Help - golf photographer for a day

80weeks

About me: I am not a sports photographer and I've never played golf in my life. But, I took in a calendar with my photos into work and now I am the official department photographer (if it wasn't me it would be the events coordinator with a point and shoot). (I work in a hospital). So far I have been doing children's portraits for various fund raising things but next Tuesday I am going to be taking photos at a golf competition (to raise money for the department). There will be celebrities and all sorts. The photos will probably used in newsletters or that kind of thing to celebrate the day.

I'm looking for any advice you can give me. Do I want to control aperture or shutter speed? How fast is the motion in golf anyway? Do I need a deep depth of field (to get make sure everyone is in focus) or a shallow one (to isolate the player from the background)? How far away from the action am I likely to be? (so what lens is best). Will flash have a role? Or only for the speeches?

Equipment I have: D300s, 70-300VR, 18-105VR, 90mm f2.8 macro, 35mm f1.8, SB600

And because every dgrin thread should have a photo - the closest I've ever got to sports photography, dog chasing balls.

rsirota

80weeks wrote:

About me: I am not a sports photographer and I've never played golf in my life. But, I took in a calendar with my photos into work and now I am the official department photographer (if it wasn't me it would be the events coordinator with a point and shoot). (I work in a hospital). So far I have been doing children's portraits for various fund raising things but next Tuesday I am going to be taking photos at a golf competition (to raise money for the department). There will be celebrities and all sorts. The photos will probably used in newsletters or that kind of thing to celebrate the day.

I'm looking for any advice you can give me. Do I want to control aperture or shutter speed? How fast is the motion in golf anyway? Do I need a deep depth of field (to get make sure everyone is in focus) or a shallow one (to isolate the player from the background)? How far away from the action am I likely to be? (so what lens is best). Will flash have a role? Or only for the speeches?

Equipment I have: D300s, 70-300VR, 18-105VR, 90mm f2.8 macro, 35mm f1.8, SB600

And because every dgrin thread should have a photo - the closest I've ever got to sports photography, dog chasing balls.

Couple of things:

1) Do not snap the shutter until after impact.
2) Stay out of range of the ball.
3) Be very quiet...

johng

80weeks wrote:

There will be celebrities and all sorts. The photos will probably used in newsletters or that kind of thing to celebrate the day.

It's always VERY important to understand what the use will be - that helps you get photos that best meet the customer need. Confirm this fact.

If the above is true here is my suggestion for types of shots:

1. Try to get shots of celebrity interacting with people from the hospital - something where both are clearly identifiable in the photo where you could see a caption with all the people's names. People looking at a newsletter will have a much better appreciation for this because not only does it include a celebrity but also gives Joe Smith at the company equal billing.
2. Celebrity on green or at the tee. Both are easy money shots. See below for how to shoot.
3. Repeat above shots for all celebrities in attendance
4. Repeat for some of the company people
5. Make sure to get shots before and after actual play.

My suggestion is to find a particular hole combination where the green of the first hole is close to the tee box of the second (could be 1 & 2 or 5 & 6 or 8 & 9 - whatever). You then shoot people on the green at the lower hole then the tee of the next hole without having to move far. Everyone has to go through you so you don't miss anyone. This keeps things very simple.

Now, how to shoot during the tournament. Use your 70-300 lens. Don't bother with continuous focus, you won't need it. For tee shots, set up about 15 yards down from the tee and off to the side. Put camera in landscape orientation and select center focus point only. As the golfer addresses the ball, focus on the face and then stop. After the ball strike, during the follow thru, focus again (the golfer will have shitfted a bit - especially since they're not a pro - the first focus gets the lens very close the second focus will happen very quickly) - then take the shot.

On the green shots you want to position yourself with cup between you and the putter / chipper. In both cases, pre focus and take the shot just after impact.

What mode? I'm going to suggest you keep things simple - use Aperture Priority with aperture set at 5.6. Start ISO at 400. For these types of shots 1/500 is fine - if you're getting better than that, leave it at ISO 400, if not, up the ISO. NOW, pay attention to your results - depending on light you may have to dial in positive EC to get faces exposed properly. It is ALL about faces. Don't worry about blowing highlights in sky. You DONT want faces greatly underexposed because of bright sunlight.

This should keep in nice and simple for you. Get as many interaction shots as you can before and after - don't rattle off shots like crazy - be a little patient. Oh and make sure you have water with you so you stay hydrated (but don't drink so much you have to duck out to the bathroom).

Final piece of advice - find out what the rotation is so you know when the big names are coming through (either celebrities or in the hospital). That way you'll be prepared for them and will be sure to get their photos.

chest2tank

Remember, tell a story. They're more usable than product type shots. Be creative - you don't have to just be a journalist. If you see the same person doing the same thing, instead of shooting it the same way again or just taking a break, get a different perspective: up close on the ball on the tee, high in a tree to see the whole green and spectators, use a different frame orientation, etc. Don't be afraid to get hit (get equipment insurance). Sometimes the best shots are the most dangerous to capture - that's because one aspect that makes THE shot is its perspective. It has to be different than what normal people see all the time. My rule of thumb states that if I'm not getting yelled at by a safety official at least once during an event, I'm not working hard enough! :P

Good luck!

80weeks

Thanks, some great advice there.

I will check exactly what the shots are wanted for. I have asked for some more info on what the day is all about, still waiting for that though.

Don't think I'll be trying to get myself hit though, I work in brain injury so getting a whack on the head with a golfball for a photo - not really going to be a big way to promote the department!!

One more question - are tripods generally allowed on golf courses, or is hand holding the way to go?

chest2tank

Tripods are normally a no-no in sports shooting anyways unless you have a 600mm+ lens and a sick head mount. If you lack the endurance to handhold, then use a monopod. However, in my experience my shots suffer because I get lazy. I use the monopod as little as possible