indoor photo help, low light and fast movement

[webejamn]

i would like to take some pictures of my daughters karate class, the lighting is low, i cant use a flash, and they are usually moving fairly fast, i took a gander at it today ,i set the iso to 800 and it seemed ok the pictures were alittle slow and all turned out yellowish in color, i know i can fix that on the computer, anyother advice would be great. thanks alot

[robertwgross]

First of all, what kind of lighting was in the room? What setting did you have for white balance? Were you shooting RAW or JPEG? Which camera (ISO 800 gets different results on different cameras)?

---Bob Gross---

[RockSlut]

...also which lens? Most people will recommend a fast prime eg 50mm or 85mm f/1.8 or faster if you've got it or can afford it.

Shooting RAW can make your life easier in terms of getting the colour balance right but will mean more post-processing work and fewer photos per CF card.

[webejamn]

ya, i am only wishing i had that lens, i have the 300d and hte stock lens, and i have the 75-300 mm lens , i keep the white ballance on shade, and ajust it when i need to on the computer, i find the best pictures come from the shade setting....
i believe its florsent lighting, i got the white to turn out better after i messed with the white ballance on the computer,

[PhotosGuy]

i cant use a flash, The instructor will probably want to see the pics. I'd tell him that the quality without flash is too poor to feel comfortable showing them to anyone. He may change his viewpoint on flash pics after that. :D ...also which lens? Most people will recommend a fast prime eg 50mm or 85mm f/1.8 or faster if you've got it or can afford it.
Shooting RAW can make your life easier in terms of getting the colour balance right but will mean more post-processing work and fewer photos per CF card. Angus is right. Shoot RAW & tell us what lens.

[webejamn]

i shoot all my pictures in raw, well allmost all, so yes they are in raw, and the lens is the ef 75-300 f/4-5.6 III usm and the one that comes in the kit, with the camera

[PhotosGuy]

and the lens is the ef 75-300 f/4-5.6 III usm and the one that comes in the kit In that case, the 50mm would be a good addition to your lenses for this type of work. Be aware though, that the ceiling lighting will result in shadows in the faces that you might not want to live with. Are they on a dark floor or white mats?

[webejamn]

they are a green color with red and black on them, mostly green though, like turquoise, the walls are white most of the uniforms are black,

[fslshooter]

I've never shot karate but I would think that motion blurr would be your biggest challenge. In karate, the subjects often stop all movement for a split second and sometimes these poses are very intense. With perfect timing you can probably capture those exact moments and minimize motion blurr with the kit you have.

[webejamn]

i have been waiting and watching these guys for about 5months now, and i think i have got the hang of what they do for hte most part, i have paid attn to when they stop and go full boar, thats what i am hoping that i can catch some of hte stops. but a mid motion kick would be a good picture as well.

[PhotosGuy]

they are a green color with red and black on them, mostly green though, like turquoise, the walls are white most of the uniforms are black, I suspect that you'll have to compensate the exposure for the white walls so they don't force underexposure. Try shooting a wall on "M" & chimp the exposure to the right end.

[l bo]

For what it's worth I have the same lens and tried to shoot indoor gymnastics. I picked up a 50mm 1.4 and it made a huge difference. Only decent shots was the event closest to me, 50 mm just doesn't have the reach. I would look into getting a faster lens, the 50 1.8 is probably a good solution or start.

[SYON]

If you have a st-e2 try this, put it on your camera, this will help your auto focus perform better in low light situations.

Next, go into your custom functions and set your camera to shoot at a shutter speed of 200 in av mode when using a flash.

this will enable you to shoot at a shutter speed to stop action. If 200 is to slow, make sure you press the shutter during the moment when action stops for a instance (eg. peak of a jump).

Hope this helps.

Shawn

[J Rabin]

As a person who has shot these karate events under FL light, I respectfully submit the following:
Typically you need settings of
1. NO FLASH. It is distracting and disrespectful. Unnacceptable to break kids concentration.
2. ISO 1250 (on my I-D MkII) or ISO 1600 on 20D. Do not be afraid of high ISO.
3. Camera in M Exposure Mode at all times. You're the Photog. Be in control.
4. f/stop of about 4+/-. f/2.8 leaves depth of field too shallow and f/5.6 reduces shutter speed.
5. shutter speed that varies from 1/200 to about 1/320 to stop action. You can 1/60 and ISO 800 if you want to show action blur.
6. I shoot RAW and include Whi-Bal card. On post processing, I click balance, and apply to all images in batch. If shooting JPGs, you MUST to do a custom white balance. Off WB messes up exposure.

Here are some average examples that make parents happy.
http://postit.rutgers.edu/uploads/TKD%5F01%2Ejpg
70mm 1/320 f/4 ISO 1600
http://postit.rutgers.edu/uploads/TKD%5F02%2Ejpg
70mm 1/250 f/4 ISO 1600
http://postit.rutgers.edu/uploads/TKD%5F03%2Ejpg
175mm 1/200 f/4 ISO 1250

For reference, here is third shot above, not WB corrected shot. Opens as shot 3750K. Only 400K off, and yet the yellow color cast sucks bad, ruins image.
http://postit.rutgers.edu/uploads/TKD%5F03%5FNoWBCorrection%2Ejpg

Mixed FL lighting is the OPPOSITE of cloudy setting. These photos ended up netting as 3250K +18 Tint and the color is great with no flash. 3200-3400 is about where a lot mixed FL Tungsten light nets out. Cloudy is like 7000K.
Do it right with a custom WB, because the camera FL setting is about 4000K, not low enough in mixed lighting.

I could post some slower shutter blur shots, but that's another excercise.
Jack

[webejamn]

thoes are fabulous pictures, i only hope i can snap some out as good as that, thanks for the info.