Basketball Pics or No Basketball Pics?

I don’t typically photograph indoor sports because of the inconsistent (and often terrible) lighting, but I decided to try something new before 2025 ended—two basketball games in two very different bad-lighting situations.

The last two images were taken in a gym with the best of terrible lighting. Focusing on action within about 50 feet of my position, I shot roughly 1,700 photos over the course of a full game on my Canon R5 using the 100–500mm lens. I ended up with about 300 usable images, shot at 1/1600 shutter speed, f/4.5, and ISO ~23,000. There was a lot of heavy editing in Camera Raw—and plenty of cringing on my end while dealing with the noise.

Here’s the hard truth: if the information hasn’t been captured by the camera, no amount of editing can truly sharpen the image.

Because I love graphic design just as much as photography, I fitted some of the images into a magazine cover—because, honestly, who doesn’t like seeing themselves on a magazine cover?

The first set of images above was taken in a different gym with even lower light. I used the same shutter speed and aperture, but bumped the ISO to ~40,000, with a similar focusing distance. The result was significantly noisier images, with little improvement possible through Camera Raw editing.

I decided to lean into the noise and see if the “style” itself could be worth saving. Using Camera Raw, I actually added more noise to make it feel intentional rather than accidental—and I ended up loving the scratchy, raw images.

Out of roughly 1,800 images, only about 200 could support this new style. The third, fourth, and fifth images are samples of those action shots presented as poster-style ads.

While I still love the crisp action shots I usually get outdoors, I’m starting to see potential in stylistic indoor action photography that might resonate with certain clients. What’s your opinion?

If you’d like to see all of the images from the games to form a more informed opinion, they’re here: https://nikijamiesonphotography.shootproof.com/gallery/18587246/ > Add Email > Basketball. If you browse the outdoor sports galleries, you’ll also see my typical (low-noise) work.

*I understand that AI can sharpen images, but working with large batches of people-heavy photos introduces a different—yet equally challenging—set of issues.