Friday Night Football Flash Use

I shoot HS football under the lights for the first time tomorrow night with my flash. Previous after-dark football shots using available light have been fair, at best. I'll be shooting a D Rebel XT with a Sigma 120-300 f2.8 and a Canon 580EX flash (w or w/o a Stroboframe bracket)

• How do I do the custom function thing (you know, * focus and all) and still use the flash? C Fn has seemed to really hose up the flash and exposure in the past.
  
• Do I still shoot AI focus with the flash?
  
• How is the 580EX set up (details, please)?
  
• I presume I should shoot the camera on manual, right?
  
• What settings should I use on the flash (details, again, please)?
  
• Should I mount the flash on the hot shoe, or use the flash bracket?
  
• How do I adjust the manual settings to account for the flash?
  
• Do I use HSS on the flash, second curtain sync on the camera, etc.?
  
• If I employ my light meter, and use the reflected meter, should I point the meter at the field then use these settings on the camera?
  
• What else should I be concerned with?
  
• Other hints and/or pointers?
  
• Do I still shoot AI focus with the flash?
  
• Tell me anything I might not know (vast, I realize) that would help me out.
  

First off I would make certain you can shoot flash at a game. It is very distracting to the players and I could see an issue wrt their safety using a flash. The refs/coaches could make an issue. You may want to ask the refs before the game. The coaches will be pre-occupied with the game so don't ask them. So be prepared to shoot w/o if that is the case. I don't have experience shooting flash because I could only shoot manual with a Viv283 and the exposure is hard to get right with my limited flash exp on a digital camera (a 550 is in the near future..). I have not put money into a flash b/c I know I can not use it at night games and only a 1/4 of my son's games will be at night.
But if you can not shoot a flash, be prepared then. The big Sigma constant 2.8 will help but you are going to have to boost ISO to 1600 to stop action and possibly think about a monopod to support the lens. Shoot RAW so the wb can be adjusted later, unless you know the color temp of the lights. I would shoot in AV mode so you keep it at 2.8 to keep the highest shutter speed. Reflected light off helmets can be bothersome so watch the exposure. White jerseys can cause exposure issues too. Bracket some shots of the players in white before the game and see if over/under exposure works better (I have heard it may be better to overexpose with white jerseys but have no experience directly). Partial metering may work better too, it did for me. In most shooting conditions you will be using a center focus and want metering closer to this focus point.
Hand held shots at less than 1/focal length will be a real issue and under 1/250 action shots may have blurred hands/legs. A football field is huge so will the flash really work at the distances you plan? What type of access do you have to the field? Sidelines? This helps get your flash distance cut but I have found the best shots are straight on as if you are in the field (during camp they let me go onto the field for shots), so at the end zones will be great and this controls distracting backgrounds. The flash will be challenged to reach across action this far. This is why I am saying to have a backup plan for non-flash shooting. After the game pull out that flash and get some nice shots up close with the 50/1.8
Good luck and post some shots. I shoot my son's first game tomorrow (daylight!) I can't wait.
Tony

I've not had the joys of shooting football (of any flavour) with flash... but have a look at these threads...

http://www.sportsshoot​er.com …ge_display.html​?tid=17116
http://www.sportsshoot​er.com …age_display.htm​l?tid=5035
http://www.sportsshoot​er.com …ge_display.html​?tid=12295
http://www.sportsshoot​er.com/news/421
http://www.sportsshoot​er.com/news/207

Hope they help a little.

---- Gavin

Thanks, guys. I have press creds, so access won't be an issue. The agency I'm working for tells me flash is OK, so, having shot under available light in the past, and not having been happy with the results, I'll give it a shot this time and see how it goes.

Thanks again!