooting their cousins!)
@@joehowerton1357 The problem with f/1.4 is that you'll have a lot of throwaway photos because the DOF is so small. Your point of focus has to be JUST RIGHT! That works if you are shooting for a newspaper (they need only 2 or 3 shots per game), but if you are selling galleries to parents, they want a couple hundred good shots, and I fear that at 1.4, I would have a lot of duds
Wait, I'm sorry-I just listened to more of your video. The 55-250 lens? The 75-300? Are you serious? Most shooters use the 70-200 2.8 I understand for young up-and-comings they might not be able to afford this. So, their best bet is buying the 85 1.8 (or Canon 100 f/2) and use that along with something like the 50 1.4 I can't believe you are endorsing those kit lenses. The aperture isn't good, and the lens build quality is inferior (with few elements) making images very soft
The 70-200 2.8 is not a beginner lens. It IS an awesome lens! I'd wager people who have that one (or who would spend that much on a lens) won't be watching this video. The EF 50 1.4 is an awesome lens, too. On a crop sensor, it approximates the 85, and for portraits, it's probably among the best entry level choices. **** Do you know anyone who uses the 50 1.2? **** I do not… But, yeah, if the place is dark, getting that 1.4 would be huge. You make me wonder if I should do an "intro to lenses" video, so new photographers can see the scope… Hmmm… I'd have to research what Nikon has… Fodder for the future. The 75-300 is that lens they toss in with the free lens clothes to make "packages" look more valuable. The 55-250 ef-s STM is new, and it's solid, as is the 70-300 EF. YES, they suffer with aperture limits.
Also, I'll probably quote/reference this video when I do the "swimming" version. Our school's pool is about 3 stops darker than our gym. Have you ever shot swimming?
@@BillSnodgrass Yes, I have. If you look at my album list here: www.flickr.com/photos/sjhfoto/albums you can see. Swimming is something I don't do often though-but there's tons of volleyball!
@@BillSnodgrass Bill Snodgrass I've used the 1.2 For sports anyway, the difference between the 1.8 and 1.4 ($100 and $350 respectively) is worth it. The $1.7k 50 1.2 lens is not (in my opinion)
Hope this helps you shoot better volleyball matches! Let me know what you think!
I'm headed to my first middle school volleyball game tonight. Thanks for your video. The technique of moving the focal point is something I never considered but sure makes sense. I'll be using that technique tonight. I'll be using a Nikon D7200 with a 70-200 f/2.8 and a nifty 50mm f/1.8.
With that 2.8, you'll surely get some great shots!
Thank you for the info on focus points.
You're welcome! Thanks for watching!
Great information Bill, I have been shooting baseball for last three years, from youth to high school. But next week I have a chance to shoot ( just as a spectator ) a high school match and I needed the exact tips you gave. I don't know what to expect like where I will be able to stand and shoot, maybe from the bleachers. Good deal on shutter speed, I keep 1/1000 as min. usually use 1/500 baseball as I like to get a bit of movement on bat etc and 99% are in daytime here in central Florida so light isn't an issue. I guess I will take the 70-200 2.8 as is good size. The 120-300 2.8 is probably a little too close and is so big and heavy, I kind of want to be inconspicuous . thanks again, Ted
Thanks for the reply! The 70-200 will give you a lot of flexibility on composition! And the 2.8 will be nice for inside. I'm sure you'll do great on the tech side. In my opinion, volleyball is REALLY a lot of fast action over short distances. The spikes are only going from the net to the the floor (at angles), so that is a blink and missed kind of action. I really enjoy shooting volleyball, though. Have fun!
Great video for those that are just starting off and that don't have the 2.8 lenses. I'm a photo-enthusiast parent that has the 2.8L lens setup and i take several pictures of my kids and their team for free. So my daughter's middle school teacher found out and now wants me to go to her journalism class and provide some instruction on how to set up and use a camera. How cool is that? I'll be using some of information you provided to help them out.
Glad it helped! That’s a great lens!
If they can manage total manual... but if not I urge the beginners to go shutter priority.
Do you leave your aperture at f5.6 while shooting volleyball? I noticed that’s what the camera was set at in the video.
There are two ways I would approach this. Easy mode would be to set shutter priority and let the camera find the aperture. That's how I would tell the beginners in Photo Club to set up their camera.
Otherwise, it depends on the lens. My pro-sumer lenses in long telephoto range won't go very low. So, if I am shooting manually, I will try to prioritize in this order:
1. High shutter speed.
2. Lowest possible ISO (which for me will be pretty high!)
3. Aperture setting is last, least considered.
Some commenters on some of my videos argue that my advices isn't very good, that their pro equipment (e.g. f2.8 telephonto lens) allows them to do thing differently. Probably true. If you have pro equipment…
Anyway, that's how I shoot A LOT of sports and how I teach beginners to set up their cameras.
are all of these are in manual mode?
Other than what is said in the video, I don't recall the settings. I can say for certain that I selected the shutter speed and ISO, both set to capture / freeze the action. As I recall, I was able in that gym to get the shutter up to 1/1000.
What type of volleyball do you shoot? I do a LOT of volleyball (it used to be the #1 sport my business was hired to do. These past few years it is a close second) and 1/1000sec is correct for college and good high schools, but middle school gyms are DARK. As well, the action is...well, the kids typically aren't that good. So you actually can shoot at 1/500sec (You'll just be shooting slow bumps, not big spikes)
SJHFoto I shoot high schools.
The 1/500 works sometimes and sometimes I get blurs. I push the student photographers to get to 1/800 it at all possible.
Im a begginer, i want to go to shoot my cousin matches, and this video has been very useful for me. I cant afford the lenses that sjhfoto says that people should use, and i actually have the 70-300 that bill recommended, its great that sjh is the "number one", but actually acting in this way doesnt make me trust in your recomendations, and even less wanting to pass to your youtube channel. It wouldnt be bad for you to start learning to be less arrogant
Catalina, things for the comments. The 70-300 with image stabilization is a solid choice, and if someone only has the 75-300 or the 55-250, then that's what they have. Certainly, a professional L series lens has benefits, but I think anyone who has one of those long ago stopped looking at tutorials like mine As a beginner, concentrate on getting good shots, having fun, and getting better with each outing. PLEASE reply again and let us know how your session went!
(And for a laugh, remember only photographers can get away with shooting their cousins!)
I almost always shoot 1/1250...even in the worst hs gyms but only after getting a 85mm 1.4.
@@joehowerton1357 The problem with f/1.4 is that you'll have a lot of throwaway photos because the DOF is so small. Your point of focus has to be JUST RIGHT! That works if you are shooting for a newspaper (they need only 2 or 3 shots per game), but if you are selling galleries to parents, they want a couple hundred good shots, and I fear that at 1.4, I would have a lot of duds
Wait, I'm sorry-I just listened to more of your video. The 55-250 lens? The 75-300? Are you serious? Most shooters use the 70-200 2.8 I understand for young up-and-comings they might not be able to afford this. So, their best bet is buying the 85 1.8 (or Canon 100 f/2) and use that along with something like the 50 1.4 I can't believe you are endorsing those kit lenses. The aperture isn't good, and the lens build quality is inferior (with few elements) making images very soft
The 70-200 2.8 is not a beginner lens. It IS an awesome lens! I'd wager people who have that one (or who would spend that much on a lens) won't be watching this video.
The EF 50 1.4 is an awesome lens, too. On a crop sensor, it approximates the 85, and for portraits, it's probably among the best entry level choices. **** Do you know anyone who uses the 50 1.2? **** I do not… But, yeah, if the place is dark, getting that 1.4 would be huge.
You make me wonder if I should do an "intro to lenses" video, so new photographers can see the scope… Hmmm… I'd have to research what Nikon has… Fodder for the future.
The 75-300 is that lens they toss in with the free lens clothes to make "packages" look more valuable.
The 55-250 ef-s STM is new, and it's solid, as is the 70-300 EF. YES, they suffer with aperture limits.
Also, I'll probably quote/reference this video when I do the "swimming" version. Our school's pool is about 3 stops darker than our gym. Have you ever shot swimming?
@@BillSnodgrass Yes, I have. If you look at my album list here: www.flickr.com/photos/sjhfoto/albums you can see. Swimming is something I don't do often though-but there's tons of volleyball!
@@BillSnodgrass Bill Snodgrass I've used the 1.2 For sports anyway, the difference between the 1.8 and 1.4 ($100 and $350 respectively) is worth it. The $1.7k 50 1.2 lens is not (in my opinion)
SJHFoto I totally agree about the 1.2 not being worth the difference.
U wasted my time !!!