Photographing matches

[MissInformation]

If you are reading these replies and thinking all of this talk about shutter speeds and what not is daunting then let me tell you that while it is really good to know all of this, it is not the absolute end to getting a good photo... I don't mess with shutter speeds, most of my camera settings are on "auto" and I still get good shots... I am not a professional photographer, but my photos have been used by local papers and in a NASA end of year report, and I am often asked for permission for my photos to be used on other websites.

My camera is a Panasonic FZ20, with a 12 X optical zoom and image stabilization (a must for the bigger zooms).

Mostly advice for digital photog: Fast shutter speed is important to me for catching action shots, so I use sequence mode quite a bit. If you use sequence mode, make sure you have lots of memory because you will take a lot of photos (over 1,900 the two days I was at VCU this past weekend). Ideally, I try to be as close to the field as possible and not hate the people who actually get to be right there at the field (I think if I were a pushier person, I could get that close, may have to work on this).

I've always been anti-flash, but I've softened towards it during the past 2 years (mainly because the camera I have now is no where as good as my UZi was in low light). I tend to only use flash if I think the shot is a one chance deal or if I notice the light is still too dark for sequence shots.

Don't be afraid to use editing software on your photos. If they are too dark, they can be lightened. If a little blurry, sharpened. Something distracting in the shot that takes away from what you want the focus to be on? Cropping can sometimes help. Histograms, curves, learning your editing tools can be as useful as learning your shutter speeds.

Heidi (who swears that one day she will take a photography class and learn all of those shutter speeds, iso thingies and what not)

[Viper37]

Originally Posted by MissInformation

Don't be afraid to use editing software on your photos. If they are too dark, they can be lightened. If a little blurry, sharpened. Something distracting in the shot that takes away from what you want the focus to be on? Cropping can sometimes help.

Not to detract from what you are saying, but when you take as many photos as I do, you really have to do it right the first time.

[Andrew Schreiber]

For the Kettering regional I shot with a canon 70-300 mm IS lens at 1/60th shutter speeds. ISO 1600. I had some problems with depth of field and not blur. The trackballs are so big that my camera tended to focus on them and not the robot. It was a little annoying.

I use a canon Xti and it worked fine.

As for a tripod, I wouldn't use it unless you have to because you shake too much. I know I was moving the camera the entire time. A monopod might work better because you won't be locked in a position.

Also, the blur can be a nice thing, follow your subject which will keep them nice and sharp but the background will blur, this conveys motion really well. Also it looks kinda cool. Don't forget that depth of field could be causing blur in your shots as well.

Just my thoughts.

[billbo911]

Here is one more shot that is rather fun to do as well. This shot was taken with a Canon 30D, ISO 100, f/ 22, 17 mm for 13 seconds. It was on a tripod. When I took this shot, the Pits were full of people. As you can see, the motion of the people caused most of them to be blurred out and the stationary people and object remain.

[maikull]

For technical aspects, the key is two-fold:

1) Use a large enough aperture to let enough light in. In my experience, this is usually f/2.8 or larger, unless your field has very bright lighting.
2) Use a camera that has a relatively noise-free sensor at ISO 800-1600. This inherently rules out virtually all point-and shoot cameras and a good number of digital SLRs.

I've had good success with Canon EOS 20D and 40D bodies, and with the f/2.8L zooms.

To capture interesting photos, there are three important points to remember, but they are vastly different from the former two:

1) Ensure your shot is a verb, not a noun. Don't photograph a robot. Photograph a robot doing something. Don't photograph a person. Photograph a person doing something. And, try to show that action in your shot. Sometimes blur is effective for doing so, but it's not always necessary.
2) Try to get as close to the field of view of the human eye as possible, without a) compromising your composition and b) being too far away from your subject. Getting closer with a telephoto lens is no substitute for using a wide angle lens and physically getting closer to the action. That's what makes a viewer feel like they are "there", when viewing a photo.
3) Capture a vantage point that is atypical to the average bystander. Usually this means having your camera higher than 6 feet or lower than 2 feet, when shooting. You'll be amazed at how much interest this can generate, just because we are unaccustomed to this perspective. This is especially true when photographing small people (like children) or animals -- do so from their eye level.

The human eye has a field of view close to 180 degrees, when including peripheral vision. A telephoto lens will have a field of view in double or single digit degrees. That's only a fraction of what you would see if you were at an event in person, so it ends up looking like you're watching the event through a window.

On a Canon EOS 20D/30D/40D, your best option is the EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM or EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM. On a Canon EOS 5D/1Ds/1D, your best option is the EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM, because of the flexibility of a zoom, or the EF 24mm f/1.4L USM, because of the much wider aperture.

Yes, those are expensive lenses, but the only way you can get around that is by introducing more light. That usually means flash. Bouncing isn't an option in an open arena, IMO, so that leaves a diffuser. However, even with a diffuser, you are now changing the actual scene and the background will almost always be darker than it would without the flash.

If you can't afford a new, fast lens, try a used one. Even the original Digital Rebel (6.3 Megapixel) body with an f/1.4 lens will yield better results than the 1D Mark III with a slow lens.

My most recent examples are here: http://robotphotos.org/v/first/fingerlakes/2008

The absolutely cheapest setup I can recommend that will yield better options than your point-and-shoot is the original Digital Rebel with the EF 50mm f/1.8 II. However, you should be aware that the 50mm focal length on the Digital Rebel will have a field of view similar to an 80mm lens, which is considered telephoto. So, it's not going to have a wide field of view. The EF 35mm f/2 would be wider, and slightly more expensive, and a little bit slower. The EF 24mm f/1.4 would be wider yet, and much faster, but not as wide as the EF 16-35mm f/2.8L USM (or the II version).

The EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM is just not an option, because at f/3.5 it's marginally too slow, and at f/4.5 it's way too slow.

[VEN]

Nikon D80
55-200mm lens
ISO 1600
f/4
1/400th shutter speed
no flash

here is several that i took today at the Waterloo Regional, I wasn't in a very good spot. Personally I think they are too dark.

Karthik going all-out ninja

[Billfred]

Originally Posted by VEN

Nikon D80
55-200mm lens
ISO 1600
f/4
1/400th shutter speed
no flash

here is several that i took today at the Waterloo Regional, I wasn't in a very good spot. Personally I think they are too dark.

Karthik going all-out ninja

(pics removed)

Honestly, those two seem alright by me. The field is more or less properly exposed, perhaps a hair under (1/3 stop or so) in the second picture. Given the lighting, you're not going to be able to get both the crowd and the field properly exposed in most arenas--it's going to be one or the other. Color me envious that ISO 1600 looks so good on your camera--the point-and-shoot I have pegs out at 400, and it's a left turn down Noise Avenue.

Keep shooting!

[maikull]

Originally Posted by Billfred

Color me envious that ISO 1600 looks so good on your camera--the point-and-shoot I have pegs out at 400, and it's a left turn down Noise Avenue.

Well, don't be too envious. This is an inherent difference between point and shoot digital cameras and digital SLRs. It's because the sensor size in point-and-shoots are so small. Some digital SLRs are even better in low light. For instance, the Canon EOS 1D Mark III has a relatively noise-free ISO 6400.

[Frinkahedron]

Originally Posted by MissInformation

Ideally, I try to be as close to the field as possible and not hate the people who actually get to be right there at the field (I think if I were a pushier person, I could get that close, may have to work on this).

As one of those people right next to the field at VCU, all I had to do was ask the media desk. (edit: in Atlanta, this is obviously not possible. However I believe that each team there gets a media pass in their welcome packet)

I primarily used my Canon 30D + 70-200F/4 L when shooting the game itself. I usually pushed the ISO to 1600 and got my shutter speed up to 1/250, which is about maxing out my f/4. (Oh I envy you people with a 70-200 2.8) This was at VCU, which did not have the greatest lighting. I'm sure I could get much better results in the Georgia Dome.

When in the pits, I used either my 50 f1.8 or the (crappy) 18-55mm kit lens along with a 430EX flash.

http://www.chantillyrobotics.com/pho...g2_itemId=6184 everything with an "overdrive###.jpg" name is mine.

[Coredesat]

I was actually able to get decent photos of matches at VCU with a Sony CyberShot DSC-S650 point-and-shoot camera set to -0.3 to -0.7 exposure value and 200 to 400 ISO (mostly 200), with flash turned off. 100-200 ISO was fine whenever I used flash. I had to resort to using 320 ISO for some of the matches due to the poor lighting, though, although they weren't as grainy as some other photos I have that were taken at 320 ISO.

Next year I will hopefully have a Fujifilm S700, so I can take some better-looking photos (as well as videos that aren't horrendously loud and clipped).