Golf Photography Help

Hi there,

I take photos of other sports, yet the British Par 3 Championships are taking place literally 300 yards away from my house so I guess it is my duty to go and take a look! I have permission to take photographs, I have read a few guides about not pressing the shutter while they're taking the shot! (That's right huh?) But I was wondering if you have anymore specific advice from experience, I'm sure there's some golf photographers out there!

Cheers!

where are the shots? nothing appears on your posts except your post itself. thanks for directing me to the shots.

Use a long lens so the shutter noise doesn't bother the players. I like to get a series using burst mode that shows the entire swing as well as some on the green of the player sizing up the shot.

I have tried to shoot some pics during golf outings, and the best ones I have gotten have been from behind the player, showing their view of the fairway/green. I usually take the shot after they swing, and are in their follow-thru. Probably not the best possible shot, but it is polite and shows what they were facing when they took the shot.

i wish i could shoot golf, last tournament i went to was the memorial tournament and they had a strict policy about cameras, cell phones were not even allowed.

Make sure you use a creative mode so that the flash will not fire. Otherwise, you will be thrown out of the club so fast you won't be able to cling to your gear.

I assume I can use flash after they've hit the ball?

This may be of use : http://www.sportsshoot​er.com/news/826

I wouldn't use a flash except maybe after the round.

I by no means consider myself an expert but I have a couple of galleries that you can look through for ideas. Some posters here have much better examples.

http://coloradosprings​.smugmug.com/Sports/21​8629

Bunker shots are fun. Try to get them just after they hit the ball and hopefully you will get a nice sand spray and maybe even the ball in the shot.

Great shots, Tandem. I remember seeing the Accushot pics on another thread.

Many thanks, I read up a bit out of it and obviously realise early shutters are a No-No. I'm going to leave the flash until they've finished playing!

The shoot is on Tuesday, down for low lighting and crappy weather with my F4 lense, gonna be OK?!

Thanks again, you've been very helpful guys.

I shoot a bunch of golf by not PGA events, and I don't have any desire to shoot the pro's. I shoot families to capture moments on the course. I'm granted full access to any country club because of a couple of reasons. The first is I do good work and the second is I'm a former golf pro and I understand the etiquette of not only the players but the course itself.

The best way for you to figure out what you want to shoot is to go purchase 3 or 4 golf magazines and see what is in them.

I'd shoot as close to wide open as possible with some pretty fast shutter speeds. You need as long a lens as you can get. If you can get at least 300mm away then they probably can not hear your shutter. I'll take shots during the swing as long as I'm far enough away that they can not hear my shutter.

Angles are everything......climb a tree or lay on the ground. You'll get shots that no one else will get.