Basketball - off camera flash

Here are a couple from a tournament in NY

#1

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It doesnt seem like youre balancing you flash with the ambient well.
Try to raise your iso and get more ambient in your exposure.

What was your lighting set-up for this?

zelseman wrote in post #9290891
Try to raise your iso and get more ambient in your exposure.

I very much disagree with this. If you're using flash, you want to eliminate the ambient light. If you don't overpower it, you'll end up with horrendous white balance issues and blurry shots/ghosting.

"I very much disagree with this. If you're using flash, you want to eliminate the ambient light. If you don't overpower it, you'll end up with horrendous white balance issues and blurry shots/ghosting."

+1 on the above comment. You want to be at least 3 stops over ambient to over power the available light and eliminate ghosting when using strobes.

SportsOnFilm wrote in post #9293312
"I very much disagree with this. If you're using flash, you want to eliminate the ambient light. If you don't overpower it, you'll end up with horrendous white balance issues and blurry shots/ghosting."

+1 on the above comment. You want to be at least 3 stops over ambient to over power the available light and eliminate ghosting when using strobes.

+2 & BTW, very nice website.

+3 - 110% agree

Gottcha18 wrote in post #9299975

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Are you using the AB800's or speedlites? What power settings? What are your camera settings? What would your settings have been if you were shooting ambient?

DDCSD wrote in post #9300349
Are you using the AB800's or speedlites? What power settings? What are your camera settings? What would your settings have been if you were shooting ambient?

They didnt allow me to use my Alienbees and i was barely allowed to use my flashes (speedlights). Im sorry i dont remember the ambient settings.

I've never tried to take indoor sports pictures like this but I can imagine it would be very difficult. How do you manage to meter for ambient light and still stop the action? Won't slower shutter speeds cause motion blur?

John E wrote in post #9301730
How do you manage to meter for ambient light and still stop the action? Won't slower shutter speeds cause motion blur?

I am not an expert by any means, but I think the question on ambient setting was asked as a point of reference.

Sibil wrote in post #9301869
I am not an expert by any means, but I think the question on ambient setting was asked as a point of reference.

Correct. I'm trying to figure out if the OP's flashes were getting him far enough above the ambient lighting to eliminate ghosting.

Gottcha18 wrote in post #9301691
They didnt allow me to use my Alienbees and i was barely allowed to use my flashes (speedlights). Im sorry i dont remember the ambient settings.

The whites look pretty hot on the shots. That can sometimes be tough to avoid using direct flash.

Its kinda tough to tell from the small photos posted, but it looks like you may have a bit of motion blur in the shots. This can happen due to the long flash duration of speedlites when used at full or half power. Speedlights are the opposite of most A/C powered strobes in that the flash duration gets shorter as you turn down the power. With your AB800's, the flash duration is shortest at full power.

It would also be a good idea to get at floor level. Sports photos are generally more appealing when you shoot from slightly below the players. This gives them a "larger than life" and more powerful appearance. The angle you were shooting at works well for a few shots (like your first one, which is an excellent shot), but not for every shot.

DDCSD wrote in post #9302043
It would also be a good idea to get at floor level. Sports photos are generally more appealing when you shoot from slightly below the players. This gives them a "larger than life" and more powerful appearance. The angle you were shooting at works well for a few shots (like your first one, which is an excellent shot), but not for every shot.

I tried but the coordinator was a real %^*& and only the local paper was allowed near the basline or allowed to use strobes (they had theirs in the rafters).