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How to shoot incredible football shots

Images like this have all the ingredients of a great action shot. Technique Editor Ben Birchall shows you how you can take equally exciting pics at a local game.

Words: Ben Birchall

With the FIFA World Cup finals upon us, it’s difficult not to fall victim to football fever. There may be lots of chat about playing the beautiful game, but what about photographing it? There’s nothing more exciting than shooting a fast-paced game of footie. The thrill of translating 90 minutes of action into a series of split second images is hard to beat.

During the first World Cup in 1930 photographers were still using glass plate cameras. Forget motor drives or digital write speeds, these forerunners of the modern sports photographer had a ‘one shot’ chance to capture the crucial image or a goal.

Today professional football photographers are still under as much pressure. The irony is that although advances in digital cameras have speeded up the shooting process, the same technology has enabled pictures to be made available to the media a lot quicker.

The new ShootLive system operated by EMPICS sports picture agency uses cuttingedge image transmission software to get pitchside images to the media at lightning speed. Their photographers use a wireless transmitter to link their camera to a laptop. Images they take from anywhere in the world are sent via the laptop to a picture desk automatically. The picture editor receives a low-resolution image of each frame one second after the photographer presses the shutter. When they choose one for publication the software sends a message to the photographer’s camera to download the high-res file. In under two minutes after the photographer presses the shutter a picture can be uploaded to a website or printed on the back page of a newspaper. In fact, all the EMPICS World Cup shots you’ll see this year will have been transmitted this way.

Pro matches

I joined EMPICS photographer John Buckle at a Premiership match to watch the ShootLive system in operation and see his shooting techniques up close. Like most pros, John shoots with two SLR bodies, one fitted with a 400mm f/2.8 lens for far away action and the other with an 80-200mm f/2.8 zoom for goalmouth struggles. This is a great combination if you’re shooting from a goal line or corner position. When shooting from the halfway line, 400mm can be too long – 300mm’s better.

I managed to fire off a few frames during the game too, although my 200mm focal length was a little restrictive from the goal line. This meant I had to do some cropping later to tighten up the pics. The Nikon D50 I used coped well, even though the 2.5 frames per second in Continuous mode is well below a sports photographer’s threshold.

Local games

The great thing about local football is that you’ll always find a game going on near you.

Most villages, towns and cities have a Sunday football league and usually the teams are happy for you to record their finely tuned skills. If you can’t pin one down give your local paper a call, they’ll know all the local fixtures.

Before venturing outside you’ll need to take a long lens with you. A 300mm lens is best suited to local football, but a 200mm is fine for action around the halfway line and closer. A camera body with Continuous Shooting mode for capturing action fl urries will be a major benefit. It’s also a good idea to take a small seat and a monopod. Shooting from a low angle looks more dynamic and the monopod will help take the weight of your camera during the game.

For general midfield action take a position near the halfway line and shoot both teams. This is a great spot for capturing headers after goal kicks. Watch players prime themselves for the header, focus and shoot a burst of three frames as they leap into the air. This should bag you a shot with the ball in the frame.

Taking a position on the goal line will get you good action shots as the attacking team race for a goal. Shoot in Continuous mode, as this is when a player is likely to be challenged.

This article was first featured in July issue of Digital Camera Magazine, issue 48. Click here now to subscribe to Digital Camera. Every month we'll help you take your best-ever images, with expert advice, clear techniques and inspirational photography. As a subscriber, you'll also get exclusive, collectable covers!