Son's first swim meet.....what setting to use and any creative ideas??

Hi all,

Like the title says, my son's first swim meet is next week and I'm planning on taking a bunch of pics. I figure there will be a mix of him on the starting block and action shots. I'll be using a Canon 7D and trying out my new Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 and (and Speedlite 430EX II if necessary). Any feedback on settings I should be thinking about ahead of time and/or shots to look for would be much appreciated as I really don't want to mess these up due to being a newbie. Thanks for your input!!

I don't think the flash will do you any good unless you're on the pool deck taking shots.

Put your camera in AI servo with center focus point. I use back-button-focusing, but if you're not used to that, I'd play around a bit before trying to use it in action. Have at least 1/500 shutter speed. Set your aperture to 2.8 or 3.2 and adjust iso to get good exposure.

HTH

How much light will you be working with? Will they let you get close enough for effective flash pictures? I would plan on leaving the flash at home. If you can get into to venue, take test exposures without the flash. Find out what your highest ISO is without noise and reduced dynamic range becoming objectionable. Then shoot at Av at f/4.0. That would be my plan. Make sure your lens is set to panning stabilizing (#2).

If they use electronic timing device they won't allow the use of flash.

Absolutely leave the flash at home. And make sure you disable the flash on the camera. One picture with flash at the start of the race and you may be asked to leave. They use a flash to start the races and the officials get testy when you cause a false start! Never did it, but seen folks who have regretted it.

If the race is indoors, I would start at f/3.2, 1/1000th -1/1250th for most events. Raise ISO until you hit a good exposure. I recommend you shoot in RAW until you get used to metering. The spectral highlights on the water can cause some funky exposures, so definitely shoot in Manual.

The hardest part of shooting swim is the timing. You really need to understand the sport and be able to predict what the swimmers are going to do.

Thank you guys - especially for the warning on the flash!

If anyone has some favorite examples, I'd love to see 'em......

If you want to know if flash is permitted, ASK. Don't automatically assume that you can or can't. Simply go to the person responsible for conducting the event and explain that you want to photograph your son and ask if you can use flash and if there are any restrictions that could affect your photography that you need to be aware of. Most officials will welcome and appreciate the opportunity to discuss those things before the event.

The following shot was taken (flashed) using two Alien Bee B800 Strobes. Yes, electronic timing was used at this venue and the flashes didn't bother anything.
.

IMAGE LINK: http://s137.photobucke​t.com …ia/2011/PZIV388​4.jpg.html

IMAGE LINK: http://s137.photobucke​t.com …ia/2011/PZIV418​1.jpg.html

If you need creative ideas for any sport, a good starting point is the ESPN photo wire. There you can see what pros are trying to sell. You'll be surprised that a lot of the images are boring but there will also be some good ideas to try.


http://espn.go.com …s/wire/_/id/190​0/swimming

Phil

As a few have already said, you might be better not using your flash, but if it is allowed it might be worth having a play with it during the warm up - if you're not happy with the results, or not confident using it, then don't. I took some at a couple of recent galas for our local swimming club, my first real attempts at swimming photography indoors, here are some of my pictures

https://photography-on-the.net …/showthread.php​?t=1351840

As I said, these were my first proper attempts, so I did some research on the net to give me some ideas for settings, and I finished up using my 60D body with a 70-200 f4 lens, RAW, AV mode at f4 with the ISO at somewhere between 1600 to 6400 to give me a shutter speed fast enough to freeze the action. Focus mode was A1 Servo, focus point was either centre or extreme left / right of the diamond shape, depending on how I wanted to frame the shot.

Another tip is to take plenty of shots during the warm-up to check your settings, and finally...make sure you have a programme of events, this way you can make sure that you're in the right place at the right time for the stroke your son is swimming and also for the lane he is swimming in.

Thank you guys so much and please keep 'em coming!

Just one suggestion from me but that is to prefocus and plan on shooting 3-4 frames/image since the shot you'll want will be available for just a fraction of a second. Prefous is easy for swimming since the location of the swimmer will be very predictable and the plane of focus won't really change from your focus spot. I use the lane makers but use whatever works. Also, don't miss the "action" when they aren''t swimming. There's a story there too sometimes (below is an example hen my daughter knew she had a good time and looked to see if she got a PR).. OK, that's two suggestions, sorry.

this shot was done that way and made it much more likely I'd get a face in focus....

Great pics! The black and white really gives it a special touch too....especially that look in her eyes!

Everyone has a different technique and there are some good tips in this thread.

I shoot Av wide open and adjust the ISO to get the speed. I use One Shot/Center Point focus at the start and then switch to AI Servo/Center Point/Back Focus button to track the swimmer during the race, and I usually take 3-4 shots at a time. Most of our meets are at middle schools or high schools and the lighting is terrible, so I tend to shoot at high ISO but every once in a while, I get lucky and can lower my ISO or change my aperture or both.

Take some practice shots during warmups to get your settings right and to work on your timing. I also sometime use the prior heat to take some test shots and make sure everything is good.

namasste wrote in post #16623804
Also, don't miss the "action" when they aren''t swimming. There's a story there too sometimes

Agreed with the non swimming shots, I can't tell if she's smitten by his charms or bored to death.

Love your comment on that last one Laurent! As a dad with daughters, I hope its the latter.