Wrestling Sectionals semi-finals

johng

Spent yesterday photographing the wrestling sectionals. The local school has moved up the food chain and had 10 wrestlers make it to the semi finals. They stand a good chance of winning states as they've defeated one of the best programs in the nation (Cleveland St Edwards) twice this year. Anyway, here are some semi-final shots. C&C welcome as usual. I'll have finals done tomorrow:
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4. no faces I know, but I still like this one

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attorneyjay

Nice shots. Using flash I presume. Colors and lighting seem well-balanced.

Looks as if you are getting real low for these shots. I sit on the floor for wrestling but yours look like your camera is practically ON the floor. How do you position yourself and your camera?

Jay

clemensphoto's

Excellant series

johng

Thanks guys. Yes, using flash. Canon mkIII, 70-200 2.8 at ISO 1600 f2.8 1/300 and flash set at -2/3 to -1 FEC.

I prefer to shoot from a prone position. Kills my kneck but I like the angle better. And, I'm a strange sports shooter - I'm not comfortable sitting with folded legs - for most sports I'll kneel, but for wrestling I lay down. Guess we all have our quirks

jonh68

Did you use direct flash? If so, great job of controlling it. If bounced, still good use of light.

johng

jonh68 wrote:

Did you use direct flash? If so, great job of controlling it. If bounced, still good use of light.

Thanks.

I used direct with an omnibounce to diffuse the light and I also use a bracket to help reduce red-eye. Still get it on a couple shots but not nearly as much as if I was shooting directly mounted on hotshoe. Also - another benefit of shooting prone - a lot easier to hold that setup than sitting - with bracket and 70-200 2.8 it's a bit cumbersome so being able to shoot from a prone position it's a lot more stable.

The only trouble is I do end up having to use the burn tool a lot - unlike the girls, the male athletes don't seem to hit the tanning beds all year so that pasty skin really reflects the light of the flash.

attorneyjay

For me, taking pictures of wrestling was the most uncomfortable of any sport or venue because I had to sit on the floor cross-legged with no back support. At age 48 that gets old fast. :-) I searched online and found the "Metro Reclining Seat" by Picnic Time. It is kinda like a bleacher chair but designed to be used on the floor with no hooks or other obstructions on the bottom. Fully padded seat and back, and the back is even adjustable to recline at different angles. What a difference it makes for sitting on the floor! Now I have back support and padding. I can stretch out my legs, bend them toward me or sit cross-legged much easier because of padding and back support.

Sorry to sound like a commercial but it has changed taking wrestling pics from a painful ordeal to enjoyable.