3 Components to the Exposure Triangle

There are 3 factors in your camera that contribute to the exposure of your photo. This is known as the "Exposure Triangle" and it consists of Aperture, Shutter Speed, and ISO.

APERTURE

Aperture is the number (represented in f-stop) that designates how large the shutter opens when the picture is taken. The higher the aperture the lower the number. The lower the number, the more light that exposes the sensor and also the shallower the depth of field. That is the amount of distance away from the camera that will be in focus.     

SHUTTER SPEED

Shutter speed is represented in seconds or fractions of a second and it represents how quickly the shutter opens and closes to expose the sensor. The longer the shutter speed, the more light enters and the more blurry the image will be for actiion soccer shots.

ISO

ISO stands for "international Standardization Organization" and it is the governing body that established this unit of measurement for light sensitivity. The lower the ISO the crisper the image. The larger the ISO the more light but noisy the image will be.

What should my settings be for soccer photography?

If you are using the Sports preset "Mode" or "Scene" in your camera, the camera will manage this for you. But as you advance as a soccer photographer you will want to have more personalized control to your photos and the way in which you control the light.

Your light meter can be seen either in the display on the top of your camera body or in your viewfinder when in Manual or "M" mode. By adjusting your Aperture, Shutter Speed, and ISO settings you can see how that affects the light meter. The goal is to have the light meter reading register as close to "0" as possible.

But while you can achieve that using any combination of the 3 components, there are key benchmarks when shooting action soccer photography.

For example: for a shutter speed you do not want to shoot any slower than 1/800th of a second or I prefer the minimum to be 1/1000th of a second. This ensures that the camera will "stop motion". Otherwise, the ball and in many cases the kicking leg will be out of focus or blurred.

My method to mastering the exposure triangle for soccer photography during day games

I shoot exclusively in Manual (M) mode in order to have complete control over my shots. I follow the same method every time.

STEP 1: Adjust to AUTO ISO

I start by switching my ISO to Auto. ISO will not be a huge factor when shooting in the daytime. Occasionally an overcast day may cause the ideal ISO to jump to 400 from 200 but when kept in Auto ISO mode the camera will take care of the adjustments on the fly.

STEP 2: Start with a wide open aperture

All of my lenses have a maximum aperture of f/2.8 so I start there. In some cases where I want to ensure that a wider audience of players need to be completely in focus, I will reduce the aperture to f/8 or sometime f/11. This creates a deeper depth of field and is useful when shooting a corner kick for example.

STEP 3: Adjust shutter speed as necessary

As long as it does not dip below 1/800th of a second I mainly adjust shutter speed in real time ot the situation.

My method to mastering the exposure triangle for soccer photography during night games

I shoot exclusively in Manual (M) mode in order to have complete control over my shots. I follow the same method every time.

STEP 1: Max Aperture

For night games, light is a factor. I always start with maxing my aperture at f/2.8

STEP 2: Keep Shutter Speed Consistent

In night games I tend to zero in on a 1/800th of a second shutter speed. Occasionally I will up it to 1/1000 or even up to 1/2000 knowing that the final photo will be darker out of the camera but at least the action will be stopped and not blurry.

STEP 3: Adjust ISO as necessary

During night games it is the ISO that I vary to accommodate a wide open aperture and a fairly consistent minimum shutter speed. In other words as the game turns darker and darker, I up the ISO accordingly. I am careful to never exceed ISO 3200 as I feel anything higher than that is just too noisy. You can set a maximum sensitivity in most camera settings.