Shooting HS Football without a flash
I have read recently several threads on shooting football games at night with and without flash. I have just started shooting my local schools games this year, and I have been shooting without a flash. I use a D90 with a Sigma 70-200 f2.8. I don't shoot with a flash for 2 reasons: One is I haven't even asked if it is allowed and second I wouldn't use one anyway because the last thing I want to do is distract my teams players witha flash going off while they are trying to catch a pass, etc. I usually shoot around ISO 800 to 1200, allowing me to keep my shutter speed at least 250. I shoot at f2.8 and capture normal jpegs. The following are SOOC with only a little cropping:
C&C is appreciated!!
C&C is appreciated!!
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Comments
I've never shot at any high school where flash was not allowed ... newspaper shooters use a flash all the time - and they don't even ask! So I really don't think that using a flash is a problem. As far as being a distraction to the players - they don't even see it! I've shot with a flash for years and have never had a player, official, coach, or anybody else complain or have any comment about a flash going off. It's never been an issue at all!! My belief and experience tells me that you would be perfectly fine using a flash ..... but that's only if you want to try using a flash.
As a resource, check out maxpreps.com and take a look at the various galleries there from high school football from all across the country. You'll see that all of those galleries are shot using a flash - and in many instances I think you'll find a flash going off in a situation that you might think would impact the outcome of a play .... but it just doesn't. The players just don't see it ..... their focus is elsewhere (as it should be!).
In the long run, I think you'll find a shutter speed of 1/250 too slow to freeze action. If you're "normally" shooting at ISO 800 or 1200, I think you can afford to up your ISO until you get a shutter speed of 1/500 (at least) or 1/640 (better) ... and that could be at ISO 1600 or even 3200. And if you're thinking about noise in those high ISO images .... "noise" can be handled - blur can't ..... it'll pay you in the long run to keep your shutter speeds up as high as you can get them. ISO 400 with a shutter speed of 1/100 will just not cut it .....
If you did no post work on the images you posted, then the trickiness of shooting under high school stadium lights are evident - the white balance is off. And under cycling lights of most high school stadiums, there won't be much you can do to get around that issue (except to use a flash!). You'll have people that will tell you to set a custom white balance by using some device or other .... and under consistent lighting those devices do work. But under cycling high school stadium lighting, they don't work. Period. The light is always cycling - so a custom white balance will only work if you happen to fire the shutter at the time the lights are cycling that match the white balance that you set. And if you don't hit that particular "cycle" the white balance will still not be correct.
Also, shooting with a 200mm, you'll need to let the action come to you more than you trying to capture what's going on across the field .... that first image could use some cropping. The second image represents more of the "tightness" that you'd want.
Atlanta, Georgia
Photos at SportsShooter
the ones not using flash are using D3s, or the like and bumping the ISO to 6400 or 12800. looks like you and i are outta their league a little!! i can tell you that Topaz Denoise works wonders!! just watch the tutorial from the asian guy that developed the software. he really knows how to use it and i got a lot better after watching it!! i'll shoot ISO 3200 with my D300 without even flinching!!!
http://redfishphotography.net
DaddyO - All I can say is "yeah . . . what cecilc said". He pretty much put it into perspective for those of us who can't afford Nikon D3s and Canon 1Ds.
The only thing I can add is that when I am shooting football under the lights, when it comes to pass plays, I will not take the shot until the ball is in the reciever's hands . . . just to avoid any potential controversy.
Wrong sport, but is this what you're trying to avoid???
You're right, you will never see a flash used to shoot an NFL game - the lighting is just that much different than a high school stadium ....
I'll display several shots from a game where I did use a flash. This is a high school game .....
There are other folks that use flash much more effectively than I do, but these at least will give you a good idea of the potential of using a flash. If I remember correctly, these were shot using a Canon Mark II; a 400 2.8; at ISO 800; 1/250; at f2.8; with an FEC of +2/3.
Atlanta, Georgia
Photos at SportsShooter
Yes, for those of us that have to work a full time job and do this as a good tension releaser, we have to use what eqipment we can afford. I just think some of those shots you see where the photog has used flash has an almost overexposed look to it. I will tinker some more with the ISO/speed combos and try to see what works best with what I have. Now, if anybody would like to donate a 400 2.8 attached to a D300 or D700, I will gladly put them to good use.
www.focusedonyourmemories.com
What you see depends on what you're looking for.
cecilc,
Pretty good shots with the flash. The big advantage you have is the lens and camera. With only a 70-200, the action needs to be a little bit closer or at least coming at me to get keeper action shots. Saying that, I feel a little uneasy popping off a flash with the players 20 ft away. I am trying to learn as much as I can using the equipment I have to make the best shots possible. If you know any techniques to improve performance without a flash, I would be most appreciative. Maybe if the economy turns back around, I can sneak a 300 or 700 by my wife!!! The 400 2.8 would be hard to hide or explain away anytime soon!!!
www.focusedonyourmemories.com
What you see depends on what you're looking for.
No, I am on the coast. 25 miles west of Myrtle Beach. I have played ball all my life and the last thing I would want as a player is a bunch of flashes going off all over the sidelines. I have just made it my rule to use no flash. Our last 2 games of the season are tomorrow and next Friday, both home games. If we can win both, we may have a shot at the playoffs. I'll post some more next week after I tryout some different setting combinations.
www.focusedonyourmemories.com
What you see depends on what you're looking for.
Natural selection is responsible for every living thing that exists.
D3s, D500, D5300, and way more glass than the wife knows about.
Can you give an example of this happening in your observations? I have been shooting football for years and I have not seen one person be thrown out of a game or hear one complaint from a coach or player. If the photographer was thrown out of a game, they may have been doing other stuff and the flash was the final straw.
No flash--
With a little patience and practice, it's possible to find a shooting and post-processing workflow that will deliver acceptable results.
Here's a couple shots quickly and randomly selected from last night's game. All were shot in Manual mode at f/2.8, 1/400, ISO 3200. Post-processed with Noiseware Standard and Lightroom.
Kent
"Not everybody trusts paintings, but people believe photographs."- Ansel Adams
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