Gymnastics shoot, questions/tips

I am possibly doing a gymnastics shoot this weekend. Being I've never done gymnastics, is there anything I should do different from any other indoor event? How about the use of flash in case lighting is low? How about positioning?

It is going to be at a casino here in Rhode Island, and I've never been there before, so I have no idea how the lighting is going to be. Take a look at my gear list if you want, it all fits in my backpack so I will take all of it.

Thanks!!

Hey, Ken.....

No flash allowed, so put your fastest glass on that Mark IV body

Here's an old thread that contains some pretty decent gymnastics shooting info:

https://photography-on-the.net …2894&highlight=​gymnastics


Good Luck!

If you have floor access and lighting is sub-optimal, the 85/1.8 is going to be your workhorse. If there's good light, you might end up just sticking the 70-200 on there and shooting the whole meet with it. I doubt flash will be allowed, but you can ask.

Fligi7 wrote in post #13978668
If you have floor access and lighting is sub-optimal, the 85/1.8 is going to be your workhorse. If there's good light, you might end up just sticking the 70-200 on there and shooting the whole meet with it. I doubt flash will be allowed, but you can ask.

No, they already said no flash, which I assumed anyway. I do all of my indoor stuff with no flash, wouldn't think this would be any different, but I found out about the flash after I posted. And I believe I will have floor access. They are clearing that right now and should know by Thursday. I think it will be fun, something different.

It's certainly fast-paced. You have several events happening concurrently in possibly different lighting, depending where the equipment is set up under the lighting areas. So, it's a combination of planning out which events you want to cover for which individuals and being able to move seamlessly between them as something is almost always going on at one or more areas and you don't want to get in the way of judges, equipment, or other photographers. The first time can be very hectic. One of my first times with floor access was a quad-meet. It felt like a circus. Good luck to you. Don't forget to bring lens cloths and lens cleaner as well. The airborne chalk is very attracted to the lenses.

Fligi7 wrote in post #13978764
Don't forget to bring lens cloths and lens cleaner as well. The airborne chalk is very attracted to the lenses.

Oh yea, never thought of that! Thanks for that tip! (and the other tips as well...)

Are you shooting all the kids, a couple kids, or just one kid or one team. That will determine how flexible you need to be - how often you can plan to change lenses.

Use zooms for floor and possibly vault. Use primes for everything else. You reeeealllllyyyy need the speed of the primes to stop the motion. Being on the floors allows you to use the foot zoom.

If you are shooting from the floor start with the 85 1.8. Remember to get shots with the kids sitting together, chalking up, stretching - close ups of just the hands, etc. Get shots with the coaches in the view - coaches instructing the kids. Get unique perspectives - camera at floor level for example.

Knowing gymnastics and the routines helps as you can time the shots. Set your ISO and shoot AV.

If you have the room (back) - considering setting one camera up with the zooms (24-70, 70-200) and the other with the primes (50 and 85). Or if you are just shooting a team - set one up for video and the other for stills. Set the video up on a tripod and use the other hand held. Need to scout locations.

A few more things - with contrasty backgrounds (think gyms with striped walls and lots of equipment everywhere) it is often hard to get a proper focus with the narrow depth of field. As I am just shooting my kid and his team - i pre-focus using the viewing screen for rings, p-bars, pommel, high bar. It my not be as hard to focus if you are on the floor.

I'm not sure what I'm shooting. I've been taking my son here for about 3 years, and saw today that a big tournament is coming this weekend. They know I shoot sports, so I asked if they wanted someone to shoot. They were interested, but they had to clear it.

I believe they said a parent shoots for them, so I want to be careful not to step on toes, so that's why I asked first. I'm not going to push it. If they want me, I will go. I kinda hope they do because I've never done it before and it seems like it will be interesting and fun.

I just figured I ask here in case they wanted me to, just so I can walk in there with an idea in mind. And I assume that over 900 competitors will be there that they would want me to focus on their team. And they are the hosts for it as well.

I always ask around, just to get my foot in the door. Who knows where it will lead...

If you are on the floor - USGA requires you take training. Ask the team. Training is available on the USGA website.

I doubt you will have floor access unless your team is hosting the meet.

camera dude wrote in post #13983664
If you are on the floor - USGA requires you take training. Ask the team. Training is available on the USGA website.

I doubt you will have floor access unless your team is hosting the meet.

They are...

I will check the website. Thanks!

A technique that an old pro reminded me of when I had been out of the sports photography for about 10 years - focus on the vault/bar/end of the beam - and then shut your auto focus off and let the athlete come through your focus "window." Tried it a couple of different times at the state gymnastics meet that I covered two weekends ago and had pretty good results!
If you have the time - hop on my site and look under High School Sports 2011-12 and check out some of the photos! If you have any questions, feel free to email me directly and maybe I can offer some advice!

This is good advice for shooting vault and uneven bars. You really have to nail focus directly on the bar or vault, though, if you'll be shooting with the 85 1.8 as you don't have very much DoF wide open.

sdsportsshooter wrote in post #13995140
A technique that an old pro reminded me of when I had been out of the sports photography for about 10 years - focus on the vault/bar/end of the beam - and then shut your auto focus off and let the athlete come through your focus "window." Tried it a couple of different times at the state gymnastics meet that I covered two weekends ago and had pretty good results!
If you have the time - hop on my site and look under High School Sports 2011-12 and check out some of the photos! If you have any questions, feel free to email me directly and maybe I can offer some advice!

Cool tip, I'll try it. But also, would focusing on the gymnast work as well? I'm just afraid I'll miss something... for example, the beam... if I am focused at the center, but she is on the far or near side and she flips, I'd still be focused on the center of the beam. Does that make sense?

Also, I checked your shots, very nice! What gear did you use? I've never been to this place before, but I have a 1D4 and a 7D, so I'm pretty-much covered if there's low light.

kenjancef wrote in post #13997621
Cool tip, I'll try it. But also, would focusing on the gymnast work as well? I'm just afraid I'll miss something... for example, the beam... if I am focused at the center, but she is on the far or near side and she flips, I'd still be focused on the center of the beam. Does that make sense?

Also, I checked your shots, very nice! What gear did you use? I've never been to this place before, but I have a 1D4 and a 7D, so I'm pretty-much covered if there's low light.

This doesn't apply for beam, which is why I said it's good advice for vault (where you only care about the vault and possibly the landing area) and uneven bars (if you want to catch the person on one of the bars in particular). You'll want to track the gymnasts with constant AF on beam and floor routines.

Fligi7 wrote in post #13997671
This doesn't apply for beam, which is why I said it's good advice for vault (where you only care about the vault and possibly the landing area) and uneven bars (if you want to catch the person on one of the bars in particular). You'll want to track the gymnasts with constant AF on beam and floor routines.

I missed that post... sorry..

I think the only day I can go is tomorrow, and it's a full day of events, starting at 8am, so I'll get there as early as I can and see what's up.