More High School Basketball

73Rocks · February 7, 2012

I had the pleasure of shooting in one of the better lit "small town gyms" in NE SD last week and got a lot of great shots.

Here are 4 of the better ones :

Again, shot with my Canon 7D, SS 640/sec, ISO 800 - 50mm f1.4 prime lens - 580EX II flash at 1/64th power - cropped at 4 X 6.

Thanks for looking!

jimqjr · February 7, 2012

Nice pics.
Where did you place the flash
What if off camera did you use to trigger it?
Thanks for the reply.

Shooting a basketball game tomorrow for a friend have shot basketball in a couple of years so I'll be a little rusty and I never used the flash before

73Rocks · February 7, 2012

jimqjr wrote: »

Nice pics.
Where did you place the flash
What if off camera did you use to trigger it?
Thanks for the reply.

Shooting a basketball game tomorrow for a friend have shot basketball in a couple of years so I'll be a little rusty and I never used the flash before

Thanks for the positive feedback.

The flash was mounted on the camera. I have been shooting for over 10 years now on a moderate budget so I have had to figure out how to get shots for the 3 papers I shoot for without using strobes or "off camera" flashes.

I get to the gym early and get some test shots of the JV game. I will try to get the best image I can without any flash using at a shutter speed of at least 500/sec at the lens's f1.4 opening by adjusting the ISO. After I get the best exposure I can without the flash I will then turn the flash on in Manual and dial it all the way down to 128 power and slowly increase the power until I have just enough flash to "fill in" the colors and shadows without over-exposing the image.

Personally I would take pride in the fact that I could get shots without using a flash until I did a game last year. After looking at the results, I did capture the action but the images to me seemed "dull and lifeless" . . . they just didn't have that "pop and pizazz" the other photographers on this site get.

Here are 4 images from last year's game I am refering to :

Comparing the 2 sets of images I think you can see the difference. That is when I added the opeiont of using the flash dialed down for the "fill" effect. The added benifit of dialing down the flash is that I don't have to go through and edit out the "red eyes" either.

Hope this helps you out on your shoot -
Mark

jason.moseley · February 22, 2012

Flash question
Newbie question, because my daughter is starting basketball and I'm learning...

Do you diffuse the flash or bounce it? After seeing all the conversations around flash on basketball courts I would think that most would err to the side of bouncing if not using remote strobes.

73Rocks wrote: »

Thanks for the positive feedback.

The flash was mounted on the camera. I have been shooting for over 10 years now on a moderate budget so I have had to figure out how to get shots for the 3 papers I shoot for without using strobes or "off camera" flashes.

I get to the gym early and get some test shots of the JV game. I will try to get the best image I can without any flash using at a shutter speed of at least 500/sec at the lens's f1.4 opening by adjusting the ISO. After I get the best exposure I can without the flash I will then turn the flash on in Manual and dial it all the way down to 128 power and slowly increase the power until I have just enough flash to "fill in" the colors and shadows without over-exposing the image.

Personally I would take pride in the fact that I could get shots without using a flash until I did a game last year. After looking at the results, I did capture the action but the images to me seemed "dull and lifeless" . . . they just didn't have that "pop and pizazz" the other photographers on this site get.

Here are 4 images from last year's game I am refering to :

Comparing the 2 sets of images I think you can see the difference. That is when I added the opeiont of using the flash dialed down for the "fill" effect. The added benifit of dialing down the flash is that I don't have to go through and edit out the "red eyes" either.

Hope this helps you out on your shoot -
Mark

MDalby · February 23, 2012

Jason,

First of all, with your current limitations, I think you are doing a pretty good job. I think all of us are always looking for that little tip to take it to the next level with our current gear and investment we want to make.

I think I have tried just about every possible settings and setup. I have diffused. I have bounced. I have shot direct. I have mounted strobes in the stands. I have tried light stands. I have never tried on camera flash because that is always a no no. In my experience there is absolutely no comparison. The only way to do strobes in my book is direct flash. The color and contrast is just unmatched. You can freeze the action bouncing with the correct settings etc but I think the shots are just more crisp/clean/bright shooting direct flash. the trick is to have everything set up so the light and shadows aren't too harsh. With direct flash, the WB is just spot on and I never have to make adjustments.

If you are on a limited budget, and if you only have one strobe, I still think you should take the strobe off camera. You can mount the strobe on a light stand facing the players and get better results.

Just my .02 worth.

MD

schlpic · March 1, 2012

It'd be nice to set up a flash or strobe on a light stand but small gyms in the rural midwest usually don't have any additional room to set up a flash. The basket ends/side are solid walls and it also serves as a walkway for the crowd to hurry to concessions or restroom areas when play is on the other end of the court. I have liability ins, but I'd worry about someone knocking over the equipment and suffering an injury because of the equipment or damaging my equipment--either of which would disrupt the game and be my fault. Small bleachers on the sides with no place to mount any equipment-no railings, walkways etc. On camera flash is certainly the "safest" option.

MDalby · March 1, 2012

Safest option always wins. Smart decision.

JimKarczewski · March 2, 2012

schlpic wrote: »

It'd be nice to set up a flash or strobe on a light stand but small gyms in the rural midwest usually don't have any additional room to set up a flash. The basket ends/side are solid walls and it also serves as a walkway for the crowd to hurry to concessions or restroom areas when play is on the other end of the court. I have liability ins, but I'd worry about someone knocking over the equipment and suffering an injury because of the equipment or damaging my equipment--either of which would disrupt the game and be my fault. Small bleachers on the sides with no place to mount any equipment-no railings, walkways etc. On camera flash is certainly the "safest" option.

Look up??? You might be able to find a beam/railing/etc to mount to. There is only 1 school and thats because there were too many people in my way, that I had to end up using light stands. It can take a while, but typically there is always somewhere you can sneak a superclamp onto.. and we have some damn tiny gyms here in IN, so I know this all too well!

73Rocks · March 2, 2012

JimKarczewski wrote: »

Look up??? You might be able to find a beam/railing/etc to mount to. There is only 1 school and thats because there were too many people in my way, that I had to end up using light stands. It can take a while, but typically there is always somewhere you can sneak a superclamp onto.. and we have some damn tiny gyms here in IN, so I know this all too well!

Yes . . . if I was to try it I would look up.

Two years ago I was shooting the same holiday classic shootout as a "free lance" outfit that had strobes set up. There was lots of room on the end of the court as each side had 8' wide concrete steps going up to each level of the armory on each side with a handrail and landing. Perfectly tailord for setting up strobes.

The variable she did not take into account was young kids running around. While she wasn't looking some of these kids thought it would be cool to start turning the knobs on the strobes. By the time she realized that her lighting was all screwed up she had lost some great shots. Then she wasted the whole 2nd half of the game trying to get her settings down again.

So if you feel a need for strobes, I would take Jim's advice . . . as far away from people as possible.

adbsgicom · March 2, 2012

I like the fill flash technique. Thanks for sharing it. I'll have to see if I can use it in our league...

Ann Thorpe · March 30, 2012

Rules of the game
Do you get much negative feedback regarding the use of strobes or flash photography for shooting games? I have found my self in situations quite often recently where flash is frowned upon (more specifically, the coaches dang near had coronaries on the side line when the light went off), and I admit I struggled. I have honed a few tricks to suck as much light into the lens as possible for the best exposure I can get, but how do you combat the nay sayers who discourage the practice?
I am shooting little league Biddy Basketball Leagues, mind you. http://www.annthorpephotography.com/Basketball/2012-Regional-Tournament-8-yr/Morgan-City-Vs-Mandeville/21673401_HFsJv9

Moving Pictures · March 30, 2012

The only issue I've ever had was at CIS (Canadian university) games, where I was told not to have flash originate from behind the baseline.

73Rocks · April 2, 2012

No problems thus far . . .
With the direct mpunt flash I am always mindful of becoming a distraction too. Every now and then I ask the coach/AD if I am distracting the players. With my set-up I haven't had any complaints. I even had one coach tell me that if his players are seeing a camera flash then they aren't concentrating 110% on the game.

That being said, even though it is an easy shot . . . I never shoot a player shooting a free throw. I bothers me some when someone with a camera will move directly under the basket and take a picture just as the player is releasing the ball.

More High School Basketball

Comments