Outdoor flash and sports

mercphotomercphoto Registered Users Posts: 4,550 Major grins
edited September 22, 2004 in Technique
I've been photographing the local dirt bike track for a few months now. New track. They have their first real race in 1.5 weeks. Problem is, its a night race, under the lights. I've had no practice time for night sports, though there is a race practice evening the day before, under the lights.

I've already looked over the track to see where I can safely stand, where the lights are, so I know where to get interesting shots that are likely to be illuminated somewhat. I pan to use my 70-200mm/2.8 wide open and to rent a 550EX. I've been told I can use flash as long as I am not flashing straight into their eyes (i.e. profile shots are fine).

Tips? I'm afraid to go Av mode (thus keeping the lens wide open) because the 300D will likely pick a long shutter to try to expose the background. Tv mode instead? With the flash, will the camera open the lens wide automatically? And should I set the 500EX for full-power?
Bill Jurasz - Mercury Photography - Cedar Park, TX
A former sports shooter
Follow me at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/bjurasz/
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Comments

  • Shay StephensShay Stephens Registered Users Posts: 3,165 Major grins
    edited September 22, 2004
    Congratulations
    You have just graduated to the ranks of manual exposure and light/flash meter usage :-)

    Your problem is easily solved by metering the available light, metering the amount of light your flash outputs at the required distance and setting the exposure manually to get the desired results.

    Using semi-auto exposure with flash in a dark environment and trying to capture action is a sure recipe for poor results.

    Now I doubt you will be ready in a week and a half, so in the mean time, shoot manually and adjust the exposure (aperture, shutter, ISO) to get what you need. Use the histogram to help. When using flash, remember that the aperture will control the flash exposure, and the shutter speed will control the ambient light. You can use the flash to help freeze the action. Use the lowest power setting you can on the flash to get the shortest recycle time, but use enough power to get the proper illumination. It is a balancing act sometimes.

    I am guessing here that the track will be at EV8 +/- if this is a commercial track. That would translate to f/2.8 - 1/500 - ISO 1600. If you can add 1 or 2 stops worth of flash, you can get the ISO down to 800 or 400. So start at ISO 400 and shoot a picture with the flash at the lowest setting, keep bumping up the flash power until you are getting the exposure you need. If you max out the flash power, then start bumping up the ISO.

    If you had a light meter, you could eliminate alot of the trial and error during the preproduction. But you can delve into that after the event :-)
    Creator of Dgrin's "Last Photographer Standing" contest
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  • mercphotomercphoto Registered Users Posts: 4,550 Major grins
    edited September 22, 2004
    Flash
    You have just graduated to the ranks of manual exposure and light/flash meter usage :-)

    If you had a light meter, you could eliminate alot of the trial and error during the preproduction. But you can delve into that after the event :-)

    I may be at the breaking point of shooting predominantly in RAW! Laughing.gif! First I start liking Photoshop. Now RAW. This will be the end of me for sure. :-D

    Thanks for the advice. I knew this wouldn't be easy to do. Sounds like it will take a lot of pre-thought. I know that flash diminishes rapidly with distance (inverse square law), so I'll have to be careful to make sure my subject distance stays relatively constant.

    One question, the manual states "select <Tv> mode to manually set a shutter speed slower than 1/200 second. The camera then automatically sets the flash aperture value to provide the proper exposure for your shutter speed".

    I think what this means is with flash I can't use a shutter faster than 1/200, even if in full-manual mode, correct? I'm also wondering how effective Tv mode with a 550EX on a 300D is?
    Bill Jurasz - Mercury Photography - Cedar Park, TX
    A former sports shooter
    Follow me at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/bjurasz/
    My Etsy store: https://www.etsy.com/shop/mercphoto?ref=hdr_shop_menu
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