Basketball Photos

I've just upgraded from a 300D to a 30D and these are my first attempts at basketball photos in a fairly dark gym. I use the Sigma 24-70 F2.8 with a 580ex flash and shoot at 800 ISO with aperture priority set at 1/500 sec.

Hope I'm following the right protocols here given this is my first post. The galleries can be found here.

http://www.knoxbasketb​all.com.au …_list=14&cHash=​68592fd4bb

http://www.knoxbasketb​all.com.au …_list=15&cHash=​4833f50cea

There has been no post-processing other than re-sizing for web display. Any comments and criticism gratefully accepted.

1. Crop or shoot tighter.
2. Get rid of that flash.
3. Use a fast prime lens, like the 85mm f/1.8.
4. Work on your timing to become more consistent with capturing peak action. You're off to a very good start in that respect.

i totally agree with liza,

all i have to add is Welcome to POTN.

What Liza said...

Another thing, change your location around for a different perspective throught the game...

In my opinion, flashes make gyms look incredibly darker than they really are, and I dislike that effect

Thanks for the advice and the welcome guys.

The gym is dark - even at f2.8 and 1600 iso I can't get faster than 1/125 sec without the flash so I'm stuck with that unless anyone has any other advice. I agree with the cropping but in this instance I had to get the shots up on the site quickly and didn't have much time to play around with post-processing.

can anyone suggest a workflow to improve the shots?

Gday mate!! Hows it goin? Welcome to POTN. I see your photographing the bball in KNOX...lol...i live in the area! Might have seen you at a few games before...
For instance...i know what the Nunawading Stadium is like...and if u need to use a flash, try and get a bounce flash or some sort of light diffuser add-on.
Im guessing ur using an onboard flash?? If so u might want to invest in a proper flash, even perhaps 2, and set them up so as to minimise harsh shadows and fill the shot with light. I dunno....this might be a little disturbing for the players...but try and use anything but a direct flash.

So here is the deal then..... your stuck using flash for now. First thing I would do is read Gman's thread HERE. He talks some about using flash on sports. Those that don't like flashed images - I happen to be one of them - have spoken. But there are plenty of unoptimal circumstances where you just gotta do what you gotta do. One thing I have played around with from the wedding photo class I am taking is a "john something" dome - wish I could remember the name. Used properly, it really does do a nice job of giving a nice smooth lighting effect. It has been bashed here a lot on this forum, but after seeing it being properly used - there is more to it then just snapping it to your camera - it gives a nice look. Give it a try if you can find one.... wish I could remember the dang name. It is a dang lot cheaper then buying another lens. And it is a lot better the bare flash.

The other option depending on ceiling hight or wall color is to go ahead and bounce your flash. This will take some experimenting, but can give you more even lighting.

Other then that... particularly in the second set I don't see to many issues with your shooting at all. Timing seems ok to me. A little tighter would help - but that will come as you get more comfortable shooting the sport and being willing to loose some of the extra spacing around the subject.

Keep at it... tough conditions there... very ugly building to shoot in.... I think you did ok.

leaveit wrote in post #2229060
Gday mate!! Hows it goin? Welcome to POTN. I see your photographing the bball in KNOX...lol...i live in the area! Might have seen you at a few games before...
For instance...i know what the Nunawading Stadium is like...and if u need to use a flash, try and get a bounce flash or some sort of light diffuser add-on.
Im guessing ur using an onboard flash?? If so u might want to invest in a proper flash, even perhaps 2, and set them up so as to minimise harsh shadows and fill the shot with light. I dunno....this might be a little disturbing for the players...but try and use anything but a direct flash.

I'm using a 580ex. The ceiling at Knox is much higher than Nunawading and I don't think that bouncing is an option. if you've been to SEABL games here you would have seen me. Say hello next time.

yea I agree with everyone above... I would use my portable lighting kit which I aquire from someone whenever I need it... I would just set them up somewhere around the hoop of the end you want to photograph