Five essential autofocus settings for shooting sports and action

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Here are 5 essential photography tips that will help you nail your autofocus settings when shooting things that move quickly, whether you're shooting events, extreme adventure, action sports, wildlife, motorsports, your children, etc... I’ll cover camera settings that will ensure that you capture all the action with tack sharp photos.

Chapters
0:00 - Intro
0:50 - Continuous Autofocus
3:03 - Back Button Focus
7:11 - Focus Points
9:42 - Canon cases and Nikon autofocus modes
14:49 - Where to focus for sports

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Disclosures: All opinions are my own. Sponsors are acknowledged. Some links in the description are affiliate links. If you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a commission at no additional cost to you.

[moephoto]

I use Auto ISO when shooting outdoor sports with shadows and sunlight with my Nikon D5. You set your preferred shutter speed and aperture and you don't have to worry about the exposure. Everything is correctable in RAW. A real game changer for me.

[wandalowery]

Hi Jack, I'm a 73 year old grandmother who loves to shoot soccer at high school games and club soccer! I have four granddaughters who all play club and three who play high school also. Being on the field at a high school game makes me feel young. I use a Nikon 7500 and a Tamron 2.8 70-200 lens. I found your 9 point auto focus to work well for me. I've used many other tips that you have so freely given. I appreciate your help and hope to continue to shoot soccer for a long time. Oh by the the way the youngest has decided to add volleyball so I'm now figuring out the best way to shoot that indoors and much closer. Wish me luck!!

[uipgotf]

I have shot youth sports for nearly 10 years with a Nikon D600 and the Nikon 28-300 zoom or 16-35 for some basketball. Football, baseball, softball, soccer, motocross. Bought a Nikon D500 and Sigma 70-200 Sport when they came out. What an incredible combo! Hired to shoot local junior rodeo in Orderville Utah 4 years ago with D500 and Sigma. Got seriously sick and had to sell all but D600 and 28-300, which I have used the last 2 years for junior rodeo. Just got a used D500 and Sigma 150-500 to go with 28-300 when our rodeo season begins in a week. My greatest focusing challenge is when horse and rider are racing toward me and my camera focuses on horse's face instead of rider. I intend to try your tip of moving the focus point up a bit. I have found d25 focus method works best for rodeo for me.

[kelencamehl]

Great video, Jack. I've always been a back button focus advocate after I first learned about it many years ago. For my Canon 5D Mark IV, I set two different back buttons for focus. One using one-shot and one using servo, that way it's easy to quickly switch between focus modes. I'm also generally using either a single point or a small center group.

[RauxMusic]

Really like your way of teaching! Thanks for sharing your knowledge, you got yourself a new follower. Cheers from Stockholm, Sweden!

[jacquelyndenick]

I am back up and running, I will fine tune. Wish I found your uTube sooner. Thank you Jack, your explanations are fabulous for the novice.

[tgreen]

This helped me so much !! Thank you for making this video. I was one happy camper leaving the game tonight knowing I had amazing pics to upload !

[coderedpro.]

Hey Jack 👋 I know this is an older video but just want to say I love your content and it’s been very helpful. I have recently started shooting for a soccer school and your tips are game changers 🙏 from one photographer to another, thank you 📸

[joelfsilverman]

These are great tips Jack! I already was using back button autofocus but learned some new tips here. Thanks also for including Canon.

[_SYDNA_]

Focusing on the chest makes sense, esp. for a DSLR. I have usually cued off, or tried to catch, the face and I wasn't happy with the percentage of clear faces. When shooting from a distance numbers on the chest makes some sense. Thanks.

[mssbagheera]

Hey Jack thanks... I am a newbie in sports photography. I took some your advices and suggested setting and my images are much better.

[MyRawOdyssey]

Hello Mr. Beasley. Recently I have started down the avenue of sports photography and your videos have been extremely helpful. They have definitely guided me in the right direction of becoming a efficient sports photographer. Thank you again, Cheers!

[sonyshootr]

Jack thank you so much for sharing as I just now beginning my journey into Sports photography

[armandogandarillas]

for the photos I do (football) I use AF-C with a matrix metering mode which works very well for me, however sometimes I struggle a bit with the sharpness of my images.

[pedrotavares]

You're the man. Awesome tips. I just bought myself a good condition D4 and I can't wait to shoot some cycling races with it. Cheers

[jrb]

Great video! Learned something new iin this video. I enjoyed the AF-C seleections piece that i hope will improve the focus quality.

[keithkreatives]

As for your question of the day, I prefer spot focus so I can be sure it's going to focus the depth of field I want it to.

[jmchristian]

Just discovered you on youtube. Love your videos. I'm a Nikon shooter. Love your honest and detailed explanations

[irajnaghash]

Water Surf photography: The subject moves very fast and in Erratic motion, the Background water moves, the foreground water moves, and the Light continuously changes. Water covers part of the body surfer. Photographers can only view one side of the surfer. How can Focus and keep enough light for a good shot?

[rahelfoto]

Thank you so much, this very helpful 😊