? for Golf photogs

toybreaker71

Hey everyone, a friend and I are shooting a charity golf tourney. Neither of us have ever shot golf before but we have the basics, stay quiet, no shutter in back swing unless far away, etc. Our main question is what lens do you use primarily? Our best lenses are 24-70 2.8 and 70-200 2.8. We are open to rent/ borrow what we need but would like to know what you folks find you mainly use on the course. We both shoot Canon. We are also going to be doing a group shot of each 4some to print later for them. We are considering using an off camera flash. Any recommendations if this is a good idea or not? if so what would you suggest we rent? Thanks for any tips.

Qarik

I don't shoot golf but I am an avid golfer. 24-70 and 70-200mm + a TC and crop body seem like it would cover just about everything around the greens and tee boxes. You may want to rent a 400mm lens if you can, to cover fairway shots where you will likely be far away.

For group shots, getting OCF to look good on 4somes is going to b difficult unless you are just using it for fill or unless you are setting up a "station" with 2 OCF setup...which becomes quite a hassle when availble light maybe good enough.

RcCola

I would stick to the 70-200 or longer for my primary lens. If there is two of you I would split up, group shots taken with a 24-70 on either the courses signature hole or a par 3 TEE BOX where back-ups usually occur anyways. Whatever you do don't take posed shots on the green! The other shooter should be moving from the rear of the tee box to a nearby green to capture the most action. Most courses have holes that are very close to each other so it should be easy to move around for variety. Best of luck!!!

ckaspar

I will be the partner with Toy and I thank you all for the comments. Good ideas and my thoughts lined up with using the 24-70 as the group lens. I was also thinking of just using my 50, 1.8 but I think the 24-70 would allow me to get tee off shots as well.

My thought was to post up on a Tee Box and get each group, as you suggested. During that time I will also ask if anyone in the group has problems with back swing shutter clicks. If not then I can feel free to click away. If there is a problem then obviously I shut it off and wait for the ball strike.

We are not sure of the skill level of the golfers so most may not even care or realize we are there. Who knows.

Either way I appreciate your input and will post post pics once we have done the event so we can get more input.

We are also planning on hitting up a course near us to take some test shots just to get an idea of what we are getting into. I have clubs so maybe I will set a time at a 3 par course and just shoot a round with Toy in tow.

W.W. Webster

toybreaker71 wrote: »

Neither of us have ever shot golf before but we have the basics, stay quiet, no shutter in back swing unless far away, etc.

Stay absolutely still if in the player's line of sight. Under NO circumstances release the shutter until AFTER the club has struck the ball, unless well out of hearing range.

toybreaker71 wrote: »

Our main question is what lens do you use primarily? Our best lenses are 24-70 2.8 and 70-200 2.8.

200mm would be just long enough for some shots, but 400mm would be necessary if you are a comfortable distance from the players so as not to distract them.

toybreaker71 wrote: »

We are considering using an off camera flash. Any recommendations if this is a good idea or not?

Absolutely not! This would be an unacceptable distraction to the players.

ckaspar wrote: »

I was also thinking of just using my 50, 1.8 but I think the 24-70 would allow me to get tee off shots as well.

Not if you expect the player to be recognisable in your images!

ckaspar wrote: »

My thought was to post up on a Tee Box and get each group, as you suggested. During that time I will also ask if anyone in the group has problems with back swing shutter clicks. If not then I can feel free to click away. If there is a problem then obviously I shut it off and wait for the ball strike.

You've got to be kidding - unless you want to look an outright amateur and are happy risking having your teeth kicked in!

ckaspar

W.W. Webster wrote: »

Absolutely not! This would be an unacceptable distraction to the players.

This idea was going to use it for the posed shots to give them a better photo than "just a group photo"

W.W. Webster wrote: »

Not if you expect the player to be recognisable in your images!

I was not going to shoot at 1.8. . I have used it for trophy presentations and it worked fine but we have chosen to use the 24-70 anyhow.

W.W. Webster wrote: »

You've got to be kidding - unless you want to look an outright amateur and are happy risking having your teeth kicked in!

As I, think I said before, we will not be aware of the majority of these peoples skill levels. My thought was that if the guy on the tee don't mind then what is the harm? Obviously a backs wing shot of Tiger would be out of the question but he won't be here. I just want to provide them with something unique while we have them there. If they are not interested or would prefer not then it is out of the question, obviously, but if they are like me then they would not even notice a shutter click as I am not good enough to hit the ball most of the time.

RcCola

Its not a big deal if you time your shutter right. Set your camera on burst and fire at or just after impact. Most of the time they wont even notice that your shooting. I wouldnt ask for permission first, most hacks will blame anything other than their lack of ability for a poor golf shot. If you ask, I could see them blaming you for the poor shot that they hit because "it was all they could think about." Here is a picture of a buddy of mine that is a very good golfer, ive got a half dozen of these and he didnt notice I was shooting all day. I also would leave the flash in the bag on the course, it shouldnt be needed outside, but I would have it for the dinner that usually follows these things. Good luck.
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Untitled by R.C. Cola, on Flickr

chris.vultaggio

400 with a monopod is definitely useful, unless you can get real close. Some nice shots can be had from directly behind the golfer in the tee-box or from fairway

bunkers make some of the best shots, but be sure to have a high ss to freeze the sand. high ss as often as possible, except for greens shots, to help catch ball in flight

Low or high angles help keep the BG from getting too distracting (think shooting down to keep the background all grass or up high to keep it all sky)

polarizer can help with the mid-day sun

keep group shots in the shade, and have them lift their hats

tee shots be well off to the side, especially with amateur golfers, otherwise you'll risk getting whacked. If not pros, I wouldn't sweat shooting in the backswing - not like it will be pin-drop quiet like on the PGA. I have been in a group of shooters yelled at by Tiger - not fun...

good luck, have fun out there.

PS: http://chrisvultaggio.com/wordpress/?p=90 for an average day shooting on the tour

RcCola

Dude. That's my dream job. I would kill to shoot those guys. I used to have the intentions of playing with them but at 27 my window is closing. how did you get your start if you don't mind me asking?

chris.vultaggio

RcCola wrote: »

Dude. That's my dream job. I would kill to shoot those guys. I used to have the intentions of playing with them but at 27 my window is closing. how did you get your start if you don't mind me asking?

Dude - do everything you can to get there. One of my clients got into PGA sponsorship, and I started out green with nothing but a 70-200 and worked my way up over the years. Kept good contacts, did all the usual good business relations stuff.

If you want it bad enough, you'll find a way to make it happen - just be persistant and try and develop a cool style and pitch.

Good luck and keep shooting,

chris

JSPhotography

chris.vultaggio wrote: »

Dude - do everything you can to get there. One of my clients got into PGA sponsorship, and I started out green with nothing but a 70-200 and worked my way up over the years. Kept good contacts, did all the usual good business relations stuff.

If you want it bad enough, you'll find a way to make it happen - just be persistant and try and develop a cool style and pitch.

Good luck and keep shooting,

chris

Checked out your web site - WOW. Welcome - I really hope you stick around and share. I could learn a lot from you.

jm94085

Hey guys...good luck on your upcoming gig!! Here's a few thoughts based on my experience, I've also included some shots that I had the opportunity to shoot during the practice rounds at the Presidents Cup in SF back in 2009 :-)

Note I shot 100% with a rented Canon 400 2.8L from BorrowLenses.com mounted on my 7D...would have been nice to have also picked up a 70-200 for some versatilitiy around the greens but lugging the 400 around on a monopod for two days worked out fine. You should not need any flash setup since you'll be outdoors in natural lighting. If a little overcast even better, but if you have harsh light conditions try to find a tee box for your group shots that has some shade available to help soften up the light.

For on course shots, try to survey the course ahead of time...this will give you a chance to plan ahead for the best places to get interesting shots off the tee box, from the fairway and around the greens/bunkers. Also keep shooting in burst mode after the player has reached the apex of their follow-through, you might get some cool reaction shots!!

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Regards,
John