I'm so miserable

[QUOTE=sega62;13270923​]Sorry Dave, you are right but I will see the players so small, my question is if I use a 100-400 is from Canon and I zoom, I will need a lot of light!!!!/quote]

You *might* get enough light out those arena lights to use the 100-400, but I highly doubt it. At f/5.6, you probably won't be able to get your shutter to 1/400 or better,, even at ISO 6400; try opening up with the lenses you do have and see what sorts of shutter speeds you can get to.

OK Here ya go, the reason you shots are off is because you have not metered the scene correctly.
Get low first of all, and then use the longest lens you own to meter off directly off of the ice first of all then meter off of the darkest jersy.

The ice will give you the brightest reflection and jersy the darkest. Split the difference. If the ice reads at ISO 1000 1/500 sec, at f/8 and the jersey reads at ISO 1000 at 1/500 sec at 2.8 then try an exposure of 1/500 sec @ f4 or so. Shoot the subjects around center ice, and stay out of the corners(they get dark). Try this as an alternative take meter readings off of your hand at or near center ice prior to the game and use that as a baseline exposure. Use the fastest shutter speed you can squeeze out. Don't meter with the dark background in the frame, it will fool your meter.

LBaldwin wrote in post #13271098
OK Here ya go, the reason you shots are off is because you have not metered the scene correctly.
Get low first of all, and then use the longest lens you own to meter off directly off of the ice first of all then meter off of the darkest jersy.

The ice will give you the brightest reflection and jersy the darkest. Split the difference. If the ice reads at ISO 1000 1/500 sec, at f/8 and the jersey reads at ISO 1000 at 1/500 sec at 2.8 then try an exposure of 1/500 sec @ f4 or so. Shoot the subjects around center ice, and stay out of the corners(they get dark). Try this as an alternative take meter readings off of your hand at or near center ice prior to the game and use that as a baseline exposure. Use the fastest shutter speed you can squeeze out. Don't meter with the dark background in the frame, it will fool your meter.

Thanks, I never knew how to use that kind of reading, THANKS!!!!

That is actually an old SI trick. You shoot nighttime football the same way. If you meter is reading the BG more than about 60% of the total viewfinder then your exposure will be way off. Kodak also published a photographers field guide that gives baseline exposures for many situtaions. They don't publish it anymore but you can often pick one up at an old camera store or perhaps on line. They were designed for film not digital but they wheel calculator is pretty darn handy to have. It's old school but it still works.

Now, you really need to learn all about exposure. You are trying to tackle a subject that is difficult for a newbie. And yes if you don't know your exsposure you are a newbie. Look at sports photography and read read read. It's not about gear, it's about the meter between your ears. That is your greatest tool. And right now your skills need sharpening. Get busy and show us what you can learn.

LBaldwin wrote in post #13271267
That is actually an old SI trick. You shoot nighttime football the same way. If you meter is reading the BG more than about 60% of the total viewfinder then your exposure will be way off. Kodak also published a photographers field guide that gives baseline exposures for many situtaions. They don't publish it anymore but you can often pick one up at an old camera store or perhaps on line. They were designed for film not digital but they wheel calculator is pretty darn handy to have. It's old school but it still works.

Now, you really need to learn all about exposure. You are trying to tackle a subject that is difficult for a newbie. And yes if you don't know your exsposure you are a newbie. Look at sports photography and read read read. It's not about gear, it's about the meter between your ears. That is your greatest tool. And right now your skills need sharpening. Get busy and show us what you can learn.

I will try not to let you down on givin me great tips, thanks and I will look for that wheel of fortune !

Why on earth were you using f/20 and f/22?

sega62 wrote in post #13271009
Sure will, I should be in a trio with Beavis and Butthead!

Haha! It's all downhill from here. After shooting f/22 indoors, it can only get better. Good luck on the next one and make sure you post the 2.8 pics in here.

Drozz119 wrote in post #13271457
Haha! It's all downhill from here. After shooting f/22 indoors, it can only get better. Good luck on the next one and make sure you post the 2.8 pics in here.

Thanks mate!

Hey everybody here makes misteaks..er mistakes.. lol. That is how we learn. My very first MLB shoot went great, I had three bodies, 500 4.5 great creds... and never put film in the body on the lens.. Missed the first 1.5 innings... poopoo occurs.

LBaldwin wrote in post #13271997
Hey everybody here makes misteaks..er mistakes.. lol. That is how we learn. My very first MLB shoot went great, I had three bodies, 500 4.5 great creds... and never put film in the body on the lens.. Missed the first 1.5 innings... poopoo occurs.

Film? What's that?

sega62 wrote in post #13270998
How about the word idiot, would that suit's me fine!!!
Gee, I feel like a ass

Don't beat yourself up too much. We all make mistakes. The best thing when shooting sports at a new venue is to setup your camera BEFORE showing up, then minor tweaking during the shoot.

For example, standard HS gym settings for basketball is f/2 on the aperture, 1/640 on the shutter then raise or lower ISO until proper exposure is achieved.

Try your 100-400 lens next time. Set lens wide open, dial up 1/500 on the shutter (might be a tad slow, but a decent place to start) and when you get to the stands, simply adjust your ISO setting until you have decent exposure. If exposure is good and you see motion blur on action shots, up the shutter speed to 1/640 and up the ISO another stop.

Easy money once you get the aperture and shutter speed down. Only other consideration is ISO setting to get good exposure.

dave

LBaldwin wrote in post #13271997
Hey everybody here makes misteaks..er mistakes.. lol. That is how we learn. My very first MLB shoot went great, I had three bodies, 500 4.5 great creds... and never put film in the body on the lens.. Missed the first 1.5 innings... poopoo occurs.

Boy, ain't that the truth. The OP is new so he has an excuse. I was shooting volleyball last night and for some reason my focus was set on one shot instead of servo. It took me a while (longer than I'll admit) before I was able to figure out why my camera wasn't tracking the way it should. Yikes, that was dumb.

Phil

Zivnuska wrote in post #13272686
Boy, ain't that the truth. The OP is new so he has an excuse. I was shooting volleyball last night and for some reason my focus was set on one shot instead of servo. It took me a while (longer than I'll admit) before I was able to figure out why my camera wasn't tracking the way it should. Yikes, that was dumb.

Phil

I think my day started bad yesterday, when I wnt on taking pics, I noticed my battery was dead, cause I must haved letf the power on overnight, another 2 hours for charging that damn battery(well it seemed like 2 hours).

sega62 wrote in post #13272712
I think my day started bad yesterday, when I wnt on taking pics, I noticed my battery was dead, cause I must haved letf the power on overnight, another 2 hours for charging that damn battery(well it seemed like 2 hours).

You'll learn to recognize the signs and park the camera, eventually We've all done it; and it can be anything from shooting a wonderful series of daylight shots, only to realize you shot them all at ISO 6400 and they're grainy as hell; to not realizing your brand new camera is in "demo" mode and shooting all day without a card in the slot Heck, do a thread search for some of the 'whoops' moments around here and you'll feel a whole lot better

Yep. I recently shot 1/2 a game (JV HS football) with my shutter speed set to 1/8000th and ISO at 12,800 in daylight. That was the 1st game. The 2nd game (varsity) I realized the camera was not tracking the action and after thinking the camera had gone loco, I realized I had the pre-focus switched on the lens, so not only did I shoot the 1st game at ISO 12,800, but most were out of focus, as well as the 2nd game. What a day.

Snydremark wrote in post #13273962
...We've all done it; and it can be anything from shooting a wonderful series of daylight shots, only to realize you shot them all at ISO 6400 and they're grainy as hell...