Lacrosse

I have been retained to shoot a huge lacrosse tournament in a couple of months. The only problem (gulp) is that I have never shot lacrosse. I will go to some games prior to the tournament to try to get a sense but any pointers would be appreciated...please!

What level are you shooting, youth, HS, college, or pro? As I'm sure is obvious, the action moves much faster as you go up that list. I shoot a lot of HS and youth lacrosse, and I try not to shoot any lower than 1/1000. You get a nice perspective of the offensive action shooting from the end line, but you have to really be on your toes, as those balls travel fast and they are hard. Shooting from the goal line will give you some nice shots of action around the cage. I also shoot from around the 25 yard line. You can get the action coming up the field as well as a good angle in on the cage.

Mk1Racer wrote in post #12130694
I also shoot from around the 25 yard line. You can get the action coming up the field as well as a good angle in on the cage.

That's my sweet spot too, especially with a long lens. I stay on the right-side 25-yd line so I can keep my left-eye open and follow the action in my peripheral vision as I track the ball through the 600mm soda straw. 600mm is too long though, except for single-player isolation (great for youth sales to mom, but not so much for editorial action and game coverage). 400mm would probably be more than enough to get good eyes. Mix it up with 200-300 to get some good offensive/defensive interaction in the same frame.

As usual, get low. I kneel about 5 yards behind the sideline. This gives the officials and coaches plenty of room to run by. And with a long lens, there no reason to be right up on the edge of the field. The risk of players running, diving, getting pushed into you decreases dramatically.

You'll probably find that you want your selected focus point to be a little lower than you would use for football, basketball, soccer, etc. That's because you want to leave space in the frame above the player's head so you can get the stick and ball.

And some of the guy's team...

Mk1Racer wrote in post #12130694
What level are you shooting, youth, HS, college, or pro? As I'm sure is obvious, the action moves much faster as you go up that list. I shoot a lot of HS and youth lacrosse, and I try not to shoot any lower than 1/1000. You get a nice perspective of the offensive action shooting from the end line, but you have to really be on your toes, as those balls travel fast and they are hard. Shooting from the goal line will give you some nice shots of action around the cage. I also shoot from around the 25 yard line. You can get the action coming up the field as well as a good angle in on the cage.

Thanks, I assumed nothing less than1/1600 which is where I shoot soccer. The tournament has u-11 through u-19.

Clarence,

Thanks, my plan was 70-200 and either 300 or 400 fixed.