Focus on the action

One of the challenges of shooting a fast moving sport like hockey is that it is difficult for the camera to maintain focus on your subject. Today we'll talk about maximizing you chances of catching things just right.
Focus capability is something that varies a lot between different camera bodies and generally the higher end you go, the better the AF. My T2i gives me a relatively simple 9-pt AF system which is described in more detail here. It is worth reading the manual on this subject and also digging on the web to understand things better as this can be complex to configure optimally. Understanding your camera is very valuable in getting the best out of this.

Focus modes

D-SLRs have several different options of focus mode and although the names vary by manufacturer, the principles are often very similar. My Canon has 3 modes..."One Shot", "AI Focus" and "AI Servo". For hockey we want to use the "AI Servo" mode as this provides the ability for the camera to keep focusing while we take multiple shots. The camera does it's best to track the focus but this can be challenging, particularly in darker rinks. To improve our chance of getting the shot you want, we also need to select the number of points we want to use.

Focus points

I can select 9-pt focus, or single (centre) point focus. Based upon my experimentation, when I used the 9-pt mode the camera would often catch focus on subjects that I did not want, so I have now switched to using the single point mode. This allows me to get the subject in the centre of the frame and with a half press of the shutter confirm focus lock with a single red spot in the view finder. Fully depressing the shutter release will then take the shot. I find this the most reliable method with my camera body, but I encourage you to try the options on your camera and find the best for you.

Keep shooting

Hockey moves fast and the best approach I have found is just to keep shooting. Anticipate the play, select your subject and then start shooting. This is the fun part for me, trying to read the game and move with the play...all to catch a good picture. Sometimes the camera cooperates, other times you're not so lucky. Here is a sequence I shot today...

From the 5 shots in a rapid sequence, 1-3-5 all turned out to be keepers...and I published them to the team site. The 2-4 shots are out of focus and normally would not be published. This is a shame as they could have been nice additions to the sequence. Until I can afford a better body then I just need to work around this.

Lack of sharp focus is one of the main reasons I reject shots...on a good day I may be working at 1 out of 3 shots...others as much as 1 in 5. So if your pictures are sometimes out of focus, don't get discouraged...just keep shooting ! The only secret is to learn a bit about your AF config and then just to keep going until you get the kinds of shots you're looking for.