Shooting sports...rapid fire or peak action single shots

I'm curious as to what others prefer and why. I know it can depend on the sport and conditions so feel free to elaborate. I tend to just rapid fire and hope for the best but sometimes miss peak action even at very high speeds. Trying to time peak action shots would seem to require a lot of skill, patience, and experience...which I am working on but currently lacking.

Thanks for looking,

Spray and Pray!!

I use all the fps the 50D allows but I don't spray and pray other than sometimes with volleyball because I don't want to spend 2 hours deleting the worthless unanswered prayers... but I do single shots obviously for flashed football and I know I miss some shots waiting the second for flash to recycle.

Maybe this belongs in the Sports Talk section since there's no photos being shared?

Never use rapid, even on a 1D.

Results HERE

http://www.nhr-photography.com/

neil_r wrote in post #8902100
Never use rapid, even on a 1D.

Results HERE

http://www.nhr-photography.com/

I don't understand where I'm meant to be looking? You posted a link to your website?!

I think those depend on the sport. Paintball is best at single action shots, but skateboarding is best at rapid fires. Oh well. Cool topic starter, but I think this does belong in the discussion thread.

Machine gunner or sniper?

Sniper.

I am shooting indoor handball games.

For me it depends on the current phase of the game / evening. During warm up i only shoot peak action. Movement and positioning is quite predictable at this point of time. Also during defense (hold and blocking) i tend to one-click.

However, when my team counters or goes into standard offense, i am ready to burst. It will often be a quick move or turn followed e.g. by a jump - it's too difficult for me to time the peak action shot.

So I'd call it selective burst at this point of time.

(contributing to justify this topic being in the image sharing section)

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Consider the physics involved in shooting a batter in baseball and attempting to get the ball in the frame. A 82mph fastball travels at 120 feet per second. The 1D Mark III shoots at a maximum rate of 10 frames per second. Therefore, the best you can hope for with a burst is to get an image of the ball every 12 feet. The numbers are even worse for most cameras that shoot in slower bursts. A top notch shooter can do much better with practice.

There are other situations where a burst is ideal. Shooting the second baseman turning a double play or making a tag on a stealing base runner are two of them.

Use the right technique to match the situation.

Practice!

I couldn't vote since you don't list my approach. I shoot in bursts of 2-3 most of the time. If that's what is called spray and pray, then I guess I shoot in rapid fire. I try to start just before the peak action and capture 1-2 frames after that. If the action continues, I pause briefly, refocus, then shoot another burst of 2-3 depending on how much time I gave AI-Servo to regain focus.

One Shot - One Kill

For me spray and pray ain't photography, I like the challenge of seeing the picture develop then shot at the correct moment. Sure sometimes using the motor works best, but not always and for everything.

Jack

Neil Leifer, who has a half-century of exceptional achievements in sports photography, made the definitive statement on this subject in a 2002 interview.

"Someone once asked me why so much of sports photography is done with sequence cameras. The inference being that it lessens the photographer’s skill, if you can shoot five frames a second. You’re shooting a sequence of the winning touchdown at five frames a second and one says “but how can you miss at five frames a second?” Here's how: Let's say, for example that the ball is on the one foot line and the fullback leaps up over the line and he’s eight feet in the air, whatever. You get this magnificent moment. That is the picture, right? Well not necessarily because let's say that immediately after you snap that picture, assuming you’re shooting one frame, he fumbles. That picture no longer mattered that was so perfect a tenth of a second ago. It’s now the ball sailing out of his arms and eight guys trying to recover it. Five frames a second and you’re still on that play and you may have the picture that runs as the cover of the magazine. The opening spread may very well be the picture that happened ten frames after what at one moment looked like the best picture you could imagine."

I used to 'burst away' but as my skills developed I've learned to shoot less and shoot better. I watch for tells with athletes. Facial expressions give a lot of warning as to when the ball is coming making it a lot easier to get the ball in frame with one or two shots instead of a dozen.

There is also a difference between taking multiple shots during an extended piece of action and bursting away before and after a fixed piece of action because of a lack of familiarity with a particular sport or inability to judge or estimate accurately. From the snap of the football to the whistle, I take multiple shots because there is ongoing action. From the pitcher windup up to the batter swing, I can get the ball very near the bat with one shot.

DC Fan wrote in post #8902713
Neil Leifer, who has a half-century of exceptional achievements in sports photography, made the definitive statement on this subject in a 2002 interview.

No, it is not the definitive statement on the subject raised by the OP. Mr. Leifer was addressing the question of "why so much of sports photography is done with sequence cameras?" At no time did he indicate that he never shot for "peak action single shots." It also was no coincidence that he used football as an example of the advantages of shooting high fps. Burst shooting in football is absolutely appropriate.

Later in the interview, he talks about shooting with strobes which must be shot with a single click. To this day at the NCAA Final Four, Sports Illustrated will install 12 strobes for their shooters (3 in each corner of the court) plus an additional 8 strobes each for the AP and NCAA photos. Some shooters will shoot ambient (in this case it is very, very good ambient) but others will use the strobes. Since they have a 3 second recharge time, a one-shot technique is required. Those shooting ambient will use the advantage of high fps.

This is also the decision that must be made every week for indoor sports at the middle and high school level. Go ambient at high fps or single shot with supplemental lighting (strobe or speedlight). Both techniques have benefits and limitations. Trying to shoot ambient at many high schools will result in noisy images (from high ISO), thin dof, light cycling, poor skin tones, variable white balance, and anemic colors. It also has the advantages listed by Mr. Leifer. One photo service that I shoot for will not accept high school basketball images unless they are strobed.

The complete photographer will be proficient in both techniques and choose the one most appropriate.