How to photograph children at a field day

This article introduces technical field day photography methods for dads and mothers who are in charge of shooting their own child's field day.
Please use it to check how to photograph locations and necessary equipment.

[Point] Camera settings when shooting a field day

When capturing fast-moving subjects, we recommend prioritizing shutter speed or shooting in sport mode. In sport mode, I think the camera will automatically determine the optimal shutter speed, etc., but when prioritizing shutter speed, we recommend setting the shutter speed to 1/400 or higher.
Other apertures (F value) depend on your preferences, but it's a good idea to narrow it down to F5.6 or higher. It's a bright location with sunlight, so it's not open, and by narrowing it down a bit, you can get a more crisp and beautiful picture.

Also, we recommend shooting in continuous shooting mode where you keep the shutter off (continue taking pictures) while the shutter button is pressed. When shooting a fast-moving subject, it goes without saying, “Do you have a good balance of hands and feet?” “Aren't you blinking?” I can't afford to commit murder while checking things like that.
Things to worry about while the shutter is off are whether the subject is in the viewfinder at the proper expected angle of view, and whether it is possible to keep following the subject for as long as possible.

The image stabilization of the lens is set to sound, and the ISO sensitivity is automatic, so there is no problem.

[Point] Equipment not used/should not be used for field day photography

I think it's often prohibited at school, but a tripod or monopod is unnecessary. The image stabilization function of modern cameras is very good, so you can take pictures without image stabilization enough even if you hold it with your hand.

If the photo is still blurry, check the shutter speed at the time of shooting, check the weather on the day of shooting (when it's cloudy, etc., the shutter speed drops, so it's easy to blur), and check if the focus is correct (misalignment of focus is not “blurry,” but I'll write it down just in case).

Also, I don't think flash (strobe) is prohibited, but I don't recommend this either. In the case of a clear day like a field day, the sun is more than enough bright. If the flash is used for the reason “not to blur,” it is unnecessary for the above reasons.

Also, there are cases where children are distracted by flash light, and I think there are parents who feel uncomfortable about it.
As a technical reason, it is conceivable that when it's sunny, strong shadows will come out and shadows will fall on the face. It is technically possible to cast that shadow by burning a flash.
However, the only flash that can illuminate the subject on a clear day with enough light to cancel out the shadows produced by sunlight is a large commercial strobe. Also, even though shadows fall on the face, there are few cases where light is reflected on the ground and the face actually becomes too dark, and there are also cases where the photo becomes strangely flat when the flash is burned, so it is easy for the finish to be unnatural.

If shadows are a concern, shooting in RAW and then processing such as brightening dark areas during RAW development is more natural.

[Point] Check the free space on the camera's charging/memory card beforehand

I think I'll be shooting at the field day with my camera in my hand all day long. Keep the battery fully charged the day before, and take measures by moving the contents of the memory card to the computer or preparing a spare memory card.

Recommended equipment for field day photography

Here is equipment for shooting outdoors on a clear day, such as a field day.

The lens is a telephoto lens (dark lenses are also acceptable)

As a characteristic of field day photography, it is conceivable that the distance to the subject is very long. Therefore, both photos and videos require the presence or absence of a telephoto lens. As a difference between indoor events, shooting outdoors on a clear day is also compatible with so-called dark lenses.

As a telephoto lens for a typical single-lens camera, it is 70-200mm, but there are many cases where a large ground is insufficient.

Recommended lenses are:

[Canon RF Lenses]

RF100-400mm F5.6-8 IS USM
RF100-500mm F4.5-7.1 L IS USM
RF200-800mm F6.3-9 IS USM

[Nikon NIKKOR lens (Z mount)]

NIKKOR Z 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 VR S
NIKKOR Z 180-600mm

[Sony E-mount Lenses]

FE 100-400mm F4.5-5.6 GM OSS
FE 200-600mm F5.6-6.3 G OSS

[Fujifilm X Mount Lenses]

XF55-200mmF3.5-4.8 R LM OIS
XF70-300mmF4-5.6 R LM OIS WR
XF100-400mmF4.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR
XF150-600mmF5.6-8 R LM OIS WR

*Since Fujifilm's sensor is APS-C, the focal length is approximately 1.5 times larger.

These are the lenses.
Also, there are many cases where dust is floating on the ground, so it is better to refrain from changing lenses on the ground as much as possible. If dust gets inside the camera and sticks to the sensor, it will affect the image quality of the photo, and it is also bad for the camera.

If you have multiple cameras, you can also take pictures with a total of 2 cameras: a camera equipped with a standard lens for snaps to take pictures of people eating bento boxes or the signboard in front of the main gate, and a camera equipped with a telephoto lens to photograph competitions on the ground.

Rent a lens if needed

The recommended lenses described above are lenses called telephoto lenses or super telephoto lenses, and to be honest, they are lenses that are rarely used in situations other than athletic meets, and not all of them are cheap.
Therefore, we also recommend renting lenses in advance. However, rental companies are also quite crowded during the field day season, so we recommend that you make an early reservation.

The companies famous for renting shooting equipment are as follows.

• Lentio
• GOOPASS
• Tokyo Offline Center
• Video Apex
• Map rental
• Panda Studios

A memory card with a high write speed

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When shooting in continuous shooting mode, such as a fast-moving sprint or relay, a memory card with a high writing speed is required. Nonetheless, the speed required for this varies depending on the image quality settings (file capacity per image) at the time of shooting.
To check if the memory card you have now is compatible with continuous shooting, set the image quality to shoot on the day outside of exercise, and try shooting 20 to 30 images continuously in continuous shooting mode. If you can't stop writing on the card during this test, there will be no problem even if you shoot with the same settings on the day of shooting. (This is the case where it is assumed that only your child will be photographed. (If it is necessary to shoot continuously without interruption, we recommend preparing a memory card that can withstand rapid fire and has a high write speed of Rael Speed)

spare battery

If you need a spare battery, be sure to prepare it in advance. However, batteries are not cheap either, so if you fully charge them by the day before and frequently turn off the power on the day of shooting, it is basically thought that they will last 1 day if the battery hasn't deteriorated with the new model.
Also, with recent cameras, there are models that can be charged via USB, so they can also be charged on the same day by connecting to a mobile battery or the like.

summary

The above is how to photograph children at the field day.
It will be a good memory to photograph not only the game on the ground, but also the various scenes you see.