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|| SportsShooter.com: Member Message Board
Swimming gallery
Andrea Ranalli, Photographer
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Rome | RM | Italy | Posted: 3:51 AM on 06.05.10 |
->> Hi all, in 3 weeks I will shoot a swimming race for the very first time. COuld you sugest me some gallery to watch and study to have an inspirational idea of what to shot?
thanks
A |
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Jamey Price, Photographer, Assistant
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Charlotte | NC | USA | Posted: 6:10 AM on 06.05.10 |
->> Hi Andrea!
Well you can take or leave my advice as you wish...but I was a varsity college swimmer for 4 years. So that makes me an 'expert' on the sport because I have been a competitive swimmer for 15 years and was a photographer for the school for two. It wasnt easy doing both, but I managed. I would take photos until the event leading up to mine, then get in the zone and prepare myself for my own swims. After which, I would warm down, then pick up the camera and go back at it.
My suggestions are simple.
1)Get LOW to the water line. Unless you are specifically looking for an overhead shot of the swimmers, get on their level. That means youre going to get a little wet.
2) Unless it is outdoor, youre going to need some nice gear. Pools are notorious for attrocious lighting conditions so F2.8 and high ISO capable bodies are a must.
3) Dont just shoot swimmers. Swimming is very much a team sport. Swimmers generally consider their teammates closer to family than team members. So watch for some great emotion on the sidelines.
4) Unless a swimmer breaks a world record or wins a REALLY close race, dont expect too much emotion from the swimmers themselves. Unlike running or biking or something like that, swimming is a very hard sport to show or capture the athletes emotion. I can tell you from personal experience that I rarely got out of the water smiling or really pumping my fist if I did well, and likewise, I didnt do anything rash or silly out of frustration when I swam poorly. Generally it was just a big sigh, a downcast eye and a toss of the goggles for a bad swim.
I think that about covers it. Get low, get nice gear, look for teammate emotion, dont wait for a swimmer to be super excited or downcast after a race...unless these are world class athletes trying to make olympic cuts.
I have a few photos on my blog/photoshelter
www.photoshelter.com/c/jameyprice |
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Jamey Price, Photographer, Assistant
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Charlotte | NC | USA | Posted: 6:13 AM on 06.05.10 |
| ->> oh and GOOD LUCK and HAVE FUN! Thats what all this is about isnt it? :D |
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Ray Anderson, Photographer
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Peter Buehner, Photographer
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Orono | ME | USA | Posted: 10:32 AM on 06.05.10 |
->> Other pointers:
make sure you get an event schedule so you know what event is coming up. this is crucial to be in the right spot.
for example: breast stroke or butterfly look great if you shoot them coming at you....but the freestyle looks awful IMO and looks better from an angle so you can see some face.
getting in focus images on some strokes like the butterfly is very hard because the subject bobs in and out of the water. For my mark III if I didn't change the CFn's I would get a very low keeper rate. Once I slowed the AF down and took it off AF point priority, the keeper rate went way up.
Often I was maxed out on aperture and ISO (F2 and ISO 6400) so be prepared for terrible light.
If you have the capability, it would be worth checking on the rules for strobing the event. At my University they were fine just not at the start or during diving events.
good luck! |
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Andrea Ranalli, Photographer
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Rome | RM | Italy | Posted: 12:56 PM on 06.05.10 |
->> Hi,
thanks everybody for the hints.
I hope the light condition will be quite good, it is an outdoor event and is the final of the Italian championships, so a top event.
Thanks
Andrea |
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Nick Morris, Photographer
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San Diego | CA | USA | Posted: 2:49 PM on 06.05.10 |
| ->> Circular Polarizer!!! |
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Jamey Price, Photographer, Assistant
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Charlotte | NC | USA | Posted: 7:26 AM on 06.06.10 |
->> Being outdoors will help A LOT! But like Peter said, know whats coming, and know how long the event is. Count the leaders laps and make sure you are where you need to be to get the photos you want/need.
Id love to see what you get so post em! |
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Steve Ueckert, Photographer
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Houston | TX | | Posted: 10:28 AM on 06.06.10 |
| ->> Do a Google Images search of some of the swimming greats such as Phelps or Spitz, look at the images that appeal to you and dissect how they were made. |
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Michael Fischer, Photographer
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Spencer | Ia | USA | Posted: 11:34 AM on 06.06.10 |
->> Andrea,
Some great advice here and let me throw in some not as great.
All of my swimming assignments are inside, so I strobe the venue with one light. My favorites are actually backlit - the water is caught in mid air and sparkle like diamonds. Look for opportunities to use the light to your advantage.
Michael |
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Steve King, Photographer, Student/Intern
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Ann Arbor | MI | USA | Posted: 3:38 PM on 06.06.10 |
->> Andrea,
First, find a swimming event where you can go and watch so you can visualize where you would position yourself to shoot the best of what you see. This will give you an idea of what an event is like, how fast the events move along, and what other shots you should get besides the swimmers in the water during the event.
Second, prepare to be on your knees and elbows shooting low, getting VERY wet, with a lot of noise all around you. Jamey and Peter gave good tips already, but there are some good shots of interaction immediately after an event, since teammates will come up to any swimmer who just finished with encouragement, and competitors will embrace each other too.
Third, don't try to shoot each swimmer in every event or you'll get nothing. Focus on 1-2 competitors during the event, and watch for drama and emotion from anyone right after the finish.
Fourth, diving is very hard to shoot but worth trying since not many times do you get great perspectives from that event, especially coaches working with them. Try going high, low, and at different angles depending upon the backgrounds and the angle of the sun, and do try panning shots.
Have fun! Ciao! |
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Charles Ludeke, Photographer, Assistant
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Columbia | MO | USA | Posted: 4:57 PM on 06.06.10 |
->> Learn how to read a "Heat Sheet." It's organized by event, women, then men. Within each event are heats, which organizes each swimmer within the event. Slowest go first, fastest last. With exceptions for the distance freestyle (800m, 1500m) and the 400 I.M. Sometimes the fastest go first. It depends on the meet.
Within each heat, the swimmers are stacked like track and field. Fastest inside, slowest out. 4 is fastest, 8 slowest. So 4, 5, 3, 6, 2, 7, 1, 8.
That will help you when you need names. Unlike most sports, swimmers generally don't have any other way of identifying the athletes. No numbers. Most don't have names on their caps.
So pay lots of attention to that so you can get names right. You can always ask for help if you're confused.
Good luck! Oh, and play with light. If it's finals like you said, they'll be in the evening so you'll have great opportunities during the golden hour. |
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Israel Shirk, Photographer, Assistant
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Boise | ID | US | Posted: 7:22 PM on 06.06.10 |
->> This was slightly mentioned above - in swimming the gun is accompanied by a flash, and many swimmers are trained to go off of the flash rather than the sound.
So if you use flash or strobes you have to be careful not to cause false starts. |
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Jamey Price, Photographer, Assistant
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Charlotte | NC | USA | Posted: 11:39 AM on 06.08.10 |
->> Israel makes a VERY important point. DO NOT USE A FLASH ONCE SWIMMERS ARE ON THE BLOCKS.
I would equate it to taking pics during a golfers backswing, except more important. A swimmer WILL be DQ'ed if they false start so just dont use flash before a race. Once theyre in the water, its all fine and dandy. Blast them if you want.
Swimming can be very repetitive so after you get your stock images, try and get creative. There is lots to do and try. And each event has its own style of swim so you know where theyll be and what theyll be doing.
Also be aware that certain swimmers are not comfortable breathing on both sides (in freestyle). Personally, I could not breathe to my right shoulder once I started pushing hard, so youre going to have to get to know each swimmer a bit because each has their own style. |
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Andrea Ranalli, Photographer
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Rome | RM | Italy | Posted: 8:38 AM on 06.10.10 |
->> Thanks again everybody for the great advices, I will show you what I'll do next week after the four days of competitions
thanks
Andrea |
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Andrea Ranalli, Photographer
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Rome | RM | Italy | Posted: 3:50 PM on 06.17.10 |
->> First day of competition, and I have to say: this is one of the most difficult things I ever shot!!!
I hope to have something to share in the next days
Ciao
A |
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Jamey Price, Photographer, Assistant
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Charlotte | NC | USA | Posted: 4:48 PM on 06.17.10 |
| ->> Well if it makes you feel any better, its no easier for the athletes :) Tough sport all around. |
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Jamey Price, Photographer, Assistant
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Charlotte | NC | USA | Posted: 8:31 PM on 06.17.10 |
->> Oh please. Do 'huh' that. ^^^
Whats difficult to understand about it being a tough sport to compete in and a tough sport to photograph? Really? |
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Radu Rosca, Photographer
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Tirgu Mures | MS | Romania | Posted: 3:05 AM on 06.18.10 |
| ->> About the circular polarizer, i have a question, hope it's not stupid. In case of shooting indoors, would you use a polarizer and lose one or two f stops or just shoot witout it and get more light? |
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Andrea Ranalli, Photographer
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Jamey Price, Photographer, Assistant
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Charlotte | NC | USA | Posted: 8:25 AM on 06.18.10 |
| ->> Looks like a solid set of photos to me, Andrea! Great job. |
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Andrea Ranalli, Photographer
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Rome | RM | Italy | Posted: 2:18 PM on 06.18.10 |
| ->> Thanks Jamey! |
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