Taking Indoor Sports Pictures

I went to an arena football game last weekend. It was my first time ever and was very interesting game. There was excitement. There were great plays and awesome catches. It was overall fun to watch.

The sad part was that I could not bring in my camera to take any pictures. How am I going to remember all that excitement? How about taking a picture of that receiver diving for the ball?

But, imagined if I was allowed to take some pictures. This can happen to you. You could end up taking pictures of a loved one playing a sport inside a stadium. Now, what do you do? How do you prepare for it?

Well... there are certain things you should understand to capture those exciting moments with your digital camera.

The main thing is to find the right spot to take a picture. Look for a spot that are likely to have a lot of action. In basketball, you will be closer to the basket. In diving, you should be near the diving board. The closer to the action, the better your pictures will be.

Once you found a good spot to take your pictures. Mount your digital camera with a tripod or a monopod. You need something that will keep your camera steady while taking pictures.

Now, set up your camera so you can take those great action pictures. First, if you want still action and capture the moment crisp and clear in all your pictures, you should set up your shutter speed high. And since light will be dimmer, you need to open up your aperture setting too. Be aware that when you open up the aperture in your camera, the depth of field will decrease. That means, that the object far away from the subject will not be as sharp in your picture.

If you want a little of zest, decrease your shutter speed of the camera. This will give some blurriness in the subject of your picture. But, with some practice, your pictures will look like in action.

To compensate the dim light, set up your film speed higher. Not too high or your pictures might look kind of granular and won't be as crisp and sharp.

Another important element is how fast the camera can take a picture from the time you press the button. Make sure you time it correctly. If your camera is slow, then find one that is fast. Action pictures have a small window of opportunity. A slow camera can take the picture after the action has passed.

Taking action pictures indoor involves good techniques and preparation. Remember, test a few shots. Find the right settings. And take great pictures.

David