The Best Camera Settings for Sports Photography
What’s up! Welcome back to the channel. My name is Evan Olbricht, and today I’m breaking down the best camera settings for sports photography. Whether you’re shooting soccer, basketball, football, or surf, these tips will help you capture sharp, dynamic action shots every time. And make sure to stick around until the end because I included a sports photography cheat sheet you can screenshot and save for your next shoot.
1. Understanding the Basics
Sports photography is all about freezing action and keeping your subject in focus. The three main settings to master are shutter speed, aperture, and ISO. Once you’ve dialed those in, autofocus and burst mode will take your photos to the next level.
2. Shutter Speed
Your shutter speed is the single most important setting for sports photography.
Recommended: 1/1000s or faster
This speed freezes athletes mid-action and helps you stay away from getting blurry photos.
In slower indoor environments, you might get away with 1/800s, but any slower and you risk motion blur.
Pro tip: If you want a creative effect, experiment with slower speeds like 1/60s to capture motion trails, but for crisp action, keep it fast.
3. Aperture
Aperture controls your depth of field (how much of the image is in focus).
Recommended: f/2.8 to f/8
A wider aperture (like f/2.8) lets in more light, which is great for indoor sports or low-light arenas.
It also helps isolate your subject by blurring the background, making the athlete stand out.
For outdoor daytime sports, you can shoot closer to f/4–f/8 for a bit more depth of field while still keeping your subject sharp.
4. ISO
ISO determines your camera’s sensitivity to light. Sports often push you into tricky lighting, especially indoors.
Outdoor Sports (Daylight): ISO 100–400
Indoor Sports / Night Games: ISO 800+
Modern cameras handle higher ISO really well, so don’t be afraid to push it if it means maintaining that 1/1000s shutter speed. A little noise is better than a blurry shot.
5. Autofocus
Sports move fast, so your autofocus has to keep up.
Recommended Mode: Continuous AF (AF-C) or AI-Servo
This allows your camera to continuously track a moving subject.
Use dynamic area or zone focus, which gives the camera multiple points to lock onto instead of just one. This is more forgiving when the action gets unpredictable.
6. Burst Mode
Don’t just take one photo, but take a sequence so you don’t miss that perfect shot.
Turn on continuous shooting mode (a.k.a. burst mode).
Use a fast memory card (UHS-II or CFexpress) so your camera doesn’t buffer and miss critical moments.
Capturing a full burst of frames gives you way more chances of nailing the shot.
📸 Sports Photography Cheat Sheet:
Here’s a quick breakdown you can screenshot before heading out:
Shutter Speed: 1/1000s or faster
Aperture: f/2.8 to f/8
ISO: 100–400 outdoor, 800+ indoor
Autofocus: Continuous AF / AI-Servo + dynamic area focus
Burst Mode: Continuous shooting + fast memory card
Final Thoughts:
Sports photography is one of the most exciting (and challenging) genres to shoot. The key is mastering fast shutter speeds, reliable autofocus, and having the confidence to adjust your ISO on the fly. Once you get comfortable with these settings, you’ll be ready to capture peak action moments that tell the story of the game.
If you found this guide helpful, check out my other blogs on surf and action photography — and don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel for more tips, tutorials, and behind-the-scenes content.
