C and C please--boxing/MMA

I had the opportunity on Saturday night to shoot boxing/MMA for the first time, very different from past sports endeavors, I would appreciate feedback.

Shot with two 1D Mark IVs, one with a 16-35, 2.8 and the other with a 24-70, 2.8. ISO 4000 gave me shutter speeds usually between 1/500 and 1/1000. RAW images were importrd into ACR for processing with some sharpening and noise reduction. Final change was Tpaz deNoise after changing to JPEG.

http://www.sportsactio​ndigital.com …391_MvqoV#86883​8710_NFMxN

Thank you!

Hi slimenta

I am not a pro (you must be , you get the shutter speed,color,sharp and crisp and the action is there.....
Sports magazine stuff IMHO

Great job! You got some wicked captures esp of the boxing...Not to excited about the MMA. Hope they paid you well!

why are you excited about the boxing but not mma???

CoolHandMatt wrote in post #10200066
Great job! You got some wicked captures esp of the boxing...Not to excited about the MMA. Hope they paid you well!

You are a pro.no doubt.

Sports magazine quality for sure!

I'm a total noob but on pic # 3 the drops (sweat and/or spit) look sort of fake. Kind of like drawn there.

Also in pic # 9, the beard looks a bit overdone. Not so sure but maybe oversharpened?

Everything else seems perfect. I hope you're making big bucks with this kind of photography

isnap wrote in post #10200599
Sports magazine quality for sure!

I'm a total noob but on pic # 3 the drops (sweat and/or spit) look sort of fake. Kind of like drawn there.

Also in pic # 9, the beard looks a bit overdone. Not so sure but maybe oversharpened?

Everything else seems perfect. I hope you're making big bucks with this kind of photography

Yes I did use sharpening, curious if others agree

They look fine. Nothing oversharpened to my eyes. The only issues I see is that the WB is off in many, and I blame the lighting or your vantage point at any given time. Also, several shots contained only one fighter. Those didn't work for me.

Overall, your work is stellar for first time out. I hope you were able to SELL many of those really fine shot. Good job!

dave

White balance was a huge issue. I had them turn the lights on pre-fight and used a grey card for custom white balance. When I downloaded my pictures they had a yellow hue which was corrected when I switched to the "fluorescent" setting in ACR. A problem that I have not figured out how to really solve. At other times I have tried AWB or the cameras fluorescent setting. Would be interested in how others manage this issue.

snyderman wrote in post #10201467
They look fine. Nothing oversharpened to my eyes. The only issues I see is that the WB is off in many, and I blame the lighting or your vantage point at any given time. Also, several shots contained only one fighter. Those didn't work for me.

Overall, your work is stellar for first time out. I hope you were able to SELL many of those really fine shot. Good job!

dave

slimenta wrote in post #10200304
why are you excited about the boxing but not mma???

I just think they are more exciting and show more action. It really has more to do with the nature of the sport than the pictures you took.

IMO sweat flying, muscles rippling and jaws twisting looks better than two guys playing twister. lol

slimenta wrote in post #10201806
White balance was a huge issue. I had them turn the lights on pre-fight and used a grey card for custom white balance. When I downloaded my pictures they had a yellow hue which was corrected when I switched to the "fluorescent" setting in ACR. A problem that I have not figured out how to really solve. At other times I have tried AWB or the cameras fluorescent setting. Would be interested in how others manage this issue.

when shooting indoor sports, I either choose fluorescent or incandescent, whichever appears CLOSER to accurate WB on the camera's LCD screen, then make a temp WB adjustment globally after importing raw files to DPP.
I've tried to set custom WB and also used a gray card a couple of times, but using the 7D and it's WB choices has proven equally as accurate in my experience.

Everybody probably has his/her own recipe, but that's what seems to work best for me using the 7D.

dave

Thanks Dave! Done it that way as well, good to hear what others choose. White balance to me is one of the hardest components of this.

absolutely amazing stuff mate!! one of the best usage of 1D4 I have seen in a long time! oh and MMA is very fun! I just got into it. Very technical sport! Overeem vs Fedor must happen !! lolz. keep up the good work.

Thanks!

I'll venture in on why the MMA shots don't 'wow' as much. The action isn't as fluid and the faces don't capture the same kind of emotion. An MMA fighter on the ground doesn't need all their peripheral vision, they need to feel their opponent move and use that information to anticipate.

The strongest of the MMA shots from that first MMA fight is 77. If you'd have caught the face of the fighter on the ground right when his eyes were staring into space and the camera you'd have something serious.

I could be completely wrong though. YMMV.


My fav's of the MMA stuff: #39, #42, #67, #77