Jr. Wrestling - C&C

Jigglypuff wrote in post #11640375
1) You're not balancing ambient light well enough. Next time meter off the background and set your ISO such that you're about 1-2 stops underexposed. Then set your flash so that your subjects are properly exposed.

In the gyms I am shooting at, the lighting is extremely poor. I am focussing on getting the wrestlers properly exposed. The background is not something I want to see. There are parents, tables and kids all over the place. Ropes roping off the mats. You have to remember, there are 300-500 kids all over. And these kids are rolling all over the mats.

For me, being mat side sitting down is the best way to capture the action.

Can you post some examples of where you are metering off the background and underexposing 1-2 stops so I can see where you are coming from?

2) You've got some really weird crops going on in order to remove the parents/sideline/backg​round. Next time try finding a higher perspective instead. Maybe bring a ladder to step stool?

I have mat side access. Bringing in a stool or even a step ladder is not allowed in the gym while there are kids running around on the mat like that. And in these gyms there 4-5 mats on the floor while the tournament is going on. I shoot sitting on the side of the mat so I am able to capture the kids faces. Shooting from up high will produce a lot of kids heads and not their faces.

Sure, you can shoot from a higher perspective, there is nothing wrong with that from time to time. But most parents are interested in seeing the kids expressions straight on.

When I crop for the web, I am not looking at the crop that would be presented on 4*6 print. But I do see how the crops are different. But there are also a lot of distractions going on in background and if I can eliminate them I will when posting for the web.

3) Aside from the technical issues you're timing the shots to get lots of expressive faces -- keep it up!