new to bball with questions

tinamarie52

I've read dozens of threads on shooting HS basketball and still have a couple of questions.

I shoot lax and football for a HS and a local news website. Outdoor sports (even in very bad stadium lighting) are one thing, but shooting in a gym is another. I see that most of you shoot with two strobes at or beyond the endline or up on the stands railings.

A few of you shoot with SB600 or 800 flashes.

I've never shot Bball, but have been asked to do so for the HS and news websites. I love learning new things, so I'd like to give it a try.

Here's my equipment...D300, 70-200 2.8, 1.4x TC and one SB-600 flash.

Questions: Is this enough to work with?
Where do I learn about the professional mores on shooting courtside?
Do I ask permission to use flash? The coaches? The AD? League rules? No one?
What's the best way to learn the culture and customs of shooting HS bball?

As I mentioned I've looked at lots of threads, but haven't found very specific answers for these.

Thanks for all the advice and info you can pass along to me.

Chris

ASkip

tinamarie52 wrote:

Here's my equipment...D300, 70-200 2.8, 1.4x TC and one SB-600 flash.

Questions: Is this enough to work with?
Where do I learn about the professional mores on shooting courtside?
Do I ask permission to use flash? The coaches? The AD? League rules? No one?
What's the best way to learn the culture and customs of shooting HS bball?


Chris

hey, since no one else said anything I thought I'd send something anyway.
I'm not a pro, but I take lax and football pictures too. and have done a little basketball at the local high school.

I had a D300 (now have a D700). You should be able to get decent pictures without a flash with the D300, unless the gym is truly dismal. It's kind of hard with that lens though as it's a little bit slow to focus. I use an 85mm f1.8 lens, usually at f2 or 2.2, and no flash.

I don't sell pictures so the school is ok with me taking pictures. and I have the team mom ask the coach whether it's ok to take pictures for every HS sport that I shoot.

I guess if you want to learn the custom and culture of shooting HS bball, go to a bunch of games and see how the other photographers do it. In our school gym I have to sit on the floor in the corner of the court as cheerleaders take up the entire end and it's a very small gym.

Doesn't answer all your questions. But maybe someone else knows the rest. I'd say just go try it and see what happens, but be polite and at least ask the coach if it's ok.
Anna

tinamarie52

thanks
Anna, thanks for the comments. I plan to just go and try it. There is no one else taking photos. The coach is our AD and has given me an all-conference pass to shoot anything I want/can for the school, so I'm not lacking permission.

I don't have anything faster than the 70-200 2.8. My Tamron 90 2.8 is a good length, but seems slower. The lighting is pretty dismal.

If I get a few decent images, I'll post here.

Chris

action-pics

A few thoughts... First, there isn't any one set of advice that fit all gym situations. Some are small, some are large, some have dark or odd colored ceilings (tough to bounce flash off of), some are white, some are lower (making bounced flash easier) and some are higher, etc. You get the idea. With your body and lens you will have to shoot wide open (f/2.8) and will most likely be in the 1/400 (1/500 is better, but you may not be able to get it) ISO 2000-3200 range. While possible with the D300, you are going to have to do some noise removal in editing. My local gym is very well lit (fairly new complex) and with the D3 and 70-200 I traditionally go with f/2.8, 1/500 and ISO 2500 (no flash).

Definitely check ahead about using flash....especially direct flash if you must. Personally I would never use direct flash, but I know some do. You can try to bounce some flash off a white wall or off the ceiling, but the SB-600 is a little under powered for that. There are several articles and websites that give some lighting diagrams for using flash if you can get it off camera, but still need to go direct.

You are going to need to a custom white balance as this will be different in every gym.

As far as positioning, I usually sit at the corners of the court. If you have the depth out of bounds you can try sitting under the basket for some different looks. Easy shots are getting players on a break away layup (shot burst to get that perfect placement of ball, player, basket), players dribbling, a player shooting from the outside and rebounds. Don't forget to try to get some defensive plays as well.

I'm not going to say that these are great, but here is a few different looks from last season:

This one is from a small gym that was very dark. I used a SB-900 on camera and bounced it off the ceiling. Most of the shots in this gallery were at 1600 ISO, f/3.2 at 1/250.

Here is one that was shot using two AB-800s at full power bounced off the ceiling. The Bees were placed at each corner of the baseline and aimed so the bounce would fill about half the floor. These were shot at ISO 640, f/4 and 1/250 (this is the already pretty well lit gym)

Lastly here is some shot sans flash, but in a decently lit gym. This gallery will also give you an idea of possible positioning of yourself if you have a gym where you can get up higher. This gym has an indoor track above the floor that I stand on and shoot down. Settings were 1600 ISO, f/2.8 at 1/500.

My best advice is just to get out and shoot. Contact the school and see when they have scrimmages. Good time to practice without pressure of coming up good shots. Might also be a chance to try some flash and get feedback from coaches and officials as to whether or not they object.

Good luck!