Im more of a beginner photographer, ive had my camera since April and I've been taking lots of photos, well I take photos for a family member who plays football, at first I was doing great but now theres night games where its dark. No matter how high I put my iso so I can have faster shutter speed, my photos turn blurry and I can't grasp those in the moment shots how I'd like to, so I came here for advice how how I could possibly fix this problem (I have cannon R50)
No-one else has mentioned it yet, but there are some conditions that are just very hard to shoot in, and sports at night is one such example. The pros are going to be using very expensive f/2.8 telephoto lenses and/or bringing strobes. Keep practicing but expect some limitations.
So I would start by studying up on what they call “The exposure triangle” this will help you understand the relationship between ISO, Aperture and Shutter Speed.
ISO doesn’t create any extra light for the sensor, it just amplifies the light already hitting the sensor. You can get more light through a wider aperture but this will reduce the size of your focal plane which is essentially your in focus area. You can also use a slower shutter speed to let in more light which in the case of sports will make things more difficult since with a longer shutter speed you will get motion blur for things that are moving too fast.
What were your settings for this image? Yo probably need to be at 1/500 or higher to stop this motion. Yes, you will need to go down on f stop and higher on iso.
As others have said, you'll need a shorter shutter speed. At maximum zoom (250mm) the "rule of thumb" says you need at least 1/250. 1/500 or faster would be even better. Of course, to get the same exposure you'll need to increase the ISO and/or open the lens aperture. The maximum aperture is going to be limited by your lens (f/5.6 for this lens), and the maximum usable ISO is going to be limited by your camera; I'm sure someone more familiar with the Canon equipment can comment. I don't know if that lens has any image stabilization, but if it does use it. Also, you might consider a monopod to give you a little more stable shooting.
Longer term, learn about the exposure triangle and how the ISO/aperture/shutter speed work together to determine the exposure, and practice, practice, practice.
Do you use Auto-ISO? When I shoot movement (Dance, in my case) I use Auto-ISO and there's a couple important settings, first the max ISO I want it to use (my 10 year old camera is around 4000 ISO, a R50 might have acceptable results at higher ISO, test and choose what works for you), and the most important settings, your minimum shutter speed. I usually set this to 1/500, so the camera never goes bellow this shutter speed, making your images sharper. Of course you have to have good etiquete holding your camera, your movement will also impact the sharpness oh the image. This matter less if your settings work for you, but still, it's good thing to have. Search for Joe Mcnally and holding your camera (the trick? hold the elbows tight against your body).
Edit: If the camera maxes out both ISO and shutter speed, it will increase ISO first, I believe, but this might vary with camera, check your manual.
my copy and paste advice for anyone with a new camera:
Read the manual.
don't have one? go to camera company website, download the pdf of the manual and read it
go to youtube and search for vids 'setting up and using (model of camera)'
when i started out, i learned from a book called Digital photography for dummies by Julie Adair King (there is more than one version of that title out there. get the one she wrote)
other books
Read this if you want to take great photographs by Carroll
Stunning digital photography by Northrup
don't get discouraged
“Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst.” ― Henri Cartier-Bresson
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u/mattgrum 18h ago
No-one else has mentioned it yet, but there are some conditions that are just very hard to shoot in, and sports at night is one such example. The pros are going to be using very expensive f/2.8 telephoto lenses and/or bringing strobes. Keep practicing but expect some limitations.