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|| SportsShooter.com: Member Message Board
Shooting Hockey
Wendi Kaminski, Photographer, Assistant
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La Mirada | CA | USA | Posted: 7:06 PM on 10.16.06 |
| ->> I would like to hear some tips on shooting hockey. I am just learning how to do it and any and all tips will be appreciated. I am open to gear used as well. Thanks in advance. |
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Jim Leary, Photographer
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Island | NY | USA | Posted: 9:53 PM on 10.16.06 |
->> Wendi,
The most important piece of information anyone can offer on shooting hockey is KNOW THE GAME. If you are a hockey fan and watch games then you understand how the flow of the game goes and this will help you anticipate what is about to happen. If you don't know hockey, you will be at a disadvantage. Good Luck. |
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Michael Chansley, Student/Intern, Photographer
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New York | NY | USA | Posted: 8:29 PM on 10.17.06 |
| ->> Hey Wendi! Hockey is a tough sport to shoot, especially if your vision is limited by a hole through the glass. Just like any sport, make sure you have the right equipment and learn as much about the sport as you can. The more you know the sport, the more you can anticipate the action. Knowing the players is also important. Shooting with strobes, I like shooting with a 28-300mm since the puck moves so quickly and it gives you a nice range. Having a wide lens is just as important as having a long zoom lens since the action can literally happen right in front of you then be on the other side of the rink in the blink of an eye (or at least in the NHL.) If you aren't shooting strobe or don't have a 28-300, maybe use a 16-35 or 24-70/2.8 and a 70-200/2.8. You can't really move around as much or look for "nice evening light" like you can in most other sports so it just takes patience and practice. I'm sure you'll be a great hockey shooter. Good luck! |
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Wendi Kaminski, Photographer, Assistant
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La Mirada | CA | USA | Posted: 11:47 PM on 10.17.06 |
->> Thanks for all the tips! They were definately helpful. I will be posting my shots on my member page from last night's game in a couple days.
Ciao |
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Carl Auer, Photographer
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Eagle River | AK | USA | Posted: 1:19 AM on 10.18.06 |
| ->> Wendi, you have had some great advice here. I have not shot a lot of hockey over my years until I moved up to Alaska. High School, College, and Minor League is what the folks up here eat, breath, and dream of. So I can give you only the advice that I have learned over the last couple years. It is hard to follow the puck all the time. I have found the best lens combo for shooting from rink level is a 70-200 and a wide angle. A wide angle in the corners is a lot of fun, but primarily I will shoot with the 70-200. If there are no holes cut for you to shoot through, bring windex and rags to clean the glass on both sides. When I shoot high school, I can shoot from the penalty box where there is no glass. After a puck almost took me out, I started wearing a helmet, so think of safety to yourself. I shot around 2600 frames of college hockey this last weekend and some from the final game are on my member page. Nail your exposure and use a custom white balance and do your best to follow the action. It will be frustrating the first few times, but after a period or two you will get into the flow and the images will start coming to you. |
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Geoff Miller, Photographer
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Portage | MI | USA | Posted: 9:00 AM on 10.18.06 |
->> "I shoot high school, I can shoot from the penalty box where there is no glass."
Here's another tip when shooting things like High School games at smaller rinks... bring a small step ladder. A lot of rinks in lower Michigan only have seating on one side of the ice and the bench side is nothing but open space from the blue lines to the ends of the rink. The glass is also usually lower on the non-crowd side. A step ladder will allow you to shot just over the glass and back enough to not have to stick your lens out over the glass. It's a lot more flexible than confining yourself to the penalty boxes or corner holes (and Windex doesn't help with a lot of the Plexiglass around here that hasn't been changed in years). Also, as stated, watch out for pucks. If you're shooting over the glass, watch out when the attackers are coming down along the boards center-ice towards your end, often times the puck carrier will dump the puck into the corner by flipping it along the glass in your general direction. Likewise watch out for when a player sets up to receive a pass in front of you. I usually will quickly back down the ladder one step to get behind the glass when I see either one of these scenarios developing.
Here's a gallery of some photos taken on my ladder when it was roughly parallel with the face-off circle in one of the ends... this isn't the "ultimate hockey gallery", but I mention it to show what the "look" is from that angle: http://www.sportsshooter.com/geoff/hockey/index.html The position is also nice because it often times strikes a balance between being able to see the faces of the goalie and attacker when making a shot on goal... the corner position often gives you the goalie's side profile, and the penalty box will only show you the shooter's backside. |
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Chris Machian, Photographer, Assistant
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Omaha | NE | USA | Posted: 12:34 PM on 10.30.06 |
| ->> I have one small tip, don't always focus on the goalie, lots of action happens that doesn't involve the goalie. Look closer. |
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Mark Loundy, Photo Editor
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San Jose | CA | USA | Posted: 2:08 PM on 10.30.06 |
->> Don't always follow the puck. Some of the best contact happens just after a player passes the puck.
--Mark |
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Shelley Cryan, Photographer
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Southport | CT | USA | Posted: 7:04 PM on 10.30.06 |
->> Hi Wendy,
Hockey season hasn't started here yet, but I did shoot a lot of hockey last year. My lens of choice is the 70-200; for me 300 is often too tight for hockey. Having a looser lens makes it easier for me to follow the action. I've never been too successful shooting through the plexi -- it's just too scratched up in the rinks where I work. I'm always above the plexi. Also, I often pop an sb800 -- it helps keep the images nice and clean. I also stand back from the glass a few rows, for safety. Have fun, and bring a pair of those mitten/gloves where you can uncover your fingers, but keep the rest of your hand warm. It gets cold in rinks!
-- Shelley
www.shelleycryan.com |
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Tim Swanky, Photographer
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Kelowna | BC | Canada | Posted: 11:11 PM on 10.31.06 |
->> Wendi, good luck, If you can use strobes. However having said that, some of the smaller rinks usually you cannot set up strobes, as the ceilings are not high enough and the lights can interfer with the players vision. The flash can throw them off. Otherwise you are stuck with shooting wide open at as high an ISO as you can.
I use strobes all the time. I have four set up currently in a six thousand seat arena, one cannot be everywhere anyway.
Two lights, one on each side of the rink, thousand watts is good,each one, if there is a catwalk, perfect. The best is that the two will cover the whole area from the blue line in. You will get all the action you can handle here.
Then the next thing, is pay attention, the game moves way fast, follow action as close as you can. Try to frame tight, that is the hard part. The best is to get your lens as close to the glass as possible, if it is fairly new plexi, it is not so bad, as you are wide open anyway, and any blips will not hamper you much. Just be aware..there is lots of give in the boards and glass, when those boys hit it moves tons..I almost got knocked out once..had the lens against the glass, and out of my area of view, there was a crash and the boards rammed the camera into my head.
If you shoot from the penalty box, or over the glass..well, that puck really hurts, I have six a stitch scar on my eyebrow. Lucky. Puck over the glass, was standing in the penalty box. Be careful.
Often the best hits come just after a puck is passed.
For starters, focus around the goal area, not just on the goalie of course, but that is where all the action finally funnels too. You will get a quick feel for things from there. Good luck, it is a tough game too shoot. |
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