Why were my night lacrosse photos so dark with a Nikon D810 and 28-300mm lens?
Asked 2/11/2017
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I photographed a high school lacrosse game at night under field lights using a Nikon D810 and a Nikon 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6. My images came out very dark, and I wasn’t sure whether I was doing something wrong in Manual or Shutter Priority mode. I tried raising ISO up to 4000, but still had trouble getting usable shots. What settings or technique should I use for night field sports, and was my lens part of the problem?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
9y ago
2 Answers
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The lens was a Nikon 28 to 300, 3.5 to 5.6.
The lens might not be the whole answer, but it sounds like this was a night game, and you were probably shooting more at the long end of the lens's range, so the maximum aperture would've been around 5.6. And since you were shooting fast-moving action, you probably had the shutter speed set fast enough to stop motion, maybe 1/500s? Bumping the ISO up should help, but 1/500s at f/5.6 just doesn't give you a lot of light when you're shooting at night. The field lights will seem bright, but they're nowhere near as bright as the sun.
The photographers who got good shots likely used some combination of: a faster lens and a camera that can get decent shots at ISO settings higher than yours. They might have figured out where the lights were brightest and positioned themselves close to that spot. They might have used a somewhat longer exposure and tried to time their shots for moments when there's the least motion, like a pause just before a shot.
Originally by user4262. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user4262
9y ago
0
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Night field sports are very demanding. The most likely issue is that at the long end of your 28-300mm, the lens is only about f/5.6, which is fairly slow for poorly lit action. If you were also using a fast shutter speed such as 1/500s to freeze motion, there may simply not have been enough light, even at ISO 4000.
A good approach is to use Aperture Priority, set the lens wide open, and raise ISO until the shutter speed is high enough for action. Also check that exposure compensation is set to 0. For autofocus, continuous AF with a dynamic area mode is a common choice for sports.
If shooting in Manual, remember the camera will not correct exposure for you—you must watch the meter in the viewfinder and set shutter speed, aperture, and ISO accordingly.
The other photographers likely had an advantage from faster lenses, especially f/2.8 telephotos, and may have positioned themselves in the brightest parts of the field. In short: your lens was probably a major limitation for night lacrosse, and using the widest aperture, higher ISO, and careful metering/focus settings should help.
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