TIP --> Shooting Basketball w/bounce flash...
Hey guys/gals,
Just wanted to give a tip on shooting basketball in those horrid HS gyms.
Please note that I'm not trying to convince anyone that using bounce flash is the best way to shoot HS basketball, but, if you are trying to overcome that horrid lighting, bounce flash just might be for you.
First, were talking BOUNCE FLASH, not direct flash. (we don't want to blind anyone or get thrown out of the gym)
What I've found that works well is to use my speedlight on camera. I stand under the basket (key area) and turn my flash head backward and up. If you were to draw a line from the flash to the wall, it would hit the wall about 12' ~ 15' up.
This turns the back wall into a really big reflector/softbox. You also get bounce from the ceiling. This method will make your pics pop & gone are the dark eye sockets of the players. If done correctly, you can't even tell from the pictures that flash is used.
Hold on, were not done yet.
HS gyms range anywhere from dark, to darker. (occasionally there is a good one here and there) If we're gonna use bounce flash, we have to deal with another issue, one that using flash has now created for you.
--- Ghosting ---
Lot's of folks use flash and don't understand why they get ghosting, or what they call "soft" images. Depending on the particulars, you may wind up with a lot of it, or just enough to make your images look soft. Either way, you've got to deal with it.
There are two basic methods to eliminate ghosting.
A. If your camera/flash setup allows it, use High Speed Sync.
This will allow you to use a fast shutter speed to stop motion from the AMBIENT LIGHT. Your flash burst duration can be anywhere from 1/800 ~ 1/15000, so your not getting any blur there. The blur/ghosting comes from the ambient light getting to your sensor with a slow shutter speed.
Yes, High Speed Sync will certainly reduce your flash distance/output, but we're shooting under the basket, right? No worries here...
B. Use the highest sync speed for your camera. Set your aperture (suggest wide here), now set your ISO so that the ambient will be underexposed by 2 stops, or close to it. The flash will now expose your subject correctly (if in ETTL or equivalent). If you're using manual mode, you'll have to set that up correctly.
Why don't you get ghosting now?
Because 2 stops underexposed on the ambient is enough to keep ghosting at bay. The flash is still doing it's thing at 1/800 ~ 1/15000, so.....
No ghosting :thumb
This method works, and works well, but will work your flash very hard. That means it's gonna eat those batteries up in a hurry.
Well, you must have been really board to have made it this far :deal
Anyway, I'm sure someone will post here to "set me straight" :rofl , but these methods work.
Hope that helps...
Just wanted to give a tip on shooting basketball in those horrid HS gyms.
Please note that I'm not trying to convince anyone that using bounce flash is the best way to shoot HS basketball, but, if you are trying to overcome that horrid lighting, bounce flash just might be for you.
First, were talking BOUNCE FLASH, not direct flash. (we don't want to blind anyone or get thrown out of the gym)
What I've found that works well is to use my speedlight on camera. I stand under the basket (key area) and turn my flash head backward and up. If you were to draw a line from the flash to the wall, it would hit the wall about 12' ~ 15' up.
This turns the back wall into a really big reflector/softbox. You also get bounce from the ceiling. This method will make your pics pop & gone are the dark eye sockets of the players. If done correctly, you can't even tell from the pictures that flash is used.
Hold on, were not done yet.
HS gyms range anywhere from dark, to darker. (occasionally there is a good one here and there) If we're gonna use bounce flash, we have to deal with another issue, one that using flash has now created for you.
--- Ghosting ---
Lot's of folks use flash and don't understand why they get ghosting, or what they call "soft" images. Depending on the particulars, you may wind up with a lot of it, or just enough to make your images look soft. Either way, you've got to deal with it.
There are two basic methods to eliminate ghosting.
A. If your camera/flash setup allows it, use High Speed Sync.
This will allow you to use a fast shutter speed to stop motion from the AMBIENT LIGHT. Your flash burst duration can be anywhere from 1/800 ~ 1/15000, so your not getting any blur there. The blur/ghosting comes from the ambient light getting to your sensor with a slow shutter speed.
Yes, High Speed Sync will certainly reduce your flash distance/output, but we're shooting under the basket, right? No worries here...
B. Use the highest sync speed for your camera. Set your aperture (suggest wide here), now set your ISO so that the ambient will be underexposed by 2 stops, or close to it. The flash will now expose your subject correctly (if in ETTL or equivalent). If you're using manual mode, you'll have to set that up correctly.
Why don't you get ghosting now?
Because 2 stops underexposed on the ambient is enough to keep ghosting at bay. The flash is still doing it's thing at 1/800 ~ 1/15000, so.....
No ghosting :thumb
This method works, and works well, but will work your flash very hard. That means it's gonna eat those batteries up in a hurry.
Well, you must have been really board to have made it this far :deal
Anyway, I'm sure someone will post here to "set me straight" :rofl , but these methods work.
Hope that helps...
Randy
0
Comments
Do you set a custom WB this way or use a pre-set? The toner for the paper was telling me my pics were a little too red. I was shooting with auto WB. I took the pictures home and the pics were not near as red as what I saw on his monitor. Of course my monitor is not calibrated, at least not set by a device. The papers monitor is calibrated, but it's an old CRT that I don't think has been re-calibrated in the last couple of years and has started to lose it's brightness. I do know the culprit for my shots not taken with a flash. I set WB under lights that were not over the gym floor. I didn't notice it until I moved from the bleachers to under the basket. I do have my camera set at +1 saturation, so would that need to be set at neutral as well?
Would an expodisc be beneficial? I have researched it and have found conflicting advice on how to set the WB with it. Some say point it at the light source, some say go to where the subject is and then point at the place where you are going to take the pics from.
Jon,
Your saturation setting doesn't matter to the WB.
I have an ExpoDisk and it gives me excellent results.
The best way to use the ExpoDisk is to go to the subjects position and take a shot pointing toward where your camera shooting position will be. Basically your taking incident light here, pretty much like a hand held meter. This allows the ExpoDisk to have all the different color tones in the mix. The main point here is that you need to be at the subjects position. If you just point it at the main light source (while not from the subjects position), you don't get any color hues that may be giving a color cast to your subject.
An example would be a football player standing on all of that green grass/turf. Think that might give a green tint to your football player? What I'm getting at here is that you want to take all of the things into your WB shot as possible. There is no better place to do this than from the subjects position.
Now, lots of times I don't get to an event in time to get on the field/court before play starts. That rules out my ExpoDisk WB shot from the subjects position. The next best thing to do is to take a WB shot, from your shooting position, toward your subject. Now your basically getting a reflected reading if you will. It's not as dead accurate as the first method, but it's pretty darn close most of the time.
Also, MAKE SURE that your camera is NOT in Custom WB mode when you shoot your ExpoDisk shot. Use Auto WB for this shot, then change your camera to Custom WB selecting this shot. If you don't, your gonna get some strange WB. (Don't ask me how I know
Ever wonder why a product that you set your WB with is partially named "Expo"?
Yep, you can use it to accurately set your exposure
Who knew...
Use it like you would use a hand held meter. Point it at the light source from your subjects position and take a shot. Now look at your camera's histogram. You will see a thin line from top to bottom. That's like a grey card. Set your exposure correctly for this "grey" and your set for exposure.
Hey, now that's two things you can do with your new ExpoDisk
Hope that helps
Next question: When you take the WB shot with the expodisk and you are bounce flashing, do you use the flash or no?
The flash is a light source and will contribute to the lighting temperature/color.
So yes, use the flash when you are taking your ExpoDisk WB shot.
Second, I've heard a lot of commentary that the ExpoDisk does NOT work well with any type of lighting that "cycles", which of course would include many gyms and outdoor stadiums. You seem to be having a different and much more positive experience (of course it would be partially irrelevant if one were shooting in raw).
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www.browngreensports.com
http://browngreensports.smugmug.com
Hey KED,
I'm not sure what has led you to believe that I don't shoot RAW --- I do, but not exclusively. If I'm confident in the output given my shooting conditions, I'll just shoot JPG and save all the conversion time.
Also, if I'm shooting an event and we are printing on-site, you just can't shoot RAW. You need to go from the card(s) to laptop so contestants can view/buy very quickly.
As to the ExpoDisk; I really can't speak for others experience with it, I can just tell you of my real world success with it. It does appear to me that a lot of folks that are using the ExpoDisk, aren't using it in a way that will yield success. I've posted 3 or 4 times on this board about my process with the ExpoDisk.
I hear/read all the time about RAW/JPG - WB - you name it. I just don't buy into some arguments that this way or that is the ultimate method, and the only way to do something. Every situation is different and must be delt with as such.
I experiment all the time with techniques, equipment, etc. I want to be able to handle as large a variety of situations as I can. Getting locked into only one method will not assure continual success.
You must be versitile...
What if you've decided that RAW is the ONLY way to go, and that's all you utilize in your workflow. Now comes along an assignment that you have to shoot, then upload .jpg's quick, or print on-site. Now your out of your workflow. You may not have a good product if you can't "process" your RAW files to your liking. You've limited your abilities, and that's never good.
Hope I answered your questions...
I hear you on the fast turnaround thing, but here's where I luxuriate on the "am" side of "pro-am"!
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www.browngreensports.com
http://browngreensports.smugmug.com
Randy,
I tried your method of shooting backwards and using the back wall as a big 'ol softbox, and my 7 yr old daughter showed me this pic she took at my son's last basketball game. Apparently she took a pic right at the moment I took one too.
I apologize for the bad quality, but my daughter was using the "running man" mode (that's what she calls it!) on our p&s so it maxed out the ISO on the camera. That's me under the basket with my D80 and sb-600 - check out the light spread that the flash and a better bounce card provided!
So, the lesson here for the other folks is if you have a flash, embrace it!
www.rfcphotography.com
pictures por favor...
http://www.youtube.com/user/NYCFilmmakersGroup
http://www.meetup.com/NYC-Filmmakers-and-Actors-Meetup-Group/
Thankfully this elementary school gym had a lower ceiling than most, and also had white ceiling tiles. Happy shooting!
www.rfcphotography.com
When you work this way, do you constantly have to be aware of your relation to the wall behind you? It seems to me that if your back is parallel to the wall it would bring more light to an exposure (no critique meant for your photos).
Betsy
Ymmv, but in this gym the walls were pretty white and provided a much nicer exposure than the little natural light that was available. Just try it and see - you might find a slightly different method that works better in your gym. Good luck!
www.rfcphotography.com
Glad you found this tip to work out for you in some circumstances. Were always looking for solutions to all those problems out there.