HELP/ADVICE - HS Wrestling tomorrow

[saintlover]

I posted this in someone's photoshoot thread but am really hoping for some advice and quick... my son has his first HS match this weekend. I am looking for advise. I will be shooting with a canon xt - lens = 100mm f/2.0 USM - I have an external flash (480) also. I will be sitting mat side. What settings do you suggest - thanks so much.

In the other thread M setting and ISO 1600 was suggested but what aperture settings???

Thanks so much in advance!

[darosk]

I would say the lowest you can go while still maintaining a good shutter speed.

[saintlover]

k - i have NO Idea what I am doing, can you please be more specific? I need a base number to start with. I am getting really frustrated. Thanks in advance.

[dsul413]

aperture should be really low overall, as low as the lens goes. Whatever ISO you need to keep your shutter speed above 500 is pretty good.

[darosk]

Shoot wide open - at f/2.0 - the 100 f2 is known for being sharp wide open. Like Dan said, keep the shutter speed up because you want to freeze action for something like wrestling.

[saintlover]

Well, I am back from the tournament and things did not go well at all. Pictures are worse than if I had just shot full auto. I had a terrible time trying to get the lens to focus on wrestling and not the back ground. Most of the pictures ended up being of the refs face focused or the crowd focused. Not a single sharp photo. They are ABSOLUTELY horrible!

No flash, shot at f/2.8 1/250 ISO:1600 - anything over 1/500 was really really dark. Colors in the gym and lighting were awful! Who chooses to put yellow all over a gym... ugg!

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g124/lezigan/Zach/wrestling%2008-09/IMG_8993a.jpg

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g124/lezigan/Zach/wrestling%2008-09/IMG_9004a.jpg

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g124/lezigan/Zach/wrestling%2008-09/IMG_9174a.jpg

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g124/lezigan/Zach/wrestling%2008-09/IMG_9185a.jpg

What could I have done to fix these? I have never had a successful photo outside of the canon creative modes.

And to make matters worse, I cant get the colors to match what i see in lightroom to match what it exports...

[photojesse17]

I think these look ok but do not have the "pop" that I think you want. I see some were with the flash and some without, in my opinion you have to have your own light. Without it the faces will usually be in the shadows and that is not what you want. You need to shoot at a much lower iso than 1600 with your flash, try 320, 400 in that range the flash will compensate for the lower iso and boost power getting you 2 stops over the ambient light. Shoot at your fastest sync speed and if the xt has a center weighted metering mode use that to help the camera expose the wrestlers and not the background. For focus you need to use the * button and only one focus point (usually the center one) for wrestling, and really all sports. That will allow you to focus on the point that you want focused and then release it so focus does not move when the shutter is depressed. This takes practice, practice, practice to get the focus when it is behind arms, legs and refs. Pulse the * button to keep focus and it will be less apt to stray to the ref, stands, pretty girl in background.... Remember you have a shallow DOF when that close to the action shooting with a aperture of 2.8 so focus is critical. Get exposure correct and then shoot a custom white balance, have someone hold the card a average distance you would shoot out on the mat and at wrestler height.
Attached is a image I took today using a flash/w mini lumiquest softbox, mounted on a stroboframe lifted above the camera and to the side slightly (still get red eye sometimes.) ISO 320, shutter 300, flash exposure +1/3, camera exposure -1/3, f/2.8, center weight average metering. With out the flash you would not "see" as much of this image and thus it would not be as interesting.
I enjoy shooting wrestling, it is the one sport I find myself talking to the kids under my breath, ("nooooooo", "oh no, don't do that") it is a great sport. Hope this helps.

[Gatorboy]

I had a terrible time trying to get the lens to focus on wrestling and not the back ground.
Did you use a single focus point, or all?

Most of the pictures ended up being of the refs face focused or the crowd focused. Not a single sharp photo.
Did you use the back button * for focus and AI Servo?

No flash, shot at f/2.8 1/250 ISO:1600 - anything over 1/500 was really really dark. Colors in the gym and lighting were awful!
A custom white balance with a gray card would have worked wonders. It also is a great tool for determining exposure if you didn't have a light meter.

I highly recommend using off-camera strobes for wrestling. It's easy to setup and gives great results. Here's a shot I took last Tuesday night:

http://www.davehoffmannphoto.com/imageEngineer/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/JC_BL_WR_013.jpg

[saintlover]

Thank you so much Photojessie!

Yes the xt has center weigthed metering. I checked and had it set on "evaluate" so my first BIG no no. Fixed that. I was debating using a flash, I had my best results last year with a flash but didnt have a decent lens so the pictures werent as good. I am going to try out all your suggestions next weekend and will bring my laptop so I can see what things are looking like and can make adjustments between rounds.

I really appreciate you taking the time to write such a detailed response. great pic by the way.

[Gatorboy]

Yes the xt has center weigthed metering. I checked and had it set on "evaluate" so my first BIG no no.

Indoors, go with manual exposure. The light is consistent.

[saintlover]

Thanks Dave....

I used a single point (center) but had it set on evaluate. I did not use the * button.. tbh didnt even know about using it (I'm still a mega beginner) but just took a few test shots of my dogs using it and with out so will compare the difference.

How much do off camera strobes run? I am not sure I would be able to set something like that up - each school has ridiculous regulations and there will be some places I wont even be able to get mat side.

Great pictue - That is more what I was looking for! Thanks for the advice.

[Gatorboy]

How much do off camera strobes run? I am not sure I would be able to set something like that up - each school has ridiculous regulations and there will be some places I wont even be able to get mat side.

Two Vivitar 285HVs work great -- $90/each. You'll then need to get some transceivers to send/receive the fire signal. Do a search here and you'll find many posts -- or visit Strobist.com

I use Pocketwizards, but there are more inexpensive solutions out there as well.

[saintlover]

Thanks so much Dave.. I will certainly look into it! Sounds like it would be a very worth while (and minor) investment!

[saintlover]

Well he wrestled again and I am not impressed with the pix. I made as many adjustments as I could remember and think maybe the shutter speed should have been higher at 1/500 instead of 1/200 but they just look too dark when it is set there. Am I doing it wrong? There is no way I will be able to get strobes - hubby and son would have a fit and it would be too distracting to my son (just knowing) that I had them set up - he's sensitive to me photographing him to begin with.

With flash - 1/250 F/2.2 ISO 400 on Manual - as shot (except for sizing)
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g124/lezigan/Zach/wrestling%2008-09/IMG_9537-1.jpg

and unfortunately my son is that horridly pale color in the winter... I have ordered a grey card to do custom white balance for next weekends tournament. I had it set for center weighted focusing. My flash could not keep up with my camera (it wouldnt cycle fast enough so basically every other photo had flash when I started snapping like mad at the end.)

I used the * button for focusing and it seemed to help at least focus on the wrestlers. But the photos still dont have any sharpness at all. Its so frustrating.

HELP

[waynedsargent]

Are you use AI Servo?

[saintlover]

yes

[DDCSD]

Were you firing the flash direct or bouncing?

[saintlover]

Were you firing the flash direct or bouncing?

direct

[DDCSD]

It looks like your ambient light is still too bright then. You should set your camera to underexpose the ambient light by 2-4 stops, that way your flash will actually be stopping the action, and the ambient won't be contributing to the exposure. 1/200s is plenty fast if you get the ambient light underexposed and let the flash do the heavy lifting.

Also, get your aperture around f/5.6 for now. This will give you much more depth of field, getting more in focus, and allowing for slight focus errors.

Be sure to use good rechargable batteries, and put in a fresh set when your son is about to start. This will help with the recycle times.

As for the pale skin, not a whole lot you can do about that, kids get pale in the winter and when they wrestle they get red and splotchy. ;) You white balance doesn't look terribly off in that shot.

[Mbrescio]

You need lights. With all of the great info in this thread, it comes down to what everyone stated and needing lights. Don't worry about your son or the rest of the team, they will never know you are using lights. After they see the pictures that your are now producing with lights, they make sure you are at every match. Also, don't get down on your self, you are learning, I have been shooting wrestling for years and I'm stilling learning things about shooting indoors.