Strobed HS boys & girls basketball

Here are some of my first attempts at strobed HS basketball with my new-to-me set of Alien Bees B800's. C&C welcome as always.

1.

Looking good. Where were they located?

They all have a bit of a pink cast to them, were they bounced off any of those red banners? That could have caused the color cast. It might have come from those red rafters too.

Nice action captures! Did the kid in the 3rd image make that basket after almost getting blinded? Now that's a hard foul!

To me these look a bit pink, as well as overexposed.

I'll start with: I know nothing about using strobes.

I looked up the stobes that were used (Alien Bees B800) and I'm wondering of the flash from those would be at all distracting to the players?

BlueLabel wrote in post #11753553
I'll start with: I know nothing about using strobes.

I looked up the stobes that were used (Alien Bees B800) and I'm wondering of the flash from those would be at all distracting to the players?

That question comes up a lot on this forum. The answer is no. At least for the majority of the games that are shot. I have had one complaint in over 140 games going back two years. And that complaint was from a coach that was sitting in the bleachers looking at the strobe and not even on the floor. His game was next and the players were complaining to him. Heck, he even thought it was the fire alarm. Kinda back woods to me. But from private schools to 5A UIL state semifinals, I had good luck shooting with strobes. All of the games listed in my MaxPreps profile were shot with Alien Bee 1600's, most of which were bounced off the ceiling.

Edit: Here is some reading material for ya.
https://photography-on-the.net …es%2C+skyports+​field+test

Thanks for the quick reply.

I see from the pictures you posted in that link (handrail mount) that they are mounted a fair distance from the floor. Also they appear to be above the players as well. As stated, I know nothing about strobes. For one reason or another I thought that they would have have been down on the floor. I understand the bouncing off the ceiling comments now, and where they pink hue may be coming from.

Thanks for the help. I know know a little more about photography. My steep learning curve continues.

Rich, I use 13 foot light stands and aim the heads at the ceiling. When mounted on hand rails, they are still up as high as I can get...sometimes on the second level at larger venues. I have never had to run an extension cord longer than a 50 footer to reach an electric outlet.

I'm still trying to learn how to use my 580EX II properly. I'm a long way off of trying strobes. Though, I enjoy shooting hockey, and most of the arenas are dimly lit. So I think at some point I'll venture over to the strobe side to get the brightness I need for those shots.