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|| SportsShooter.com: Member Message Board
College Gymnastics tips
Larry Lawson, Photographer
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Portland | OR | USA | Posted: 2:30 PM on 01.08.11 |
->> For those who have photographed college gymnastics meets, could you share what your preferred lenses are? I've no idea what range we're allowed to shoot from.
Also if there are any strategies that people would like to share, those would be appreciated too! |
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Mark Loundy, Photo Editor
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San Jose | CA | USA | Posted: 2:36 PM on 01.08.11 |
->> Larry,
I really depends on the specific venue. It might help if you posted where you'll be shooting.
--Mark |
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Larry Lawson, Photographer
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Portland | OR | USA | Posted: 3:39 PM on 01.08.11 |
| ->> Sorry :) - One venue would be Gill Coliseum in Corvallis, OR. Another might Arizona State in Feb (still tentative). |
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Justin Edmonds, Student/Intern, Photographer
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Denver | CO | USA | Posted: 4:14 PM on 01.08.11 |
->> Fast primes are always a huge help in stopping the action. 50, 85, 135 and occasionally a 300/400 depending on the venue.
That being said, the most important thing is knowing the routines. You can have any lens that you want but if you're in the wrong place at the wrong time it's not going to do you any good.
If you are following one specific team I suggest going to a practice or intrasquad meet and literally charting what each girl does on each apparatus as it most likely will not change much over the course of the season. They also have to perform a specific set of skills every time so knowing the sport is essential. For example they have to do three tumbling passes, two jumps and a dance on the floor while on the bars they have to do at least one release.
I'm covering a meet tonight and so I went to watch the girls practice yesterday (with the coaches permission) and now know exactly where I need to be to make the best pictures of each girl.
You know where (for the most part) the girls are going to be so it's a great sport to deploy remotes as well.
-Justin |
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Kevin Novak, Photographer, Assistant
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Gregory Greene, Photographer
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Durham | NH | USA | Posted: 6:18 PM on 01.09.11 |
->> Wow, those photos taken by Russ Isabella are wonderful. I'm
so jealous of the quality of lighting he has to work with.
Those backgrounds are awesome! |
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Russ Isabella, Photographer
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Salt Lake City | UT | USA | Posted: 9:06 PM on 01.09.11 |
->> Larry,
I'll second some of the advice you've already received. Knowing the routines can be helpful, especially on floor. BUT, since you can't move during a routine, in most cases (beam and floor especially), there's no way you can be in position for all of the things you'd like to capture (while the athlete might be facing you for a leap, for example, she'll have her back to you during a pose). So the best you can hope for by knowing the routines is where to shoot from to have a shot at the parts you'd most like to capture. (On floor, you also should key into the music as you're shooting, since the ebb and flow of the action of the routine tends to be synchronized with the pacing of the music.) Having said that, there are likely to be some limits. Judges sit to one side of the beam, for example, so you'll be limited on that side. Then, depending on the arena, there may be other space limitations that will affect your positioning. You also have to consider backgrounds, which can rule out some of the places you'd like to shoot from.
As for lenses, the fast primes rule, but being able to shoot with a 70-200 f/2.8 sure is convenient. My best shots typically come from the 85 f/1.8 (beam and bars), 200 f/1.8 (floor) and 35L (beam and bars if I can get close enough) Canon lenses.
Just posted a new set on Fred Miranda from last Friday night's meet with the University of Utah hosting defending champions UCLA (women's gymnastics)
http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/970916 |
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Tim Casey, Photographer
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Gainesville | FL | USA | Posted: 11:12 PM on 01.09.11 |
->> My $0.02:
As posted above, it really helps to know the routines. When you can shoot the same team in two meets, make sure to stand in opposite positions each time.
I generally use a 70-200 2.8 for the vault, bars and floor exercise, and use a 300 2.8 for the beam when shooting from a position that gives a cleaner background.
Like all sports, don't assume you have to shoot from the floor level. A high angle can be nice because of a cleaner background.
I prefer to shoot the floor exercise from the corners; preferably near a judge or the rest of the team because the athletes will usually have pauses where they smile at the judges or look back at their teammates and react after performing.
The vault moves so fast, and you can't use strobes, so it used to be very difficult to get good action shots when limited to ISO 1600. The newer cameras do a lot to help with that problem.
Many of the more memorable gymnastics photos aren't action shots, they are reactions after sticking a landing or facial expressions during the floor exercise.
Even if you are just shooting one team at a meet, you could easily burn through 1,500-3,000 frames because of the constant movement. It isn't fun to edit through that much, so try to slow down and wait for the action, reactions and athletes to be facing you. |
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Justin Edmonds, Student/Intern, Photographer
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Denver | CO | USA | Posted: 12:22 AM on 01.10.11 |
| ->> Just wanted to share a few favorites from last night's meet that are up on the blog: http://bit.ly/dZzkhS |
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Stew Milne, Photographer
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Providence | RI | USA | Posted: 2:25 PM on 01.10.11 |
->> Justin, nice work. I wish I shot in a well lit college arena and had catwalks to mount remounts for overheads.
Larry, some of my elite work can be seen here:
http://uspresswire.com/sets/90394
http://uspresswire.com/sets/90334
I shoot with fast primes, 85/1.8, 135/2 and 300/2.8 . I like to get low to accentuate the leaps. I don't really care for overhead positions, except for floor, where it cleans up the background.
-sM |
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