Basketball Flash v No flash
So I've been playing around with the best way to shoot youth basketball in dimly lit gyms. I started with no flash, tried using a flash then went back to no flash lastly I tried bounce flash. I really didn't edit any of the shots below, I might have cropped them but that is about it.
Here I used the SB600 bounced off the walls. I stood right behind the basket, held the camera in portrait and bounce the flash off the wall. It seems to be working and since the flash is bounced it is not noticeable to the players. ISO 1600, F2.8 Shutter 1/200. HERE is the entire set from the bounce flash game.
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5. Five on one - what kind of a defense is that?
Here are 5 from the same gym with no flash. Shutter 1/640, Aperture 1.8 ISO 2500. There were definitely a lot more throwaways shooting with no flash. Some look blown out when the boys are looking up at the lights, others are just too dark. HERE is the entire set from the no flash game.
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I'm so confused. So far I have not taken any shots that I'm thrilled with. Is there something else I can try, I am open to suggestions, settings, composition, where to stand, editing or anything else. I really want to get good at this.
Here I used the SB600 bounced off the walls. I stood right behind the basket, held the camera in portrait and bounce the flash off the wall. It seems to be working and since the flash is bounced it is not noticeable to the players. ISO 1600, F2.8 Shutter 1/200. HERE is the entire set from the bounce flash game.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5. Five on one - what kind of a defense is that?
Here are 5 from the same gym with no flash. Shutter 1/640, Aperture 1.8 ISO 2500. There were definitely a lot more throwaways shooting with no flash. Some look blown out when the boys are looking up at the lights, others are just too dark. HERE is the entire set from the no flash game.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
I'm so confused. So far I have not taken any shots that I'm thrilled with. Is there something else I can try, I am open to suggestions, settings, composition, where to stand, editing or anything else. I really want to get good at this.
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Comments
Does the D90 have Auto Dlighting? if so, give it a try...
Troy, MI
D700/200, SB800(4), 70-200, 300 2.8 and a few more
www.sportsshooter.com/tjk60
Is this it? I have not tried it but I'll look it up in the owners manual.
The focus is terrible and the colors look bad. I feel like I'm getting worse.
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ISO 2500, Shutter 1/640, Aperture 1.8. I tried the autofocus on Dynamic Area. I tried the Active D-Lighting in some of the shots, couldn't see any difference.
Getting frustrated. Looking for suggestions - last game of the season coming up - could be tomorrow depending on how they do.
www.seanmartinphoto.com
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it's not the size of the lens that matters... It's how you focus it.
aaaaa.... who am I kidding!
whoever dies with the biggest coolest piece of glass, wins!
Shutter 1/640, ISO 2500, Aperture f2.8, SB600 flash bounced off side wall.
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I don't know their faces are never as clear as I would like them to be. You're all probably sick to death of my but any advice is greatly appreciated.
www.seanmartinphoto.com
__________________________________________________
it's not the size of the lens that matters... It's how you focus it.
aaaaa.... who am I kidding!
whoever dies with the biggest coolest piece of glass, wins!
Anything I can change?
Yes you can change some things. FIRST, get out of high speed sync. You're losing too much flash power to adequately bounce. The problem with not stopping action in your initial flash photos wasn't a lack of shutter speed it was ISO being too high. Use the flash to stop the motion, not shutter speed. You accomplish that by having the camera's exposure set about 2 stops below ambient. That way the flash is the main light source and it will freeze the action. That will also help with white balance issues.
HSS is best for fill flash outdoors not for sports shooting because you lose too much flash power in that mode.
Now, one other issue - you have to be careful with a 50mm lens. You'r not going to get accurate focusing too far away. I would not recommend shooting any action beyond 15 feet. You also need to acquire and track your subject for close to a second - those two things should help.
John - I think you're right, they are getting worse not better. I'm going to go back to what worked best. I think I've only got one basketball game left this season.
How do I tell what two stops below ambient is? (this is probably a dumb question, sorry)
Do you think it would be better to try my 70-210 2.8 lens next time?
But, here's a pretty good way to be sure - figure out what the camera settings are you need for available light - non-flash. Then adjust ISO and/or shutter two stops down. For example, let's assume your ambient test shots tell you that ISO 1600 f2.0 and 1/400 are the correct exposure settings. You could drop ISO to 800 (that's one stop) and shutter to 1/200 (below synch speed - that's your second stop).
The 70-200 is definitely more flexible but it sounds like it's an older model so I can't speak to it's focus speed. That's always the caveat - how well it focuses in poor light. I wouldn't get too down on yourself - a lot of sports shooting is trial and error. You learn a lot by trying things and understanding WHY they didn't work.
EDIT: sorry for the mistake above - it's probably a bit confusing. While dropping ISO from 1600 to 800 will reduce exposure by 1 stop, dropping shutter from 1/400 to 1/200 would INCREASE exposure - doing both would result in the same exposure. My bad. So, here's a corrected scenario. Again, assume ISO 1600 f2.0 and 1/400 is correct exposure.
You need to drop shutter to 1/200 for synch speed (so now you're plus 1 on exposure and need to drop 3 stops so you're at minus 2). I would drop ISO to 400 (2 stops) and aperture to 2.8 (1 stop) OR ISO to 800 and aperture to 4.0. Try both. With light fall-off you might be ok with the extra DOF f4 provides.
Thanks to the poster who sent me a PM pointing out my math error.