1st Attempt at Strobed Basketball

First of all I would like to thank Zivnuska for his guidance, assistance, and use of his Vagabond II power supplies. I am very fortunate and grateful to have someone like Zivnuska to learn from.

This is my first attempt shooting basketball and my first time using strobes. With this being the first time setting up and shooting strobes I was worried that getting decent exposures would be difficult. I found it is much more difficult to get good action shots! I noticed my horizon is off in some images and other images are a little soft in focus. C and C welcome.


1.

Is the shadow on the right border intentional or caused by the angle of the strobe?

Mark. Congrats on your first outing with the strobes. The shadows (on the right side of portrait shots and the bottom of landscape shots) are a telltale sign that the shutter speed was too fast to sync with the flash. I believe your camera has a max sync speed of 1/250 for off camera flash. I only checked one photo but it was taken at 1/320. (Don't ask how I know about that shadow ) You can just crop that off. Next time use 1/250.

With this gym having the baseline so close to the wall (3 1/2 feet) and you on the stage with that dark maroon curtain behind you, it will be difficult to get much light to illuminate players very close to that baseline under the hoop.

I love the skin tones on 1, 5, and 6. Really nice IQ on 1 and 5 (away from the sync shadow). Let's get together to "post-mortem" the shots and talk about tweaking them in post. A set-up shot will help everybody visualize the situation for shooting and lighting this venue.

Phil

Mark, It's about time that we got some quality photos out of Valley Center! LOL! Well done, wonderful flesh tones, tight crops, very good emotion! (Maybe level your horizons on a few of the captures.) Dr. Z has got nothing on you!

I checked the shutter speed this morning and Phil is spot on. I must have inadvertently bumped the shutter speed setting on my camera. I found it very difficult to shoot from the stage and it is something I really need to work on. I am looking forward to my next game and hopefully can overcome some of these challenges. On the next outing I will try and get a shot of the setup. I certainly appreciate the comments it's the best way to learn.

xochi2,

Thank you for the positive comments. I know I have lots to learn before I am shooting at Dr. Z's level. The great part is he has been willing to help me out. Besides I do have to be careful he could inflict some serious pain next time I visit his office.

Mark,

You've got a point, there! (Anybody who has seen "Marathon Man" would understand! Yikes!) Keep up the great work, but if you hang around Dr. Z. with his camera gear (and fabulous talent), you'll soon be dipping into that pocketbook of yours......f/2.8, 300mm, f/2.8, 400mm, 1DMkIV (x2), etc., etc., etc.

and a darned good first attempt, I'd say. Bravo!

Now, where was the strobe(s) in relation to the floor. what type of ceiling? I've got to try this ONCE and see if results are anywhere near as good as some of you guys are getting.

dave

xochi2 wrote in post #11428336
if you hang around Dr. Z. with his camera gear (and fabulous talent), you'll soon be dipping into that pocketbook of yours......

I noticed he was sporting a new MK IV the other night. I happened to look while he was shooting and I thought man that camera doesn't have a mark on it. Sure enough MK IV.

Dave-
Thanks for the comments. I am planning on shooting again next Thursday I will get a shot of the setup we use in this particular gym.

Mark

These are great shots.

Care to share your setup?
That is, strobe placement, strobe type?
These are great shots!

film2shoot-
Thank you for the comment.

dannybritton-

Thank you for the positive comments. I will be shooting again on Thursday so I will get pictures of the setup. I am currently using 2 AB800's powered by 2 Vagabond II's bounced from the intersect line of the ceiling and the wall. The units are triggered with PWII remotes.

Here is a great thread to read dealing with strobes put together by P.O.T.N member Zivnuska. For me my goal is to achieve the level of quality that Phil demonstrates in his images.

https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=760051

Nice job!! I will look forward to seeing pictures of the setup!!

AB800's - Gotta love them!!!

jack5150-

Thanks. I am anxious to shoot again. It's like having new toys that you can't play with (need more venues) which I hope will come with time. The AB800's are great and produce some great results.

Thanks Mark.
I'll be looking forward to seeing more images.