Some help? Advice? Tutorials?

[PineapplePhoto]

My company wants to start me doing some sports photography.

I am completely new on that subject... I would appreciate some advice from you guys.

I will be doing night time HS Football and Indoor Volleyball shooting.

I have a 30D, 550ex Flash, and a Sigma 70-200 2.8.

What pointers/advice can you give me? Point me to some tutorials where I can learn some of the basic theory and bring it to the field (or gym) with me. Thank you!

[donek]

Start here: http://dgrin.smugmug.com/gallery/1188111

Read as many of the posts in the sports section as you can. By reading comments on others attempts you'll get a lot of good ideas and advice.

Depending on the gym you're shooing in, you may be able to get away with that 70-200 at f2.8. I find that primes work best. I use an 85mm f1.4 a lot. The 85 f1.8 is much less expensive though. A 50mm f1.4 or f1.8 will do you quite well if you have a 10mpix body and crop heavily. Shoot raw in that gym until you dial the WB.

Good luck.

[PineapplePhoto]

Wouldn't a 1.4 aperture have a VERY narrow DOF? how will the pictures be sharp that way? :dunno

[SloYerRoll]

DOF is relative to focal distance.
Shoot a penny 2' away from you @ 85mm/1.4 and the whole thing won't be sharp. If you shoot something 30' away at the same settings, the DOF opens up to around 3-4 feet (see note). If possible, you want to shoot around f2.8 or higher to make sure your shots are tack sharp. This is dictated by your available light though.

-Jon

NOTE:
the DOF estimate I made was completely off the top of my head. No calculations were used. There are mumber whizes out there that can tell you exactly what the DOF is at any fstop to distance. I'm not one of them... This post is designed to help you see that DOF is not static to aperture size.

[PineapplePhoto]

Thanks! :)

[Rhuarc]

For that combination (30D, 85/1.4, 30' away) the DOF would be 2.02'. There is a really handy calculator for doing this stuff here: http://www.dofmaster.com/dofjs.html

[donek]

Wouldn't a 1.4 aperture have a VERY narrow DOF? how will the pictures be sharp that way? :dunno

You do have a very shallow depth of field. You have to be sure the lens has focused before taking the shot. The available light will dictate the need for such a large aperature, but the results are great once you get the technique. All the the shots in the galleries below were shot at f1.4 or f1.6
http://www.donek.smugmug.com/gallery/3423343
http://www.donek.smugmug.com/gallery/3434422
http://www.donek.smugmug.com/gallery/3467261
http://www.donek.smugmug.com/gallery/3473455

[PineapplePhoto]

Thanks for the tips. Right now I have that 70-200 f2.8 and a 50 f1.8.

I am planning on getting a 85 f1.8, any suggestions instead?

And, I need a monopod for that 70-200... any suggestions (around $100)?

So, I shoot on Tv? and let it adjust my aperture accordingly? What speed will freeze the action for Volley Ball? Football?

[ian408]

Are you a good photographer?

Do you understand the sport you will be assigned to shoot?

You'll be shooting in some difficult situations. Low light, fast action. If you
don't understand the sport, you will have a hard time covering it. You'll miss
peak action shots or you won't know where to shoot from.

You can find a lot of good information over at SportShooter.com that's
worth pawing over.

Good luck and look forward to seeing your posts!

[donek]

Thanks for the tips. Right now I have that 70-200 f2.8 and a 50 f1.8.

I am planning on getting a 85 f1.8, any suggestions instead?

And, I need a monopod for that 70-200... any suggestions (around $100)?

So, I shoot on Tv? and let it adjust my aperture accordingly? What speed will freeze the action for Volley Ball? Football?

Indoors and night games I always shoot manual. Indoors, the light is usually pretty consistent, but random objects in the background can spool your exposure in auto modes. I usually try to get 1/400 on shutter speed, but will go down to 1/250 with a flash if I have to. If the lights good outdoors, then shoot aperture priority wide open or close to it in order to limit your depth of field.

[PineapplePhoto]

Indoors and night games I always shoot manual. Indoors, the light is usually pretty consistent, but random objects in the background can spool your exposure in auto modes. I usually try to get 1/400 on shutter speed, but will go down to 1/250 with a flash if I have to. If the lights good outdoors, then shoot aperture priority wide open or close to it in order to limit your depth of field.

Great advice thank you!

I will be shooting HS night time games, and indoor VB.

I am ordering a monopod from B&H what do you think of the: Giottos MM 9180 (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=cart_accessories&A=details&Q=&sku=373785&is=REG)

[donek]

Great advice thank you!

I will be shooting HS night time games, and indoor VB.

I am ordering a monopod from B&H what do you think of the: Giottos MM 9180 (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=cart_accessories&A=details&Q=&sku=373785&is=REG)

I borrowed this one last night: Bogen 680b (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/5535-REG/Bogen_Manfrotto_680B_680B_4_Section_Compact_Monopo d.html)
I would highly recommend it.

I own a cheap promaster 1100 (http://mikescamera.com/common/products/productdisplay2_v2.cfm?PRRFNBR=65555&CGRFNBR=59060&CRPCGNBR=59055&CI=11199&TextMode=0) which does ok with the 70-200 lens, but my bigger lenses seem to make it slip and it shrinks as I shoot.

I also own a quantaray versipod (http://www.wolfcamera.com/product/291660769.htm). It's very stable, but doesn't go short enough if you want to get really close to the ground or sit in a chair while shooting. It's versatile though as it can turn into a light duty tripod for mounting a remote flash.

I really liked the Bogen, but your choice looks pretty sturdy too.