Girl's level 7... Worst ever lighting!

The lighting was very poor. I had to shoot ISO 3200, 1/200, with my 85 f1.8 wide open in manual. I still managed to salvage some decent shots. They were all a bit underexposed, but I decided to shoot in RAW and be very conservative with the shutter release (a 10D's buffer will fill up fast in RAW). I pushed the exposure in DPP and used A LOT of Noiseware!!!

A few samples. On some of these, the effects of too much Noiseware is pretty evident, but considering the conditions, they're at least good enough to email to family. Not for print though... CC always welcome!

1.

#4 is really nice.

Dan,

Cool pics. I really like #1 and #2. It does look like horrible lighting.

Your hard work paid off- these are very nice. Did you notice the strange effect of the light on her right wrist in #1?

Is that your daughter?

Thanks for the comments.

Yeah, looks like her wrist is detached... Kind of cool .

Yes, my daughter. She's been at this for about 6 years, but this was only her second time competing in level 7. It’s a fun level for her, because she finally get a chance to come up with her own routines and music. Earlier levels, all the girls do basically the same stuff. She did well, placing in each event.

Congrats, she looks fantastic!

Well, thank you! It still scares me to watch some of the things she does, but I am very proud of her!

I spent 18 years watching my daughters compete in gymnastics. And several years being frustrated at trying to take photos at meets, so I know your pain. I also have the 10D and a 85mm f1.8 lens and found that to be better than the 75-200 f2.8 unless I couldn't get close. Just keep shooting and watching for poses, much easier than trying to get an action shot in low light.

My eldest is now coaching in FL and I might go watch her team compete at the Chicago Style next month and bring my camera. I miss it.

What vault is your daughter doing????

Thanks for sharing your photos.

KartGirlsMom wrote in post #2529671
I spent 18 years watching my daughters compete in gymnastics. And several years being frustrated at trying to take photos at meets, so I know your pain. I also have the 10D and a 85mm f1.8 lens and found that to be better than the 75-200 f2.8 unless I couldn't get close. Just keep shooting and watching for poses, much easier than trying to get an action shot in low light.

What vault is your daughter doing????

Wow, 18 years of gym meets! That's cool, and is a lot of commitment! I did shoot one of her meets last month that had decent lighting and was able to use the 70-200 with good results. This one was way too dark for 2.8! Good tip on shooting the poses. I always seem to be going for that "perfect" action shot and I'm probably missing out some good poses that don't require a crazy shutter speed and 3200 ISO!

Next one is Feb 11th. Hopefully there will be decent light.

I had to ask her the name of that vault. She just started doing it. I doubt the spelling is correct, but it sounds like "Yama****a".

Edit... Ha, look at that! The board edited my post... I guess my spelling looked suspicious. We'll try it this way - Yamasheeta.

Canon stopped making one of the best lense for gymnastics the 200mm 1.8