Have a new meet this weekend. The gym has horrible lighting(as most do). Directional hanging lightheads. Heavy shadows, dark walls(no chance of reflective lighting). My question is..has anyone setup extra lights? The ceiling is open, I could hang them from the steel beams. Also what event do you shoot? I have tried shooting the the floor and the beam, bouncing back and forth. I have also just shot just one event, beam. What do you shoot?
Thanks
Tracy
White Balance so easy, even our 5 year old can do it.- Melissa Strickland
Tracy,
I doubt if you can use any strobes or additional lighting at this event. Gymnastics is one of a handful of sports where typically you cannot use strobes. In my experience the only way is to shoot with fast 1.8-1.4-or 1.2 lenses trying to get the fastest shutter speed you can. Try to do a custom wb/ set a manual exposure and blast away. The use of the fast lenses is a must and if you do not have access to them see if you can rent them for the weekend.
Rob
White Balance so easy, even our 5 year old can do it.- Melissa Strickland
Beam is the easiest event to shoot for gymnastics. I think hanging some halogen garage work lights from the ceiling might get the extra light you need without being distracting since they are so high up.
But it would be a couple hours of work and probably cost you $80 to $150. Plus do you really want to take the lights up and down after every competition? Seems like you would want to keep them there. Don't know if it would be worth the extra effort.
Peace, Rolland
White Balance so easy, even our 5 year old can do it.- Melissa Strickland
Hi,
Thanks, Yea the strobes are out.... that would make it too easy.
The work lights are a good idea. I have several 250watt video lights
that give great consistent color. I'll talk to the owner about hang them.
This is a new gym, so the weekend will be my crack at it. It also happens to be the gym my daughter attends so leaving them should not be a problem. My question about which event is really geared toward ...what event is more profitable? I do ok with the beam but always looking to increase the bottom line.
Tracy
White Balance so easy, even our 5 year old can do it.- Melissa Strickland
I shoot thousands of gymnast each year at dozens of gyms and almost all of them have poor lighting. Most of the time I am shooting at f/1.8-f/2, ISO 1600 just to get 1/320th shutter or faster.
Primes are basically the only way to go if you want to be able to stop action - which is what the parents want. You also benefit from the shallow DOF that sets them apart from the background.
My favorite lens to shoot with is the 200/1.8, followed closely by the 135/2 and lastly the 85/1.8 - on the Canon lineup. With primes, you won't need extra lights - but you'll have to consider the light cycling (see recent posting under sports - "Nikon for gymnastics") and you'll also have to factor in your position to get the most out of primes.
As far as most money making apparatus - that depends on the level your shooting.
Beam is generally good all around - but floor gives you more opportunity to get shots. Bars are great if you can capture release moves on upper level gymnasts.
I'm planning to shoot all 4 events at the TN state optional meet here in Chattanooga on 3/13-14 - come on up if you get a chance.
Brian.
White Balance so easy, even our 5 year old can do it.- Melissa Strickland
But extra lights sure will help. If you can go from 1600 to 800 iso that is a major difference in my book. And small local gyms are often so poorly lite that even 1.8 primes aren't enough.
White Balance so easy, even our 5 year old can do it.- Melissa Strickland
After I read your post, I looked at the Canon Website for their lens lineup. I didn't find any telephoto zoom better than 2.8 and the fastest telephoto prime is the 2.0 135mm. Did I read your post correctly that you have a Canon 200mm 1.8? Or is it a different brand or obsolete?
White Balance so easy, even our 5 year old can do it.- Melissa Strickland
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