Basketball--Favorite Shooting Positions--Your Plan

What are your favorite shooting positions for basketball? Everyone likes under the basket-often from the left side of lane (extended) to capture the face of right handed shooters facing the hoop. That is great but what do you do for variety in your images? Talk about the variety from wide angle to 300mm and where you use it.

FWIW, I'm trying to work up a game plan to shoot strobed HS girls BB with 16-35, 70-200, 300mm and two bodies (1D III and 30D). I want a plan before stepping on the floor so I don't end up with the same shots 200 times.


I also have the 85 f/1.8, and 135 f/2.
See gear list

I shoot wide(17-50) under the basket.
I shoot long(85 or 70-200) from the left or right of the basket about 15-20ft. Also at schools that have balconies and 2nd or 3rd level seating makes for some different types of shots.

The biggest problem I think you will have is when shooting with strobes, it tends to dramatically cut down on your options for positioning because if you move too far away from the baseline, you start to get problems of hot backgrounds from the strobes.

A couple of ideas to get a different look from the baseline are to use the 16-35 set real wide, prefocus and hold the camera on the floor, angled up just slightly and fire.

Another option if you have a way to trigger the camera without your hand on the shutter button (Like a release cable or wireless trigger) is to put the camera on a monopod and hold it up as high as you can shooting down on the action. You can also shoot it straight ahead from the elevated monopod under the basket with the camera up about the level of the bottom of the backboard and get that effect like you see in SI from remote cameras mounted on the backboard standard.

Good luck. I will be interested to see what you come up as I am always looking for new ideas to keep from adding another 100 shots of a kid driving to the hoop from the wing.

Favorite place is anyplace there's a clear view of the court.

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DC Fan wrote in post #9197040
Favorite place is anyplace there's a clear view of the court.

Sometimes high, sometimes low, sometimes endline, sometimes in the middle. Try different angles and see what happens. The sport is so unpredictable that there's something to be accomplished from every angle and position.

+1

I cannot use strobes so therefore I'm limited to using my 85 f/1.8 and the next game I'll also be taking my 40D with my 50 f/1.8

Try under the hoops, you will get awesome break away shots

I like behind the net, though sometimes you get what you get

shoot from the corners with a remote behind the backboard.

DeadTuna wrote in post #9249149
I like behind the net, though sometimes you get what you get

Interesting ceiling and lighting in that gym. I haven't seen anything like that before.

I just usually run the baseline

It's an interesting subject to me tonight... after talking to another area photographer last night who's never been to a basketball game before let alone shot it (that's two this month!) The back wall is 15 feet BEHIND the basket, which is plenty far back to not be run over if you want to stand that far back, yet she still had to be in the bleachers on the side to shoot.

Looked at her shots online and she has some crazy horizons and worse yet busy backgrounds from fans. I actually went up to the bleachers for a few minutes to talk to someone and took a few shots that ended up mostly deleted in camera. She even told me that you really don't need to shoot vertical most of the time...though I didn't argue as one of the games was going on at the time.

As for my own shooting preference.. I'm halfway between the wall and the basketball so 8 feet or so back which is plenty far to avoid being run over (and due to shooting the 70-200)... If there's a player who's gotten a few layup chances on one side I'll go to the opposite corner to try and get a face shot rather than back of the head.

If I could strobe (financial and gym constrictions (no place to mount anyway)) I may find other spots but I may never find out