Tae Kwon Do

Andy · November 19, 2006

Big day for the Tae Kwon Do club today. They were all doing their tests to move up another belt. The kids were great :thumb I shot these with my Canon 5D, Canon 24-105L, and Canon 580EX.

I Shot in RAW + Small JPG in camera. AI Servo focus. Manual exposure, 1/200th sec, f/5 and ISO 800. Focal lengths were typically 24mm - 30mm, as the room was really tight. The flash was set in ETTL mode, and bounced off the ceiling. Positive EC of 2/3s stop on the flash. I like to push the exposures as bright as possible - I don't care if a bit of the white uniforms get blown, I'm really after the best exposure possible for the faces.

Before the event, I made a gallery on my site. I printed up small sheets of paper with the gallery address and more info, for the parents at the event. The gallery is set for Proof Delay, so that when the parents order, I will be able to only work up in final form, the shots that are being bought.

Here are some samples though

Determination

First time breaking two boards at once

No pain, no gain.

This little girl brought down the house when she was awarded "most improved." :thumb

Enjoy (event) photography,

gus · November 19, 2006

That little girls face at the end is worth everything ! Sharp shots mate !!!

DavidTO · November 19, 2006

Nice series.

Lightsphere?

Andy · November 19, 2006

DavidTO wrote:

Nice series.

Lightsphere?

Thanks. I had the lightsphere with me, always do. But I didn't use it. The ceiling was only 8 feet tall, and it was white. Perfect for bouncing.

saurora · November 19, 2006

What a great series...the expressions are priceless! Thanks for posting all of the detail on your exposures, flash settings, etc. Really helpful! :saurora

johng · November 19, 2006

Andy,

Nice series. The only detraction is the angle. All the shots are shooting down on the participants rather than at their level which I think weakens the overall impact.

Love the faces on the ki-ahps!

Andy · November 19, 2006

johng wrote:

All the shots are shooting down on the participants rather than at their level

Huh. In this series (only a few out of about 600 shots today) #s 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10 are at eye-level to the subjects, I don't understand

Here's one more, from the sparring sessions:

BTW, I totally agree, shooting at their level is what I aim for when I can. In this room (very tiny!) I have to cohabit with the Master, three giant judges, and all the kids sitting around me

DavidTO · November 19, 2006

Andy wrote:

You lay those kids out on the floor, you could play Twister©!

System · November 19, 2006

neat shots-

love the ones of the most improved-

devbobo · November 19, 2006

Hey Andy,

BRILLIANT !!!

I totally love Trev's face in this shot...

Cheers,

Dave

dbaker1221 · November 19, 2006

thanks Andy ..that was interesting

Andy · November 19, 2006

devbobo wrote:

Hey Andy,

BRILLIANT !!!

I totally love Trev's face in this shot...

Cheers,

Dave

here he is, practicing, I guess

Thanks!

johng · November 19, 2006

Andy wrote:

Huh. In this series (only a few out of about 600 shots today) #s 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10 are at eye-level to the subjects, I don't understand

Sure, in 1-6 (except for one of them) just look at how much the floor rises - you can tell by that you're shooting at a downward angle. But again, they're still great shots - it's just with kids this small you almost have to get down on your belly or at least sitting (or get a crimp in your back from hunching over from a kneeling position)

Andy · November 19, 2006

johng wrote:

Sure, in 1-6 (except for one of them) just look at how much the floor rises - you can tell by that you're shooting at a downward angle. But again, they're still great shots - it's just with kids this small you almost have to get down on your belly or at least sitting (or get a crimp in your back from hunching over from a kneeling position)

Reading is hard

OK here are two more just for you, John

roosterman · November 19, 2006

Love the little blonde guy under "Determination".

Andy · November 19, 2006

roosterman wrote:

Love the little blonde guy under "Determination".

thanks! He's my youngest

mushy · November 20, 2006

All these photo's rock Andy, but number 5,7 and the look of shock from the young girl at the end are just magic, some parents are really gunna love you

Art Scott · November 20, 2006

bownice series....realy nice one of your youngest prior to his board breaking......

antrieb · November 20, 2006

I guess when Trevor asks me to pass the Turkey on Thursday, I better listen

DoctorIt · November 20, 2006

this is so cool:

great set Andy

Dee · November 20, 2006

Very nice
Tomorrow we're going to watch CJ at his karate class for the first time. My daughter shoots with the Sony S75 which she dearly loves. However I haven't been able to see if it has a white balance adjustment -- the fluorescent tubes have this awful green tinge in the photos. I spend a lot of time trying to correct in post.

So my F828 (which was "fixed") is ailing and will go back in for repair after the class, and I have the 707, which is working. I have my Sunpak but have to practice with it today on the 707 in case the 828 is not going to work correctly. I'm hoping the ceiling is white and low enough to bounce off of and that CJ won't be working in the dreaded third ring. Apparently the parents have to stay put in the front of the place, so that means I'd wind up shooting between kids to get to CJ.

It was good to see you were able to bounce the flash and get such good photos. I'm sure a good strong flash helps in a situation like this.

However, it looks as if you were able to get close to the action... something I may not be allowed to do. sigh!

So I'll be keeping your wonderful photos in mind tomorrow! You give me a lot to strive for...

Steve Cavigliano · November 21, 2006

Excellent shots Andy

As mentioned, really nice flash control

I agree with Dave. The look on Trev's face is priceless

Steve

kres · November 23, 2006

The action shots are good... but this one is great you can almost hear her bubbling over.

Andy · November 25, 2006

mushy wrote:

All these photo's rock Andy, but number 5,7 and the look of shock from the young girl at the end are just magic, some parents are really gunna love you

Thanks Mushy, that's my fave as well.

asamuel · November 25, 2006

Aye, reminds me of the pride and elation of getting your stuff right on the day. I think the shots convey some of the flare and style of the art. Little tiny super humans.

Heres a thought: A capture of a spinning hook with some motion blur! eh! I would try and get it down but I think the experiment would land me in intensive these days.

imax · November 26, 2006

Hey Andy, Great pictures of the kids. I got a kick out of this one. Your sons face seems to say "I can't Wait To Do That!"

Thanks for the inspiration..................

Joe

jsedlak · November 26, 2006

Awesome shots andy! Been looking for the rest of these shots!

photocat · November 26, 2006

Great action and great action shots too Andy. I love the expressions on their faces, quick reaction from you to get those key moments.

I also love your tip (might steal it from you) to make a gallery upfront and give the parents a little card with the URL...

Why did I not think of that before? I have started shooting birthday parties and such, and I often find that the organizer does not give the link out, so people don't see the children... Missing out on sales.

You did a fine job, looks like the kids forgot that you were there, which always works for me.

Shima · November 26, 2006

Awesome shots Andy. As one who has studied a mixed martial arts style for the past 6 years (and been a black belt for the past 2 of those years teaching)... I really do enjoy seeing others out there who enjoy taking Martial Arts photography. My style has kicks very heavily based on Tae Kwon Do, and I must say my favorite of all your shots up there is the yellow belt who is throwing his flying side kick

Great shot.

I need to get my students some rebreakable boards... (cept my students are all in college, so they probably won't look nearly as awesome as these kids who learned how to do it from such a young age, heh)

mrlarter · June 2, 2007

Sorry to revive a dead thread but I am sitting right now at a Tae Kwon Do tournament about to take photos. Thanks for the advice in the thread and I'll post my photos up later tonight.

Andy · June 13, 2007

mrlarter wrote:

Sorry to revive a dead thread but I am sitting right now at a Tae Kwon Do tournament about to take photos. Thanks for the advice in the thread and I'll post my photos up later tonight.

how'd it go?

I did some more last weekend, here's one:

Canon 5D, 580EX bounced, and Canon 16-35L II, @ 16mm.

Tae Kwon Do

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