What settings for great ice hockey shots??

I am soooooo new to this photography thing..and my two boys play competitive hockey. One will be attending a summer hockey camp next week, and I want to go down there to take a few pics. I see there is a "sports" setting on my dial..however, is there something else I can set it to for great pics? To capture fast moving players..should I keep the camera set to 1600 (ISO)? What else do I have to adjust. I am so used to taking pics on "auto" or portraits of people sitting still! Thanks in advance to those who have suggestions!

You didn't mention what body and lens you have available. But these are what I use with a 40D and a 70-200 f2.8.... (BTW, Auto will do nothing for you with Hockey)

1600-3200 ISO depending on ambient lighting (Noise to be delt with in PP)
Tv of 500 or so depending if you want motion blur or stop action
AI Servo with Center Point Focus
Custom White Balance (Shoot off ice if needed)

Use either Tv or M (at 2.8 unless extremely well lit)

Try to get to Center Ice, Above the Glass or from the box if available.

Shoot, Chimp, Adjust as needed and Have Fun!! Oh and post the results...

You can look at my website for my results.

Good Luck!!

PhotoGuru13 wrote in post #5943738
I am soooooo new to this photography thing..and my two boys play competitive hockey. One will be attending a summer hockey camp next week, and I want to go down there to take a few pics. I see there is a "sports" setting on my dial..however, is there something else I can set it to for great pics? To capture fast moving players..should I keep the camera set to 1600 (ISO)? What else do I have to adjust. I am so used to taking pics on "auto" or portraits of people sitting still! Thanks in advance to those who have suggestions!

Alan has given you a good start. It all depends on the available light.
If you can, post up a couple of shots from early in the week, ask for comments on these boards, then go back and apply the tips you get....great way to learn from the talent on here.

what rink are you in? You never know, I may have been in it.

Give my blog a read ... i have a whole post on nothing but how to shoot hockey !

http://topher04r1.blog​spot.com/2008/03/hocke​y-101.html

Guru:

HERE IS MY latest THREAD with some shots from last weekend. These were all shot with 40D, 70-200f2.8L, 1600ISO, f2.8 or so and shutter speeds at 1/500 or 1/400. The tips above and in Topher's blog are great. You will likley need ISO 1600 or 3200. You will always want to have shutter at 1/400 or 1/500 or higher if possible and most likley you will need to have f2.8. SHOOT RAW!! Mainly because you almost will always have to tweak things in post processing and you have more leeway that way. As said above, in tough light use a custom white balance. Shoot this off the ice and use skated on ice, NOT clean, zambonied ice.

Shoot manual mode and avoid any automated modes. If you can shoot through the glass at the end of the rink you can get some good action as the play comes at you. Glass can reduce your IQ and light a bit though so try and find clean glass.

Best bet is to snap away, post and learn. My shots from last November are nowhere near as good as what I am getting now, and a lot of that has to do with tips I have learned on here.

Cheers!

Chris

Some good advice to start with already, but knowing what gear you are using will make or break it. For the most part if you are using any DSLR AVOID the side of the dial with automated settings! If you look at the 1D bodies this is the first thing you will notice, none of those exist and with reason. With the lighting you will have a lens 2.8 or faster is pretty much dictated to get decent shots. If you are new to it the best recommendation I could give is to shoot Tv priority with 1/500 shutter speed or faster. This will get your action and the carera will set the rest. You may also want to overexpose by 1/3 stop or so to account for what the Ice will do to your metering. We all have to start somewhere. I know I started in P mode but never used the settings on the other side for sports, lanscape, macro, potrait etc.

WOW..this is alot to take in, but thanks to all for the tips!
I have a brand new camera..a Canon XSi, with regular lens (55-200mm)
I know how to set my ISO, but what is this talk about shutter speed 1/500.
I have no clue how to set that. I guess I better do alot more reading..and I sure wish the crappy city I live in, offered photography lessons somewhere. The saleslady at the camera store did not offer much help with the free lesson last weekend..hmmm.
I will be in Sunridge Ontario, (DARSK47) not sure what arena the boys play at there...I've never been there. All I know is that this will be the 1st time my 10 yr old stays away from home for an entire week (Yah-hoo) and I would like to get some decent shots of his experience at hockey opportunity camp. Thanks again!! I will be reading the blog, tutorials mentioned in this thread!

DARSK47, what level age group do your children play..we travel to Toronto quite a bit for hockey. Which arena down there is best for photography??

I'll second the notion that auto modes will not work, but I will also tell you why:
1. Limited to ISO400 - and you will need ISO1600 minimum for indoor hockey.
2. No exposure compensation - all that white ice will fool the meter and you will undexpose a ton in auto.
3. AWB + JPEG in sodium arc lighting = really wierd color casts that cannot be fixed in post processing.

I suggest to shoot:
ISO1600
M mode, set the aperture wide open and adjust shutter speed until the white ice is pushing the right side of the histogram.
RAW - shoot a grey card and fix color in post processing.
AI Servo focus

Also be aware that if your telephoto lens is f/5.6 on the long end you are going to really struggle. Hockey pretty much needs f/2.8 or faster to gain adequate shutter speeds.

The only guys I see shooting hockey with slow lenses (Canon 100-400L to be exact) have strobes up in the rafters.

My suggestion would be to read through the whole manual and buy the book Understanding Exposure by Brian Peterson.

Hockey Opportunity Camp in Sundridge huh. Been there, done that. Twice. I have two girls who play rep - a midget and a peewee and they have both been.

The rink you are will be at is in South River, just north of Sundridge. It does not have the greatest light, incredibly average really as old barns go. You will have to get to the bench and penalty box side and get away from the glass.

I just remembered that at this time of year, unless the arena is really well sealed and has an updated hvac system, the outside air is going to fog-up the glass. South River is old and fogs up.

Last year I took one shot of my daughter in the lobby coming out of the room - didn't even bother for anything on ice. (mostly because I have virtually unlimited opportunity once the season starts)

Everybody has given you good advice, but it sounds like you're new to this so to filter it down to a few key points.

-Read the manual ( and book suggested if you can)
-learn how to custom white balance
-shoot with the fastest lens you have ( lowest f- stop number)
-get to the bench or penalty box - avoid going through the glass
-get to at least 1/500 shutter speed with the lowest f-stop number by adjusting the iso - the lower you can keep your iso, the less grain you get in your shots; You should be pretty safe at 1/500 for 10 year olds - their game is not that fast

**go to the site shown below and listen to the podcasts. They were put together by the guru of this sports forum ( Dennis W) and are invaluable. **

http://web.mac.com/dmw​ierz1/Site/Welcome.htm​l


And last
- wear running shoes - you may have on flip-flops since you're coming in from outside on a beautiful July day and you'd freeze on the bench (voice of experience)

As for what rinks are good for lighting around Toronto - there's too many to mention. There is a rink in Waterloo and one in Bowmanville that have skylights from one end to the other. Makes for great natural light providing it's not direct sun casting the shadows down from the glass framework.

A couple that stick out for me - Oshawa's new Legends complex is double lit; for every fixture they hung, they hung a second beside it and Oakville Twin Rinks is about 3 years old and very bright with off-white walls and ceilings.

Hope your guys enjoy the camp and you enjoy the kid free week.

PS - I you haven't been to Sundridge, watch out for radar traps on hwy 11 - they're everyewhere. I think it's the only way some of those small towns can fill up their coffers !