Two thing you DON'T need for HS football ...

1. A 300 f/2.8 or longer; 2. Flash.

Last season I rigged up my flash. Didn't get good results. User-error, most likely. Also tried to save a bunch of money for a 300 f/2.8 to shoot with this year. Came up about $2k short on that one.

I'm playing with the cards I have right now ... a 70-200 f/2.8L on a 7D, no flash and sideline access to games of our local HS. Here are some examples from pre-game through 4th quarter in complete darkness under the lights of a very well-lit HS facility.

1) 6:00 pm. Pregame was overcast Friday night

If that's your field lightning..that's not too bad at all..

You can see the noise pop up in the last two and in the 2nd to last some motion blur but if you always shoot in that good of light you might get away with it? At the fields I have gone to no way flash is a must. What did you have your ISO up to in the last few?

dtfuzzy wrote in post #10894683
You can see the noise pop up in the last two and in the 2nd to last some motion blur but if you always shoot in that good of light you might get away with it? At the fields I have gone to no way flash is a must. What did you have your ISO up to in the last few?

Only about 2500 and was still getting 1/640. Probably should have gone higher to get closer to 1/800 or 1/1000 on the shutter. That last shot could have been underexposed a bit and corrected in post. I see the noise as well. Thanks for pointing that out.

Next week will be a worthless effort. The school (away game) the kids are playing at spent all their money on a brand new turf field 2 years ago and still haven't upgraded the lighting. Honestly, a pickup truck on each corner with the brights on would provide better lighting!!!

dave

Grom wrote in post #10894574
If that's your field lightning..that's not too bad at all..

Agree. And it's probably the best I'll get all year. Only had to go to ISO 2500. Another guy shooting on the sidelines was commenting that the light at the stadium is identical to the light we get in the school's gym for basketball ... maybe BETTER!

dave

Your high school field lighting looks pretty good. I shoot football all over the area and the lighting, especially the red component of the light, is different from school to school. At some schools, because of the lights, I throw away 50 to 75 percent once I'm shooting in full dark. At other schools I don't have to throw away any because of the lights. It's just something we have to deal with.

Dan

hdgiles wrote in post #10895453
Your high school field lighting looks pretty good. I shoot football all over the area and the lighting, especially the red component of the light, is different from school to school. At some schools, because of the lights, I throw away 50 to 75 percent once I'm shooting in full dark. At other schools I don't have to throw away any because of the lights. It's just something we have to deal with.

Dan

Dan,

thanks for the info on the reds. Glad it isn't just me. Under our home stadium lights, kind of a copper/orange/red is about the best I can reproduce in post!

dave

Maybe not a 300 2.8 but I'd like something better than a 75-300 4-5.6... ugh

Pictures look pretty good to me

I have the same set-up, works great I don't care much for the look of flashed football and I'm so thankful for the high ISO quality on the 7d.

10megapixel wrote in post #10896251
I have the same set-up, works great I don't care much for the look of flashed football and I'm so thankful for the high ISO quality on the 7d.

Same here ... some do the flash thing really well, but you need some extra gear to make it work. I'll keep on with the 7D and 70-200 and get what we get!!!

dave

Andy Hannum wrote in post #10895794
Maybe not a 300 2.8 but I'd like something better than a 75-300 4-5.6... ugh

Pictures look pretty good to me

Andy,

the 75-300 would work great for getting the pregame shots when light is available. Most of the pregame shots I've been getting are at f/4 or higher. However, when the game starts, the light leaves in a hurry making the f/2.8 a total necessity ... even on very well-lit fields like the game shots above.

dave

Nice stuff Dave. I also think it depends on what you are shooting. If its for parent sales, I can tell you that way out here in Bay, I sell more candid/sideline stuff than I ever sell action. Might make one think parents don't care but that's not true, they just don't buy. The way I am sure its not true is that I recently offered a game shoot (focus on a single athlete all game) as an auction package for a charity event and there was a bidding war amongst the very parents who never buy action from me. The package went for more than I'd typically make in a season shooting action for this team. Its all good since the money is going to a great purpose but it was interesting all the same.

Back on topic, try a custom WB using a $5 gray card. You'll probably have to do a couple during the game as ambient fades but it'll correct a good deal of the WB problems and is dirt cheap. I'd also shoot RAW if doing ambient football as it does offer a little latitude in post. Nice work again man. See ya.

Nice job..too bad I can't do as well. This is a sample from last Friday night HS game. Straight out of the camera.

Shot with a 7D and 70-200 2.8 IS

2.8 @3200

100% crop

Just curious, since you have a 7d if you ever went movie mode and capture a still from the clip? Is it better?

Dave

That is incredible. I am shooting with the same set up as you are using. In our home stadium I have to shoot at iso 5000 to get 1/800 to get rid of motion blur. That stadium you are shooting in must have great lighting. I am considering buying a bracket and sync cable to use with my 580EXII and try my hand at flash. I'm a little nervous though because the flash and I so far have not been very compatible.

Very nice shots.