TE CHNIQUE ASSESSMENT Preparation is everything

Hamish needed a few pointers before tackling the hectic pace of basketball…

Back-button focusing

Mark says… By transferring focus control to the AF-ON button at the rear of the camera, focusing and capturing an image become two different functions. This means you can concentrate entirely on focusing rather than splitting your concentration. On most high-end cameras there’s a dedicated button for this, but on entry-level models it’s usually possible to assign it to the AE-L button in the custom menu.

Use a high ISO

Mark says… To shoot indoor sports you’ll need a high shutter speed, and therefore a high ISO. For most of the game we were shooting at well above ISO1000 to cope with the fast shutter speeds we needed, so ideally you need a full-frame D-SLR to produce a decent image. Modern D-SLRs cope superbly well at these ISO levels, avoiding the usual noise levels expected.

Go manual

Mark says… The trick to sports shooting is to have as little as possible to do once play starts. If you use manual mode you can avoid having to tinker with controls during the game, locking in the aperture and focus zones prior to shooting. Then you only need to concentrate on changes to the shutter speed between shots.