My brother plays football in a local team, and today i decided to go watch and do some snaps. Out of 100 i got only these good.

Technical reviews:
I didn't use flash neither tripod.
I set the iso not too high so that it didn't get very noisy.
I tried to use some settings to get the better result i could.
But somehow the camera only stopped the shot when the person stops moving. Why that?
anyways, i hope next time i'll get better results, and maybe i'll have a tripod already, but if anyone have suggestions, i appreciate it!

I like the sense of movement in no.1 - you were really up against the conditions though. Does your camera have some sort of continuous focus mode (on Canons it's called AI Servo mode - I'm not sure what you shoot with). That's the best bet for action shooting as the camera continuously refocuses on the subject. I know noise can be a problem but it's usually better to increase the ISO as noise can be reduced in post processing but a blurred shot can't be fixed on the computer! I don't know if any of that helps but that's what I do when shooting motorsport. :-) girafferacing · 2010-12-06: 17:54

Love #1 and 2 danrav · 2010-12-06: 17:54

PS I forgot to say, a tripod won't help much in these conditions - it'll stop your movement but it won't stop the subject of your photo moving! ;-) girafferacing · 2010-12-06: 17:55

thanks for sharing, then you got Camera and these are not taken by N73 :D what you got bro? I changed my CoolPix L100 and now I have a Canon EOS 500D what is yours? Pedar · 2010-12-06: 17:56

@Pedar: my current camera is Nikon D3000 :) you can see in the exif onlyricky · 2010-12-06: 17:57

@girafferacing: I think sometimes the noise in photo has it's own beauty and make it look different Pedar · 2010-12-06: 17:59

@ricky: Thanks, Pedar · 2010-12-06: 18:00

No tips from me ... but there are some people on here who do great with sports shots... they'll show up and help you out! That's one of the best things about PB! DancingDolphin · 2010-12-06: 18:03

nice !!!!!!!! photodeclair · 2010-12-06: 18:17

Nice. joycephotography · 2010-12-06: 18:19

Interesting shots! Difficult at night! darfoster · 2010-12-06: 19:26

Those were pretty tough conditions. I've never taken action shots at night, but I don't know if using a fast shutter speed would help? A longer shutter speed might give some cool effects though...def check the continuous autofocus too. Again, I've never taken nighttime action shots so I probably wouldn't be the best at giving advice on this... rdg23 · 2010-12-06: 19:33

Try moving closer if possible and rest your camera or your body against something solid. Many arenas around here don't allow flash but if you can, try it. Position yourself so you are about 2/3 or 3/4 toward one end of the stadium looking across at the goal. Set the shutter speed to fast. I used these ideas in ice hockey arenas and outdoor soccer with some good results but I think that I had brighter lighting. stabeez · 2010-12-06: 19:51

Nice! SunFlower1990 · 2010-12-06: 20:00

Not bad first attempts, and of course it's a learning curve, so the next time will be better!...I like the ghosting effect you've captured in the first shot, it's kind of cool. I use a D5000, not much of a step up from your D3000, and at ISO3200 I get fair results with less noise than you might think. There is a noise reduction option for high ISO in the shooting menu.Also, I think there should be a continuous focus mode,...in mine it's called 3D tracking... look in your manual. McMommy · 2010-12-06: 20:06

I like the motion in #1, the lack of movement in #2, and the shine of the rain in #4. Great post - I'm sure your brother liked them all! djnana · 2010-12-06: 20:23

Pretty good :) malquistfamily · 2010-12-06: 20:28

Neat shots Ricky. And well done for daring to talk about photography on you blog, there's just not enough of that about on PB. I tip my hat to you. You might be able to get brighter images by opening up the aperture more. But the two drawbacks to that are that it narrows the depth of focus and the lenses that will do this the best tend to be very expensive. A monopod might help too. Jarvo · 2010-12-06: 20:30

I have the same problem. I was just thinking on how to get better shots at night too. I kinda like the movement in these. :) livelovelaugh · 2010-12-06: 23:19

I like the idea of nouvement of 1. You can photograph in gusts(bursts), or with the mode sport, but sometimes the noise can have some charm josy63 · 2010-12-07: 00:15

Limit the camera motion some how. And don't be affaird of high ISO. I have used 3200 with good results. And many time your sports setting works well and takes rapid fire! This works well shooting birds in flight also. I really like #1 and #3. Is that your brother? RayNvb · 2010-12-07: 01:49

Well done - its not an easy subject and your post has certainly generated some good advice cariad · 2010-12-07: 02:30

Practice, practice, practice. I can't even get close to that, Ricky, you did pretty good!! ????? · 2010-12-07: 07:24

Better have noise than no photo! :-) wfrnk · 2010-12-07: 07:26

I don't do moving night shots- I go to bed with the chickens!!! hope you find some great pointers~ I like the way the last one turned out!!! urmysunshine · 2010-12-07: 09:45

#1 is soooooooo COOL!!!!!!! ????? · 2010-12-07: 12:04

now Ricky I really love this set, I'd love to see more of sporting shots...I saved #3 to favs, but I'm with Ruth too, I love the first one as well. :):) ????? · 2010-12-07: 12:11

Very interesting, love it! wildduck · 2010-12-07: 12:18

rain, night and movement, you take on some difficult shots ricky, well done. ????? · 2010-12-07: 13:13

Super cool set Ricky! ????? · 2010-12-07: 19:38

Awesome work! Thanks for sharing! davidcardona · 2010-12-07: 20:47

Grat idea, very creative! ????? · 2010-12-08: 12:02

Interesting & unique shots!! Yokai · 2010-12-09: 01:33

I have the same problem when photographing one of my daughter's shows which are outside at night or one of my son's performances when he plays drums in a dark club. I have to use a tripod, and I have to set a high ISO. I try not to go too high because I also don't like the noise. I have watched both of my kids for so long that I know when they will pause in their movements and I wait for that moment to shoot. That works well for me. I don't have a great flash yet so I try to work without it. I don't like the harsh stark results of my built-in flash and I also don't like to be constantly flashing in the performers' eyes. I guess I'll have to invest in a nice flash which I can work with to diffuse and tone down the light and my problems will hopefully be solved. If that is your little brother in #3, he's a cute one! ????? · 2010-12-09: 09:05

better to have shots than none at all....not easy to do...but i know you will conquer this........ MARETKA88 · 2010-12-09: 12:20

Também já passei por situações destas e são bastante frustrantes (tirei centenas no concerto dos U2 e só sairam algumas e mesmo assim fraquitas). No entanto gosto da sensação de movimento, principalmente na 1 e 3. Unchained · 2010-12-11: 05:16

Great post! Kozuka · 2010-12-13: 23:31

Fantastic! pandka · 2010-12-14: 04:17

Tagged: football play night rain stadium motion ball balls