Disc Golf shooting help

I take pictures for the disc golf magazine Disc Golf World and just recently switched from a Canon G5 to a Canon 20D. I used to take pictures for the magazine with a film SLR but found I could get the same results with the G5 but without all the costs of processing. The biggest reason for the switch to the 20D was to get 5 fps and for a better tool for my photography hobby pursuits.

Enough with the background, here is my question. I have attended a couple of tournaments to practice with the 20D. I have mostly shot the action in sports mode. While some shots have come out good some have not focused on the subject. I usually setup on the edge of the fairway or in the rough somewhere in front of the player and pan slightly with their run up and throw. Most players use a 3 to 5 step approach and they are throwing 300 to 450 feet most of the time. At the release point their arms are going about the same speed as a baseball pitcher. My tendency is to start with the player in the far left or right side of the frame and take continuous photos from the time that they start their runnup until they release. By giving more frame to the front of the player I am more likely to have the disc released but still in frame in one of the pictues. However, this usually results in the camera focusing on the background and not the player. Can anyone suggest a different mode or method? I'll post a couple of pictures from home this evening if that would help.

Thanks!

Shooting in sports mode is ok, but it won't truely harness the power of what the camera is capable of.

First you probably need to shoot in AV mode (aperature priority) with the aperature set wide open. Next you need to set the ISO down to the lowest setting possible to still get good clear pictures (assuming your outdoors and the subject is in bright sunlight it should be somewhere between 100 & 400). This should give the the highest shutter speed possible so you won't have to worry about motion blur.

Next the focus. there is a button on the top right of your camera (the zoom in button if your looking at pictures). This button also lets you select which point in your cross hairs you want to focus on. I'm assuming that currently the focus is set to focus on any of the cross hairs. You want to set it to focus only on the center position. You press the AF select ( the zoom in button) and if you look through your viewfinder you should see the ref focus light(s). Use you click wheel to select only the center point and depress the shutter to confirm.

These are all the things that I did to improve the quality of my soccer shots. If you're finding you want to have a little more depth to your photo's just use a higher f stop.

What's disc golf?

Thanks for the tips. I can't wait to try them out.

I try to shoot in the sun as much as possible. I usually walk the course backwards to get a variety of shots of a variety of people. However that can sometimes lead to shooting in dense woods which I have found to not be very conducive to getting good action pictures. Now I try to learn the course before hand and walk the course backwards but in modified loops so that I'm never in the darkest woods holes.

I used to shoot with a Minolta X-700 and I shot completely manual so that I could control the depth of field myself on the fly. I was pretty good changing the f-stop on the fly and using my right thumb to dial up or down on the shutter speed. It's going to take me a while to get used to an all electronic SLR!

markgardner wrote in post #2036372
What's disc golf?

Also known as "Frisbee Golf" but Whammo likes to think that they own the name "Frisbee" so we tend to refer to it by its generic name which is disc golf. I'll post some pics tonight so you can see what it is.

DaDeuce, do you recommend an AF mode?

I've been shooting in AI servo mode. Basically if you continue to hold the shutter button halfway down it will keep refocusing on your subject.

Here's a picture of a disc golf drive and a disc golf putt. In the putting picture you can see the "basket" or target that is being putted into. These are not necessarily my best pictures but please feel free to comment and critique. I took about 700 pictures on Sunday and haven't looked at all of them yet. Next weekend is US Women's Disc Golf Championships and I hope to put DaDeuce's tips to good use. Thanks!

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Thanks for the tips. I am a disc golfer myself and I am planning to take pictures of my friends tomorrow on the coarse. I will be sure to post some if I get any good shots.

Thanks again for the tips and looking forward to seeing more pics so I can compare what I take.

What is disc golf?

It's awesome.


But as for shooting it, you can shoot one shot really easily since there isn't a ton of position change. Try opening up your aperture to isolate it a bit, as well as get more space between the subject and the background to isolate him as well. How did you start shooting for that mag? Are you a pretty great dg'er as well?

As a disc golfer myself, Ive been thinking many times good ways to capture some action. Never just managed to take camera with me There are some good tips above but here are few what Ive been thinking. For power throws (300+ feet) I´d use something like 70-200mm and I would place myself in front and to other side of players. Of course to safe place as the disc can do some serious damage when it hits. If the player throws the disc with right arm (back hand), I´d shoot from their left side but still more in front that from the side. This way you can capture more facial expressions and the body is facing you. This is of course the moment when they release the grip. If you want to capture moment after the release, then you should be on players right side as the torso rotates to the right. This way you can also avoid shadows. Use large aperture to isolate the player from background and this way you can get faster SS as well. This should work also for fairway drives and approaches.
For putts I´d try to avoid other players and bags on background. Also large aperture is good to isolate the background. You can try to focus on the basket and use aperture large enough to make to player little bit OOF. Or do it other way, the player in focus and the basket OOF. Try and find what works best for you. For me as a dics golfer and photographer the most interesting moments are the distance drives and putts. Those gives the best expressions IMO.
Please post your pics when you have the time. The pics you posted are too pixelated due to high jpeg compression IMO. Next time try to use lower compression settings

Oddly enough, I have taken photos of this before also. My friend was running a tournament locally and needed some photos. I shot with a 70-200 2.8 IS the whole time and was happy with the results. I shot as fast as I could, pretty much always at 2.8. Here are some examples:

Hey pdga10246, I am a disgolfer as well. You don't see to many threads for discgolf here.
I use av mode when I shoot as well. The shots I have posted are with 70-200 f/2.8
I set up the camera for my wife and told her where to point it and when to push the button.

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And two more.

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^^
Bottom shot above looks like it was dead on target to clear that tree and fade up near the basket. Thanks for sharing. I love the first one in the series which looks like it was shot from ground level.