Light cycling - How do you handle it?

MDalby

I have a gym that I shoot at occasionally and the cycling on the lights is really hard to work with. I am finally getting around to using remote strobes in my BB shots, first efforts are next week. Are strobes the only way to handle cycling?

Thanks in advance for the help!

MD

RickJohnsonPhotography

Yes, if you're asking whether camera settings (e.g., custom white balance) can counteract the color/intensity of light cycling. Everyone I know who shoots ambient uses AWB and corrects in post.

JimKarczewski

AWB? Seriously? NEVER. Way to really spend more time editing your images then necessary.. Man, what a nightmare that would be. I spend enough time on them as is.

My quick answer, you won't worry so much once you are shooting with strobes. The strobes should be 1-2 stops over ambient, so slight variances in the background aren't going to matter if your subject is properly exposed.

Usually higher shutter speeds = more chance of catching a light mid-cycle. Slower shutter speeds show a LOT less. So, I guess one benefit of shooting with strobes is you catch less at 1/200 than you do at 1/500 or 1/400 without strobes.

FYI, for quicker setups, assuming you will be doing this repeatedly in multiple gyms, make notes of your settings. I put all mine the roster sheet they hand out at the door, then I put them in my phone for later reference. So when I go back I don't have to play with flash power settings until I get it where I want. Just setup and go.

beetle8

Beat it up with flash, or a slow shutter & 1/3stop over exposed, or just toil in post. A custom white ballance doesn't beat light cycling, but it does make correcting in post quicker.

RickJohnsonPhotography

The OP's question was whether strobes are the only way to handle cycling. The answer clearly is no--many choose to shoot ambient with good results.

To me, whether you use ambient or strobes depends on several factors including: how the gym is lit, how well your equipment can pull off ambient, your tolerance for setting-up and taking down strobes, the potential locations in your gym for strobes, whether the SID/officials will allow strobes, the recycle time of your strobes, the look you get under ambient v. strobes, and your post-processing work flow.

For the gym where I shoot, the equipment I have, and the reasons why I shoot basketball, it makes the most sense for me to shoot ambient even though it often means I need to spend a little extra time in post correcting white balance. Of course, YMMV.

attorneyjay

RickJohnsonPhotography wrote: »

The OP's question was whether strobes are the only way to handle cycling. The answer clearly is no--many choose to shoot ambient with good results.

To me, whether you use ambient or strobes depends on several factors including: how the gym is lit, how well your equipment can pull off ambient, your tolerance for setting-up and taking down strobes, the potential locations in your gym for strobes, whether the SID/officials will allow strobes, the recycle time of your strobes, the look you get under ambient v. strobes, and your post-processing work flow.

For the gym where I shoot, the equipment I have, and the reasons why I shoot basketball, it makes the most sense for me to shoot ambient even though it often means I need to spend a little extra time in post correcting white balance. Of course, YMMV.

I agree with Rick. For the reasons he stated, I always shoot ambient. AWB works well for me, minimizing post corrections. Occasionally, I will custom WB depending on gym lighting conditions. In just the last few years in my area there have been new gyms or new lighting in old gyms. The newer gyms and lighting have much improved exposure capabilities and less cycling effect.