>>2674536And yet a different sports photographer here. Some more advice. Don't be one of those idiots that just stands there taking photos. Generally, you want to shoot from a lower angle, so get down on a knee. Yes, it can get uncomfortable, but it makes it easier to pivot in order to follow the action. Also, don't be afraid to lay flat on your stomach, which would really work best beside the opponents' goal and shooting straight downfield as the players run towards you.
Also, if it's sunny outside, raise your shutter to 1600, and stop down that lens to f7.1 or f8 with an ISO of around 640. Of course, if the players are backlit (god forbid) or sidelit, those settings will change. And if it's not sunny, just keep the shutter as high as possible, lens at f5.6 and raise the ISO as much as you can while still keeping the noise somewhat in check. A shutter of 1/500 is probably the lowest you'd want to go, unless you want to do some panning shots.
Also, and I can't stress this enough - crop your damn photos. A soccer field is huge, and no matter what you have for equipment, you're not going to be able to cover the entire field. That's why stopping down helps, as it will ensure sharp photos with less chromabs and other artifacts that will allow for a greater degree of cropping. But obviously, the less cropping you have to do, the better.
Oh, also, switch it up a bit and get something other than full body shots. If they're close enough and two players are vying for a bouncing ball, zoom into their upper body and wait for the ball to bounce up towards their chest/heads. Two players going up for a header is another situation when it can be a good idea to zoom in as tight as possible, but that also requires great timing and/or a high framerate.
I could go on and on, but I'll leave it at that.
