Indoor public sport event with a flash pictures

[elz]

Ilike to attend outdoor soccer game and follow the ball with the 40d at 300mm f5.6 or so, under the bright sun it give very clever pictures. I also take pictures of my friends playing hockey on indoor ice arena. It's indeed very dark in there.


I just bought a 580ex2 flash but I wonder how will players react at having someone to blind them at some place in the arena.


So, I would be very interested into seeing some of your pictures of "indoor public sport event with a flash" pictures . Of course any comment and exif is more than welcome.


To start the topic I will try to upload a picture of the kind of area I'm talking about.

[Sean Setters]

If you have the equipment to do so, one of the best things you can do is place off-camera flashes up above eye-level in places around the arena. Check out this strobist article for more information.

[WAFKT]

I gota agree with Sean. You're likely not going to be very impressed with the results that you'd get from an on-camera flash in an arena - so many factors are working against you. You asked if players might find your on-camera flash distracting - yes, quite likely - you're introducing a very powerful (albeit quick) light from a single point; it's unbalanced within the space. Another problem that I've come across is that unless you're able to provide all the light for the shot from just your flash (i.e. you're not just adding supplemental lighting to the shot), the white balance in your images are likely to look really bad because you'll end up with two different light sources with differing colour temperatures (and to make things worse the colour temperature from arena lighting - metal halide, fluorescent, etc... - actually fluctuate about 60 times a second). Sure you can likely tweak the white balance in post-processing, but that takes time. That's why most professional sport photographers prefer to use enough flash units that all(or at least the vast majority of)the lighting for shots is being supplied by flash units only. Easier said then done - you'd likely be looking at more than 10-16 flash units placed around a hockey arena, but you'd achieve consistent colour, faster shutter speeds and you wouldn't be distracting players with flash coming from one point. A much cheaper option would be a faster lens (e.g. f/2.8, f/2, f/1.8, f/1.4, f/1.2).

[elz]

Thank you for taking time to answer my query.


In the mean time I asked the hockey game organisator if it would be any bother I use a flash? He told me it wasnt a problem as they where professional players and they where used to have flash in the border.


so here is how I understand it : "I'll flash them"


damit

[peety3]

Well, good luck, but I suspect many of us would suggest that you lower your expectations to a very low threshold. The white reflective surface will really mess with the camera's meter, and the area closer than your subject will end up very bright. Different players will end up different brightness, etc. That's why people suggest that you hang your flashes in the rafters - for more even lighting.

[elz]

Thank you alot for you took the time to give me those advices.


They will go play soon and then I'll take pictures of them while they play. I have read on some forum that the ex580ii can reach up to 100 meter but I dont really beleive that.


I cannot say anything untill I try. Too bad the ex580ii dont write in the exif the position it was while taking the picture... yeah, then all slave flash would have to be writen in that exif too... I'm dreaming in color now


now I'm concerned about the plastic protector glass there is all around the ice arena.


of course I can hang a bit in the players room, but as a photographer I dont think I really belong there.


Maybe if I put the flash and the glass very near the protective glass I can get something... but I'm not sure at all

[peety3]

They will go play soon and then I'll take pictures of them while they play. I have read on some forum that the ex580ii can reach up to 100 meter but I dont really beleive that.

The 580 flashes have a (metric) guide number of 58 meters. That assumes ISO 100 and f/1. With more ISO it'll reach farther (but with smaller aperture than f/1 it won't reach farther).

[elz]

That's just great as I always try to take pictures as 100 iso. I know the 5d can do 50iso but that's just a software fake like the 40d can do 3200 iso at double something at 1600. Anyway, that's a bit off topic, but thank you alot for the precision, I didnt knew that.





What I'm really concerned about is that arena have plastic protective glass. Not that i'm afraid to shoot a receive the puck in the dslr gear, maybe I'll go sit in the players bench to take pictures, there is no protective glass there. But otherwise, I'm sure the flash just bounce there. I think put the flash next too the glass if I can, but that feel a bit unconfortable. is there's any other way to shoot a hockey game in a area? Maybe I'll try to set the flash at 45' so it wont over expose the reflective glass, but there wont be any wall up there to bounce the light.

[elz]

Well I think you guys are right. I looked at some pictures in google images about hockey and it seem most images where took with a fast aperture lens. I own the 50mm 1.4f (not the L one hehe) and with a iso of about 800 I can take some interesting pictures. I think I'll be a bit shy to go into the chamber door and take a few pictures with my flash, but I think the player will understand that's it to immortelase them. But I as see it now, most commercial pictures of hockey games use fast lens rather than flash for indoor hockey (those protective glasses ... ). Not that I care for the money, I'm an amateur that does it as a hobby, but I learn from professional technique.