1. No Flash. It temporarily blinds the players
and disrupts their play. Also turn off the
autofocus guidance light. Try to be
inconspicuous.

2. Check lighting. Adjust camera settings if
necessary (Depending on lighting, I use 400 ISO
or less, 1/250 sec or faster, 2.7 - 3.2
f/stop. If possible, use large aperture lenses,
such as f/1.8 or even 1.4 or 1.2.). Use higher
ISO if your camera can handle it. I use a light
meter for more accuracy.

If you have courtside access, 50mm lens should
work. The further you are, the more you need the
big (expen$ive) lens.

Figure out what shots you can take depending on
available light. Lower available light = Less
action shots (Therefore, more service reception,
serves e.g. “slower motion”)

3. White balance! If you don’t, your pictures will
have a yellow hue (Depending on the venue’s
lighting.) You can use your camera's "Auto
Whitebalance" feature.

4. Point in one spot and wait for the bird to
come. Be ready to take the picture when you see
the bird coming. e.g. Forecourt for drops shots,
backcourt for backhand, smashes/clears/drops,
midcourt for blocks, pushes etc. Be patient!
A shot opportunity will come.

Use your camera’s “burst mode” if available.
That way, you can take multiple sequential
shots of the same action.

5. Take as much pictures as you can (I usually
take 500+ shots per event). You can always
delete bad shots or edit poor ones. Though a
a bad shot is better than no shot at all.

6. Get to know the players’ styles of play. Some
are very dynamic and jump/dive for most of their
shots. Position yourself properly to take these
movements.

Start taking "burst photos" a few seconds before
a smash or a lunge for a drop shot to capture the
player exerting force.

7. Take pictures of the coaches too! Examples.
Coaches giving advice, coaches helping an injured
athlete etc.

And while you’re at it, take pics of the
officials, umpires and other people who help
keep the tournament running smoothly! Don't
forget to take "human interest" pictures. Kids
playing with their parents, couples talking,
audience pictures, other photographers etc.
Be creative and be alert!

8. Don’t forget the “emotion shots” (The few
seconds after a good rally) e.g. Players
pumping fists after a point, players showing
disappointment/frustration, doubles players
celebrating a good point or opponents shaking
hands after a match.

9. Don’t forget spare batteries and spare memory
cards for your camera!

10. A monopod might help stabilize your camera.
(Tripods work too but people might trip over
them. Lots of people walking/running around in
a badminton tournament. And tripods take longer
to setup.)

11. If you wish, take shots in RAW format. The file
sizes will be larger and post-processing might
take slightly longer but the format seems to be
more flexible.

Additional tips and comments are welcome!

NOTES:
- Most badminton facilities have bad lighting
(For photography purposes.. But it's usually
adequate for playing purposes.).
- For larger tournaments, you'll probably need
Press accreditation (Or something similar)
- Based on previous web site hits of my badminton
albums, 70 pictures would be a good maximum per
event (It's enough to keep people's attention.
Any more pics and they move on to the next
'distraction'.). So assuming a 20% 'printable
ratio', that means you have to take approximately
350 photos. (Adjust appropriately to your skills
and circumstance e.g. Take more pics if your
skills and/or situation is bad and take less if
you think you're taking good shots and/or the
situation is ideal.)
- Thanks to Imran D. for the additional tips!