Football-1:00 start - how to deal with shadows?

Seldom shoot day games - but my team has a 1:00 start this Saturday.

Sun will be high and shadows on faces will be tough.

Does anyone use fill flash for daytime football. If so, please share thoughts on setup/settings, etc.

Was thinking about hanging 580II under camera (don't think will have the monster shadows in daytime that flash under creates at night).

BTW, will be shooting 1D MkIIn with 100-400 or a 300 f4 - possibly with a 1.4 TC.

My primary task (other than capturing the action of the game) is to get action shots of our seniors - and that means I need clear faces (not detail less shadows).

Does anyone with experience/knowledge have any thoughts?

I shot day games last two weekend. This weekend was worse than last time. I was thinking of using flash but with HSS at high ss and ISO100, I am not sure what range I will get. It might work as flash will be mainly for some fill.

One thing is to shoot backlit with sun to the back and just let the uniforms blow out.

Hats and helmets are face killers at this time of day. I will set the Exposure Compensation +1/3 to +2/3 in these types of situations and I have even gone as high as +1. You do risk blowing out the whites, so you do have to keep an eye on it.

Here is an example of football shot at 2:30pm with a 1D MarkIIn at +1/3. Sorry if the images is a little big.

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Dunno if it makes any difference what subject you're shooting, but around high noon I turn the contrast down in my camera.

Afternoon football pictures.

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DC Fan wrote in post #10908033
Afternoon football pictures.

[IMG]http://www.kevinlillar​d.com …g/20091205a0976​.jpg[IMG]

1:19 p.m.


[IMG]http://www.kevinlillar​d.com …g/20090829b0679​.jpg[IMG]

12:31 p.m.

[IMG]http://www.kevinlillar​d.com …g/20090926b0216​.jpg[IMG]

2:11 p.m.


Shot these images in aperture priority and let the camera figure out the rest. No flash and nothing unusual done with the exposure or other settings.

But you can't see the faces of any of the ball carriers

Isn't that the whole point of this thread? And the goal in general?

Shoot with the sun at the players backs. Try and keep lined up so you are as close to 180 degrees from the sun to keep the hottest exposures around the rim of the players.

If it is full sun, no clouds, start off shooting manual ISO 400, f/4, 1/2000 and adjust as needed to get good exposures on their faces.

Shoot as tight as you can to minimize the background which will end up being blown out a lot of the time.

Here is a link to a thread I posted in the past with backlit football.

https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=751840

Hope that helps.

Is using a flash for fill during a sunny day really all that effective? It doesn't seem like it would do much, but I am not versed in lighting. If your shooting with a 100-400 and a 300 it seems like the flash would have NO chance of reaching.

LiberationFrequency wrote in post #10909803
Is using a flash for fill during a sunny day really all that effective?

That's the reason I asked the question.

So others that might have used or tried to use fill flash for outdoor sports could share their experiences.

Use the light you have. There's really no need to use flash. Keep the sun at YOUR back and into the player's face. Shoot w/ a +1/3 - +2/3 EC and you'll get light under the helmets. If there are clouds, I'll shoot Av to keep up with variable lighting conditions. If there are no clouds and constant sun, I will shoot M and keep it the exposure +1/3 - +2/3.

Granted, this is 4th grade, but you can see that there is plenty of light in the faces and this was a 13:00 game. Concept still applies.

asysin2leads wrote in post #10910429
Granted, this is 4th grade, but you can see that there is plenty of light in the faces and this was a 13:00 game. Concept still applies.

Interesting that photos 1 and 2, which I think are the two best of your set, are actually backlit.

Big K wrote in post #10910519
Interesting that photos 1 and 2, which I think are the two best of your set, are actually backlit.

Dang you Kevin for pointing out my mistakes!

LiberationFrequency wrote in post #10909803
Is using a flash for fill during a sunny day really all that effective? It doesn't seem like it would do much, but I am not versed in lighting. If your shooting with a 100-400 and a 300 it seems like the flash would have NO chance of reaching.

After reading this thread, I was inspired to use my flash at my next daytime event.

2:00, harsh sun, 1D3 and 200/1.8L and 1.4x TC (280mm at f/2.5). I was close enough to use HSS in Av mode (550EX with an off-camera shoe cord mounted ~24" below on my monopod).

I deleted the photos I took without a flash, but here's a slideshow of the ones with fill-flash...
http://loco-photo.com/2010-09-18.html

It made a very nice improvement on the face shadows, I'll be using it again next weekend. But I don't think it would be effective with most of my football shooting. I was within 20' of the subjects. At most football games I'm shooting with a 600L and I'm too far for the flash to reach. in daylight.

Thats really good to know and makes me want to start buying flashes... Do people usually take issue with flashes going off during the game or were you guys there for the school/for the kids parents?

LiberationFrequency wrote in post #10963011
Thats really good to know and makes me want to start buying flashes... Do people usually take issue with flashes going off during the game or were you guys there for the school/for the kids parents?

I have never had anyone comment on a flash going off. I still have not used flash for daytime sports.