Fight Kings Utah MMA

Zerodog

Some seriously rough light here. This was the worst I have encountered yet. In certain areas of the ring the blue and magenta color cast was terrible.. No amount of WBing could do it. Played with some desaturation on certain colors and it helped a bit. In the end, it is what it is.

The other kicker with this event was this. There was another photographer there, and he had strobes. Big studio ones strapped to the cage, and an on camera flash. WTH?? this has never ever been allowed at any combat sport I have shot. They won't even let me use on camera flash for grappling. So this was also a factor in some of my shots.
These were all shot between 1/640 and 1/800 f2.8 and ISO 10,000-12,800
#1


#2


#3
Almost awesome! Missed focus a bit but these guys were also really moving fast in a 1st round flurry. I still love it.


#5


#6 One of my favs of the night.


#7

kdog

Wow, that's some kind of action, and you really caught the feel of it. :wow

Dumb question, but were you in the ring with them? Looks it. Edit: actually the last one has some chain link fence artifacts, so maybe not.

Zerodog

No I was ringside shooting through the fence with a 70-200. Wider lenses get more fence. It is hard to use and I feel like I do miss stuff using this lens in a smaller ring like this one. I wish it was 50-220 2.8. So I use my other camera with a 17-55. I set it at f3.5 or higher. This lets you see the fence and gives me more latitude for focus being a bit off. If they are on top of you, there is no way to blow the fence out. So you might as well see it how it was.

This is one a split second before the guy on top tapped out. These are with a 300s 17-55 1/250 f3.2 iso 2500.


This is what happens shooting through a fence. This is the guy tapping. But the focus decided to grab the fence. Getting cross fence like this is bad. It makes the fence have more surface area and your camera wants to grab it more. With a longer lens it also becomes more apparent that it is there.


This one is from inside. You can see on here that the skin tone on the face of the guy on the right is almost normal. Then down by the legs a serious magenta tone. The dude on the left is sort of blue. This place had some terrible light. But at the same time I sort of like the way these came out with the weird color. Gives it sort of a feel. And it is how it looked to be there.

kdog

Thanks, Rob. Shooting through the cage seems like a pain and you did a great job on making the fence disappear in the original set. Color balance in mixed lighting is what it is; no sense in trying to change reality.

Are MMA fights ever shot from inside the ring? Who's the guy on the ladder? I'm supposed to shoot an MMA fight next month and I'm told I'll have "full access" inside the cage and out. So needless to say this thread is of great interest to me.

Zerodog

No, they are never shot from inside. But after the fight, it is very common for a photographer to get in there and get the winner shots and some team shots. Most of the time you will end up shooting through the fence from ringside. The big show that I shoot for I have a spot to shoot over the fence standing on a speaker. The other guys shoot through the fence. To tell you the truth, the angle through the fence is killer. Especially when stuff goes to the ground. But it is way easier shooting over the fence. There is still the range factor no matter what you do. It is hard to cover with just one lens.

Some things to be ready for. No flash is allowed. At least not that I have ever heard of or seen until this last weekend. With that in mind. Even when it is a big show and is very bright, it will be very dark. Small shows are usually absolute caves. Get the ISO out of the dirt and get your shutter speed up at least to 640. I like to see 1600 or more if possible. Even with the added noise.
Be ready for anything. I like 2 bodies and if I had a 3rd I would put it to use. Bring water. Shows can be long and sometimes you won't get much of a break. If there are 10 or more fights on the card you are looking at a long night. Also have a rag and some lens cleaner just in case. The very first fight I ever shot, I had blood spray on me and my camera. This is what I mean about be ready.

In general fighters are super nice and great to work with. If you shoot weigh ins. Tell them what you want and they will do it. Just remember they have not eaten anything in a while and might be cranky. Be fast and get it done so they can eat.

kdog

Thanks for the all the tips, Rob.

The venue is big and I'm told they crank the lights up pretty well. I'm thinking of bringing my FF body with a 70-200 F2.8, plus a crop-body with a 17-55 F2.8. I'm shooting the weigh-ins as well. There will be some models, motorcycles and/or hot-rods too I'm told, and the venue is in a scenic area. Should be pretty interesting. Thanks again for the advice!

-joel

Zerodog

You got the setup. Have lots of fun! Make sure to post pics!