Volleyball

Going to go shoot some indoor volleyball tomorrow. I am thinking I should use my 70-200mm lens. Any suggestions on settings?

seaninsa wrote in post #14091722
Going to go shoot some indoor volleyball tomorrow. I am thinking I should use my 70-200mm lens. Any suggestions on settings?

Depends on the light.

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What metering do you recommend?

seaninsa wrote in post #14092200
What metering do you recommend?

As already mentioned, incident metering - using a separate light meter.

Incident metering is the practice of using a light meter to measure the light that falls on the subject, and using the meter reading to decide what settings to put on the camera in manual exposure mode. Incident metering is the most accurate method to set a camera for the sort of light you'll find in a gymnasium shown in this thread's sample pictures.

In a gym, incident metering and manual exposure settings work better than in-camera metering, and the combination is especially useful where there may be bright light sources in a gym - such as the illuminated advertising signs that can fool a camera's internal metering.

Would you use spot, evaluative, or center metering? AI Servo I am guessing.

If you're shooting inside a gym, the lighting should be pretty constant, so I'd highly recommend using manual exposure, thereby making the camera's metering moot. Obviously, an incident light meter is going to be the best way to get a proper exposure, but if you don't have one, I certainly wouldn't rush out and buy one just for this. Here are a couple other techniques.

1. Set your camera to manual and choose your smallest aperture along with your desired ISO/shutter speed combo to get a proper exposure using a grey card (at least 1/500 on the shutter, and whatever ISO you need to achieve that).

2. Make an educated guess on the ISO and shutter speed and take a couple test shots. Then, use your histogram to check your exposure. If possible, take a picture that includes both a white and black object in the frame to make sure you're not clipping details in the highlights or shadows.

As for AI Servo. . .Yes!

Also, if the gym is lit with fluorescent or compact fluorescent bulbs, you'll want to keep your shutter speeds "on cycle" with the lights or you'll see really weird lighting artifacts (different light levels for the same shots, etc). IIRC, those run at 60hz, so you need shutter speeds that are multiples of 1/60 (1/60, 1/120, 1/240, etc).

This is just recollection of troubles I've seen; hopefully someone that's actually shot in these conditions can clarify that one.

I shoot for fun and shoot manual in gyms for volley ball and there is never enough light – so there can be tradeoffs.

I try for a shutter speed faster than 1/500, ISO no greater than 1600 maybe 3200 and the fastest f stop on my lens (I primarily use a manual focus Nikkor 180 2.8 or Canon FD 135 2). I let the camera choose the White Balance and shoot in RAW or sometimes JPEG (depending on how much I want to put into post processing).

I rely on my camera’s LCD for feedback on rough exposure. I tend to leave the settings for the gym but will make adjustments throughout the day if I notice changes to exposure.

I find hitters, the center and setter easiest to shoot. I also find it easier to shoot the server. Defensive players are harder to manual focus on (they move around the court too much).

Snydremark wrote in post #14098982
Also, if the gym is lit with fluorescent or compact fluorescent bulbs, you'll want to keep your shutter speeds "on cycle" with the lights or you'll see really weird lighting artifacts (different light levels for the same shots, etc). IIRC, those run at 60hz, so you need shutter speeds that are multiples of 1/60 (1/60, 1/120, 1/240, etc).

This is just recollection of troubles I've seen; hopefully someone that's actually shot in these conditions can clarify that one.

You are correct in that most of these lights cycle at 1/60th, but the only way you'll get a consistent color balance without strobes is to shoot at 1/60th, 1/30th, 1/15th, which is not fast enough for any type of action. The lights go through their full spectrum every 1/60th of a second, so if you shoot at 1/60th, your sensor will see the full spectrum, 1/30th and it will see the full spectrum twice. Anything faster than 1/60th, and your sensor is freezing the ambient somewhere in the middle of the full spectrum, which is why if you shoot a burst of 10 frames at 1/250th sec, you'll have a different color cast in almost every image. The only way to get consistent color, shooting under these lights, is to use strobes to overpower the ambient. Unfortunately, strobes are almost never allowed at Volleyball matches.

RSB wrote in post #14099458
You are correct in that most of these lights cycle at 1/60th, but the only way you'll get a consistent color balance without strobes is to shoot at 1/60th, 1/30th, 1/15th, which is not fast enough for any type of action. The lights go through their full spectrum every 1/60th of a second, so if you shoot at 1/60th, your sensor will see the full spectrum, 1/30th and it will see the full spectrum twice. Anything faster than 1/60th, and your sensor is freezing the ambient somewhere in the middle of the full spectrum, which is why if you shoot a burst of 10 frames at 1/250th sec, you'll have a different color cast in almost every image. The only way to get consistent color, shooting under these lights, is to use strobes to overpower the ambient.

Correct.

Therefore, shoot RAW so you can correct the white balance variations in post. Some will shoot with as slow a shutter speed as 1/500 but faster is better. A SS of 1/800 is nearly ideal if you can get that fast. Part of that choice will depend on how much light is present, the largest aperture available and the max usable ISO for your camera body.

I shoot VB in manual. Take a few test shots and check the skin tones. Chimp and adjust as necessary for proper skin exposure. If that is correct, then the uniforms will be fine.

The 70-200 is a fine lens for volleyball--especially if it is the f/2.8 If I had to shoot with just one lens, that would be it. The f/4.0 version can work but obviously you sacrifice a stop of light and usually you need all the light you can get.

Other lenses can work.

Think faces and read the tutorial by Big K. He is a master of shooting volleyball.

https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=767866

There's lots of challenges in shooting volleyball. Shoot and post. Study your results and repeat. It may take you a few times before you master the subtleties of photographing this fast paced game. During the preseason, I'll get permission from the coach to go to a practice just so I can work on my timing. You might have a better sense of timing than me but I find that I need to work on my timing to give me a better chance of getting that image at the proper moment.

Phil

https://photography-on-the.net …/showthread.php​?t=1091324

Shooting Raw is almost an absolute necessity. Not to offend the jpegs shooters here, but shooting under cycling lights is one of those occasions where Raw will really make a huge difference. Process for skin tones and uniforms, then the Hue/Saturation sliders in PS will do wonders with removing any background cast.

Zivnuska wrote in post #14099982
Correct.
Think faces and read the tutorial by Big K. He is a master of shooting volleyball.

https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=767866

There's lots of challenges in shooting volleyball. Shoot and post. Study your results and repeat. It may take you a few times before you master the subtleties of photographing this fast paced game. During the preseason, I'll get permission from the coach to go to a practice just so I can work on my timing. You might have a better sense of timing than me but I find that I need to work on my timing to give me a better chance of getting that image at the proper moment.

Phil

https://photography-on-the.net …/showthread.php​?t=1091324

Thanks, you have a very good writeup and I found Phil's information useful.

I am still learning, but one thing VB helps with is getting lots of practice with my camera and that helps with non VB or non action shots. I think I will never be able to walk into a gym again without trying to asses the light - there is never enough.

Steve

Here are some of my pictures from my first attempt at shooting Volleyball. The lighting varied from location to location in the gym. I was shooting at iso 6400 and f2.8. Depending on where I located myself the fastest shutter speed I could get was 1/500th.