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04/15/2006 09:30:08 AM · #1 |
I just got the ok to go and shoot a Extreme Kage Kombat venue! They are
like the UFC but local. My problem is I have never shot a major event and they told me if they like my stuff they may hire me for some commercial shoot and more events. My only lenses are a 50mm 1.8, Sigma
28-70 f/2.8-4, and a Sigma 70-300 f/4-5.6. I think I will be right at the ring side and might be able to use my 580ex if needed. I want to look as professional as possible and get some spectacular shots to get myself in the door with these people. I have about $600 to spend on a nice quality lens for this shoot and maybe $200 for a light meter if needed.
Please give me some advice on this. Thanks in advance.
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04/15/2006 09:35:30 AM · #2 |
I shoot sports as well, but I'll tell ya what.
Go to Sportshooter.com.
READ from that site what makes a good sports shooter. It's all basic common sense, but sometimes common sense from a differant perspective can be enlightening.
Good Luck.
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04/15/2006 04:52:17 PM · #3 |
Cool...
I do sports for a local paper, and always enjoy the challenge of different sports, and you've certainly got a different one there!
Reading up on Sportshooter is a good idea, and I'd add some more specific stuff to that:
- Check with the venue about flashes by the ringside, some are very sensitive about it. If you do, use a omnibouce or lightsphere. Direct flash shots of blokes with beads of sweat on them are not pretty, and tend to look like snapshots..
- Study what other people do.. When I go to a new type of event I leap on the net and look for work by other photog's of the same type of event to figure out what works and what dosn't. For e.g. I did Waterskiing yesterday, and there was lots of stuff on the web for that. Really handy guide, and it lets you know what is worth the effort, and what is just snapshotting, so to speak.
- If you can't find anything on the net, see if you can see what's hanging on the wall of the office of the guy who want's to pay you. If he likes blurred, B&W fight photos, make sure you take some blurred ones! This comes under 'know your market' I suppose. For e.g. I gave up submitting vaguely arty shots to the paper about a year ago, they just never publish them. The current editor is a 'sharp stop motion' sports fan, and that's it. Know your market.
- Don't be afraid to use high ISO on your 20D.. 1600 is fine, 3200 will do for print work. Don't listen to the nuts who claim it's too noisy, they never used high ASA film... (Pet peeve of the week).
- For an indoor arena type layout, meter off the canvas, and set your settings manually.. This will mean you can shoot at pretty much any angle without the harsh contrasts in a arena affecting the exposure. If the canvas is grey it'll just work, if it's a darker colour (more likely) meter for 1&1/3 stops under on the canvas.
For your lens question:
One of the things sportshooter.com will tell you is that the last question you should ask is about gear. It's more about attitude and competence with your gear under pressure than exactly what gear you choose to take. Everyone you ask will give you different advice on this one. If your 28-70 focuses OK in indoor light I'd use that and then evaluate what you would like for the style you find works in the event. Personally I'd be taking as much gear as I could lug... I'd look like a right plonker lugging three cameras around, but then If I did a second event I'd know what worked, and I'd just take that.
The only other gear suggestion I'll make is spare batteries, and lots of cards, which goes without saying really.
Doing sports work is real fun. I do a lot of rugby/netball which gets a bit boring, but I've done Judo, Trampolining, speedway, cricket, golf, badminton, cycling, pumpkin weighing, all sorts.. They all have slightly different challenges but of many the same issues.
Good luck! Let us know how you go.
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04/17/2006 10:40:17 PM · #4 |
| Thanks for the great info. I was planning on shooting at ISO 800. Do you think at that high of an ISO I will need Neat Image or Noise Ninja or something? |
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04/18/2006 04:35:34 AM · #5 |
For sports stuff I don't use any noise filter software...
At realistic print/web sizes even ISO3200 can be ok, assuming your exposure is reasonably OK.
I'll dig out some samples at 3200 and post em in a wee while. I've shot three events in the last month that were really bad lighting that needed it.
Cheers, Me.
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04/18/2006 06:47:50 AM · #6 |
OK...
ISO3200, 1/200th, F/2.8 70mm... Outdoors, poor club field lighting.. The crop is 100% unsharpened/filtered. Unless you want huge prints it'd be fine.
And the other event I did at 1600, I thought it was 3200 but my memory ain't that good. :-)...
ISO1600 1/400th F/2.8 135mm. Indoors, metered off a white(ish) wall and added 1.3 stops from memory.
This was printed about 9x6 in the paper, looked just fine. The top one will be in this weeks issue (The paper I shoot for is a local weekly) so I don't know what size it'll be, but it'd withstand a full page if they felt that way (not gonna happen, but I can dream...)
Have a play with ISO3200/1600/800 and have a realistic think about what you're going to do with the images. The 20D generation of DIGIC II cameras (350D, 1DII, 5 etc etc..) have excelent high ISO performance for real world use. As do most of the current crop of competing dSLR's for that matter. It's just when you go looking for the noise in 'tests' and in direct comparisons to low ISO it's an issue...
Cheers, Me.
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04/19/2006 05:04:56 PM · #7 |
Kage Kombat huh? Sounds cool.
Expect it to be a dungeon. I'd take 2.8 zooms and any fast primes I have. That 50 1.8 seems like your best bet, since your 28-70 is an f/4 at the long end.
As for metering, get a light meter and set your exposure manually. Rmemeber that while lighting to the canvas may be good, if the combatants are backlit (because the light is behind them and they are looking down) then you might have to meter that differently.
Don't be afraid to shoot ISO 3200. Keep your shutter speed up, about 1/500th is standard for *most* sports. Adjust to taste.
If you have to shoot through the wire, get as close to it as possible, and see if your lens can sneak in between the fencing. If you're using a longer lens, dont worry about shooting through it.
I would avoid using the flash, but it may be a moot point, as you may not even be allowed to use it.
I've noticed, in my boxing experience, that the shots that people want most besides the action shots are the victory shots. This is when the ref holds up the fighters hand in victory. Everyone loves these. The boxer, the ref, the promoter, the websites about the event, etc. You can slow your shutter down for these, so you can bring down your ISO and bump up your aperture. f/4 and ISO 400-800 isn't too bad, as long as that shutter still keeps to about 1/80th-1/125th depending on how much the fighters move. BTW, ask your contacts, but in boxing, there is generally no qualms with actually talking to the boxers to get their attention so they'll look at you with the ref holding their hands. Better yet is to know the refs name. A good ref will know to look in each direction with the fighter, and hold his hand up the whole time.
Have you ever been to this venue before? Most local fighting circuits are small hole in the wall gyms. The lighting is usually pretty bad. If you could attend one of these events BEFORE you shoot the match, I'd suggest that. Get a feel for the sport and the fighters involved. Are they grapplers, strikers, wrestlers, martial artists?
Make sure to talk to your contacts as far as what you are and are NOT allowed to do. I follow the rules to a tee, but because of that, I've earned the trust to do more than the average shooter, and that trust is important because it allows you images that stand out because of their unique nature.
If you have any specific questions, feel free to ask, and I'll post an answer if I can.
PShizzy |
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05/06/2006 12:28:32 AM · #8 |
Well I shot this event and it went great with my Sigma 28-70. 1600 ISO and 250/500 for speeds. They liked the photos so much they want me to be their exclusive photographer for all events and promotional/commercial shoots. Now all I need to figure out is what to charge and how to make the contract. Here is a link to the photos if you would like to see them. Any comments would be great.
Xtreme Kage Kombat |
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