help shooting swim meet

[Bill Pham]

i folks just needed some tips on shooting swimming meet. my niece ask me to shoot her swimming. i just don't know what setting or what to use. mostly i'm shooting macro. so any tips will help. i'll be using a 30d and 300d with 80-200 2.8 and 200 L and 24-85

Bill

[WebMonkey]

Most important, Get close; most like to see face shots and the water looking like ice. Early shots (before they breathe) are real good also; the swimmer appears to be shrink wrapped in cellophane. Don’t worry too much about getting all arms or hands completely in the frame, if you have the face tack sharp the image works.

Don’t use an Extender, to slow (AF). Cuts down the keeper rate

I’ve spent a few years shooting only aquatics per say, and have built a nice library of images. I shoot with 20D and 1dmIIn body and my prim lens is 300mm f/2.8L IS or 70-200 IS. I shoot any where am allowed to be. Most of the time if it’s within my range of filling 40% of my frame I start shooting no matter where I am, standing or kneeling.

Swimming shots are best during long cores, it give you a better angle at getting more swimmers in one frame.

freestyle,
I watch to see witch side the swimmier is breathing from on there flip turn to insure face time and then shoot standing at a 45 degree to the swimmer with my camera at a 20 degree in my hand to give the appearance their swimming up hill, And shoot low if you want other swimmers in the frame.

Breast
has to be the easiest of all, they have to come up every stroke, I prefer a side shot but right in line with the swimmer looks good also, low or high both work. And shooting from the side will give you more keepers as far as auto focus.

Fly
works best from the side if you want a tight crop and other swimmers in the shot,But a straight on face shot works well.

Back
is the hardest to get, most of the time the swimmer is splashing water over their face, so I shoot it from the side mostly. Back is great if you’re standing in lane 1 and shooting lane 1, then shoot them streamlining under the water as you walk the deck just keep shooting and shooting.

I shoot manual because Aperture or Shutter prioritys gives you very inconstant exposures due to the light changing with the plashes.

One trade secrete that I will share with you, but don’t tell any one else; I shoot many daytime images with my 580EX, CP-E3 battery pack in highsink mode and 1/3 to 2/3 stop Under, this makes the water look more like ice and stand out of the images.

But don't flash the Starts, very bad.;)

Samples
http://www.tesoroaquatics.com/proposal/index.html

Averages

Out Side
Al-Servo
1600th
Iso 400
Spot metering on the face
Burst of 3 to 4 frames

Indoors
Al-Servo
F2.8
320th
Iso 1600
Spot metering on the face
Burst of 3 to 4 frames

[david888lee]

Most important, Get close; most like to see face shots and the water looking like ice. Early shots (before they breathe) are real good also; the swimmer appears to be shrink wrapped in cellophane. Don’t worry too much about getting all arms or hands completely in the frame, if you have the face tack sharp the image works.

Don’t use an Extender, to slow. Cuts down the keeper rate

I’ve spent a few years shooting only aquatics per say, and have built a nice library of images. I shoot with 20D and 1dmIIn body and my prim lens is 300mm f/2.8L IS or 70-200 IS. I shoot any where am allowed to be. Most of the time if it’s within my range of filling 40% of my frame I start shooting no matter where I am, standing or kneeling.

Swimming shots are best during long cores, it give you a better angle at getting more swimmers in one frame.

freestyle,
I watch to see witch side the swimmier is breathing from on there flip turn to insure face time and then shoot standing at a 45 degree to the swimmer with my camera at a 20 degree in my hand to give the appearance their swimming up hill, And shoot low if you want other swimmers in the frame.

Breast
has to be the easiest of all, they have to come up every stroke, I prefer a side shot but right in line with the swimmer looks good also, low or high both work.

Fly
works best from the side if you want a tight crop and other swimmers in the shot,But a straight on face shot works well.

Back
is the hardest to get, most of the time the swimmer is splashing water over their face, so I shoot it from the side mostly. Back is great if you’re standing in lane 1 and shooting lane 1, then shoot them streamlining under the water as you walk the deck just keep shooting and shooting.

I shoot manual because Aperture or Shutter prioritys gives you very inconstant exposures due to the light changing with the plashes.

One trade secrete that I will share with you, but don’t tell any one else; I shoot many daytime images with my 580EX, CP-E3 battery pack in highsink mode and 1/3 to 2/3 stop Under, this makes the water look more like ice and stand out of the images.

But don't flash the Starts, very bad.;)

Samples
http://www.tesoroaquatics.com/proposal/index.html

Averages

Out Side
Al-Servo
1600th
Iso 400
Spot metering on the face
Burst of 3 to 4 frames

Indoors
Al-Servo
F2.8
320th
Iso 1600
Spot metering on the face
Burst of 3 to 4 frames

that is some very good advice and a very nice gallery!! i have a few questions, since i would like to shoot some swimming pictures also. when you shoot at 1600th, do you shoot in manual mode or tv mode. if you shoot in manual, what aperture do you use? thanks!

[WebMonkey]

manual mode gives me more keepers and outdoors around f7, indoors f2.8 and 320th or higher if the light lets me.:)

[mcmadkat]

Nice gallery WebMonkey, my only gripe is that on 1024x768 I can't see all the main photo and have to scroll, mighty annoying!

[Packhorse-4]

WebMonkey: Thanks for sharing your knowledge. This was my first year taking pictures at outdoor swim meets and I found myself using the AV mode at f/2.8 most of the time. While I was able to get some really good shots, I like your advice on shooting in manual to keep the camera from doing something drastic if it meters a reflection off of the water.

Some of our swim meets were very long and I am guessing you may need to adjust your metering later in the day.

I also like your trade secret – I promise not to tell :D

I tried to use the flash a few times in the early evening when the shutter speed was getting too slow to freeze the swimmers. I was at the opposite end of the pool while the swimmers were on the block and I decided it would be a good Idea to take a test shot to make sure everything was working as expected… That was a bad idea :oops:

Fortunately, no one jumped the gun and the race started without incident. I was very embarrassed though. :o

[Phil Light]

Steve,

I've got to shoot a high school invitational swim meet for a local magazine today. This will be the first swim meet I've ever shot. This post and your gallery answers all the questions I had. Thank you!!! I hope I can get some stuff even half as good as yours.

Most important, Get close; most like to see face shots and the water looking like ice. Early shots (before they breathe) are real good also; the swimmer appears to be shrink wrapped in cellophane. Don’t worry too much about getting all arms or hands completely in the frame, if you have the face tack sharp the image works.

Don’t use an Extender, to slow. Cuts down the keeper rate

I’ve spent a few years shooting only aquatics per say, and have built a nice library of images. I shoot with 20D and 1dmIIn body and my prim lens is 300mm f/2.8L IS or 70-200 IS. I shoot any where am allowed to be. Most of the time if it’s within my range of filling 40% of my frame I start shooting no matter where I am, standing or kneeling.

Swimming shots are best during long cores, it give you a better angle at getting more swimmers in one frame.

freestyle,
I watch to see witch side the swimmier is breathing from on there flip turn to insure face time and then shoot standing at a 45 degree to the swimmer with my camera at a 20 degree in my hand to give the appearance their swimming up hill, And shoot low if you want other swimmers in the frame.

Breast
has to be the easiest of all, they have to come up every stroke, I prefer a side shot but right in line with the swimmer looks good also, low or high both work.

Fly
works best from the side if you want a tight crop and other swimmers in the shot,But a straight on face shot works well.

Back
is the hardest to get, most of the time the swimmer is splashing water over their face, so I shoot it from the side mostly. Back is great if you’re standing in lane 1 and shooting lane 1, then shoot them streamlining under the water as you walk the deck just keep shooting and shooting.

I shoot manual because Aperture or Shutter prioritys gives you very inconstant exposures due to the light changing with the plashes.

One trade secrete that I will share with you, but don’t tell any one else; I shoot many daytime images with my 580EX, CP-E3 battery pack in highsink mode and 1/3 to 2/3 stop Under, this makes the water look more like ice and stand out of the images.

But don't flash the Starts, very bad.;)

Samples
http://www.tesoroaquatics.com/proposal/index.html

Averages

Out Side
Al-Servo
1600th
Iso 400
Spot metering on the face
Burst of 3 to 4 frames

Indoors
Al-Servo
F2.8
320th
Iso 1600
Spot metering on the face
Burst of 3 to 4 frames

[tbfoto]

Ive been shooting swim meets myself the past couple weeks. If I were you I would use your 80-200 2.8. Most swim areas are dark so I shoot Manual ...iso @ 3200 f2.8 and around 1/320 to 1/400th.

Tom

[phocalphobe]

terrific tips there webmonkey, and as others have mentioned, nice gallery.

very nice of you to offer such valuable insight.

[WebMonkey]

I would like to thank you all for the nice comments.

[hawk911]

the gallery looks like you are shooting outside, not indoors. the indoor lighting at my high school assignments sucks.

[Bill Pham]

wow i just saw this post. forgot all about it. but thanks to webmonkey i got some decent shot of my neice at her swim meet. she's happy with them so i guess that whats count.

Bill

[Phil Light]

the gallery looks like you are shooting outside, not indoors. the indoor lighting at my high school assignments sucks.

I stepped in to shoot my first swim meet Saturday evening and my first though was "You've GOT to be kidding me!" That's the worst lighting I've ever tried to shoot in. Luckily I did manage to get some keepers. I had to shoot at 3200 ISO, 320 sec. That still gave me some dark results. Thank goodness for raw and Noiseware.

[fourthturn]

I've been using the settings discussed in this post with great success, expect in very bright sunlight outdoors, or with light shining in through windows indoors. If I'm in the shade outside or under artificial lighting inside, everything is fine. If I've got a lot of bright sunlight, the pictures all look very washed out. Any suggestions on what setting I should adjust for direct sunlight? The only place I found where I was off of the settings suggested was that metering was partial instead of spot metering. Could this be causing the problem? I'm no expert on all of these setting and how to combine them, so any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

[Phil Light]

Welcome to the forum! I haven't tried to shoot in the situation you're describing so I'll be anxious to see if anyone has some good advice for you.

[fourthturn]

Here's an example of what I'm talking about:

http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk100/watermocs/Windwood%206%2017%202008/121-2153_IMG.jpg

In this photo, the afternoon sun in shining in through several large, opaque windows on the right side of the photo. Every shot I took gave this washed out look. Once the sun started to set, everything looked normal.

I still very new to shooting swim meets and using manual settings, so any advice is appreciated.