At the football game on Saturday between HSV and Mainz 05 there were extremely unfavorable lighting conditions: shade up to the halfway line, then bright sunshine. This meant a difference of more than 3 f-stops in the exposure of the images. So instead of aperture 13, aperture 4 - or instead of 1/1000s exposure time suddenly 1/100s. The difference in brightness can be clearly seen in the image above.
How can you compensate for such a large difference as quickly as possible so that you can also take pictures at the "light limit"? Any form of automatic system is completely overwhelmed here. Even if automatic systems have gotten better and better in recent years. But how is the automatic system supposed to know whether the shadow or the light is important? An automatic system will always only calculate an average value and therefore either overexpose the people in the light or underexpose the players in the shadows - although not as badly as a few years ago. But in such lighting conditions, the human eye is still much better than the camera.
Here's a tip that isn't described in all manuals, because it only works since a firmware update - it would have been the first for the D3. The tip definitely works with the D3s, but not with all other Nikon cameras - that's probably one of the differences... However, my description might give you a hint as to how you can quickly switch back and forth without such a camera .
The function button can be programmed in combination with the rear dial to change the shooting configuration. The D3 - like many other Nikon cameras - can be used with up to 4 different shooting configurations. I have used two absolutely identical ones for such difficult lighting conditions. Wait, no – not absolutely identical configurations: they differ in the ISO number!
For the situation at Saturday's game, this meant that one shooting configuration was set to ISO 100 (L1.0) and one was set to ISO1000 - the former for the light side and the other for the shadow side of the pitch. Exposure time and aperture were identical.
If a player walked from the light into the shadow - or vice versa - all I had to do was press the Fn button and at the same time briefly turn the rear dial and I had set the correct exposure time. Practical, right?
Of course, it can also be very exciting to use the exposure situation consciously and effectively, as I tried to do with my picture of Mainz's winning goal scorer Aristide Bancé: the grazing light shows off his blonde hair particularly well.
With the cheaper Nikons you can use the switchable automatic ISO system. Together with the S or M mode, you should be able to freely adjust the exposure time and/or aperture. The ISO automatic then provides sufficient sensitivity depending on the lighting conditions. The best thing about it is that you can specify the maximum exposure time from which the camera should use the next higher sensitivity. The maximum sensitivity can also be set.
So you don't even need to press a button or wheel. 🙂
@Magusomo, Of course this works with all cameras - even Canon - but doesn't work in these lighting conditions. Because you would have to rely on the camera's automatic exposure and that's exactly what you can't do. The automatic exposure system is hopelessly overwhelmed in completely different lighting conditions - here, in this light, you can simply completely forget about using any automatic system on any camera. Try it, you'll despair very quickly.
Hi Stefan,
I'm only finding this article now. :-/
I was in a similar situation at the marathon weekend. The sun was behind the runners, while at the start the runners were in the shade. And I rotated properly to be able to adjust the camera. But because I had to take photos sometimes in the shade and sometimes in the sun. Sometimes on the stage, sometimes on the runners, I decided on the semi-automatic. And yes, she was completely overwhelmed. But there just wasn't enough time to do every setting manually. The countdown to the start is still ringing in my ears. I found that really uncomfortable. I would therefore be interested to know whether your top two exposures are OK from your point of view. The background is pretty frayed, right? My runners are ok in terms of exposure, only the background is too bright...
I would be happy to hear your opinion...
Lg Heike
@heike, Hello Heike,
Of course the two images above are not ideal. But you only have limited options to influence your place in the stadium. Sometimes you have to take what comes. And before I don't have an image, I'll take a ragged background.
VG Stefan
Hi Stefan!
After my first attempts at sports photography I came across your blog. First of all, thank you very much for your professional tips!!
As an amateur, I don't dare to do it because I'm always so eager to take photos, I would definitely only notice changes in the lighting situation when it's too late.
(But in a stadium there is probably more constant light than in an open space)
Unfortunately I don't have a dimming function, so I experimented with S and center emphasis or spot metering. Wouldn't this also solve the problem you described (without the shift key)?
PS I just see that the article is older, 🙂 I will definitely continue to follow the blog with pleasure
Even though the entry is older, I still answer questions 😉
Spot measurement is not possible because light or dark jerseys affect the automatic system.
By the way, the stadium is like an open field – at least in summer 😉
Overall, it just takes some practice to keep everything in perspective. Nobody expects perfect results on the first try.
Hi
I found this article today and would like to know what settings are for a sporting event in the sports hall if the lighting conditions are not optimal.
I've been taking photos with a Nikon D300 for years, but I've never tried sporting events in a poorly lit hall.
Are there any tips and tricks?
Does it make more sense to photograph in JPG or RAW?
Hi,
In my opinion, a hall doesn't have difficult lighting conditions because the light doesn't change and you don't have a problem with strong backlighting. A hall is just dark. Good optics and high ISO help.