Photographing Indoor Sports in an Arena

[gracefulcreations]

On Sunday, I will be shadowing the lead photographer of a semi pro sports team. They play inside an arena, where there are no sidelines. I was told this type of photography is quite challenging because the photographers are not allowed to move around until the end of each quater.

I am still learning my manual mode, and shoot with an AF-S Nikkor 18-200mm 1:3.5-5.6 GED lens with a Speedlight SB600 on top.

Do you think this lens is fast enough - and if so, do you have an suggested settings for A, P, S? Should i set my lens to infinity?

Any and all suggestions are welcome with much advanced thanks!

[zona5101]

i would say that lens will give you fits trying to get decent shutter speed to stop action....even if you crank your iso up. That changes a bit if you can use flash but I wouldn't think flash would be a go during a game. With flash you have additional challenges of getting even lighting or just over shooting your flash to subject distance. Despite any difficulties, have fun and watch the person you're shadowing. Hopefully they will be open to talking aloud about what they are thinking and how they are approaching each shot.

[mrteacherdude]

Is there a way you can find out what the typical equipment is that photographers use there?

I'm with zona5101 in thinking your current lens will give you fits, but you will probably still be able to get some good shots. If you happen to get into one of those arenas that have exceptional lighting, than you'll be good to go

I've used kit lenses at indoor events (typically with marginal lighting at best) and have gotten some decent pics, and I know people who do the same and get some decent shots. However, fast lenses take away a lot of the worries about having a fast enough shutter speed without cranking up the ISO to catch the action, and they definitely increase the probability of getting good shots that are properly exposed. If you can get your hands on one, I would recommend taking along a good quality zoom that will open up to 2.8 (70-200mm seems to be a popular size). I've also found that a fast prime (at least f2.0) can be invaluable if the lighting is not so great, but make sure it also focuses fast. A good zoom will give you more range since you aren't allowed to move around the arena. Even if you find yourself in a lighting scenario that doesn't require the fast lens to capture the images, you will likely (but not always, depending on the lens) have superior autofocus performance because the lens is letting more light hit the focus sensors. (Note that in bright light, autofocus performance on wide aperture lenses is likely to be less). Since you are shooting on Sunday though, it may be rather short notice to borrow or otherwise acquire a faster lens. But you will likely learn a lot from experience!

I can't address flash as I don't use them at the indoor events I attend; not allowed as far as I know. And even if it was, I don't want to risk someone blaming me (using me as an excuse more like it) for a loss because I was distracting with the flashy thing.

IMO you'll want to stay in manual mode so the camera doesn't get twitchy on you trying to accommodate for the different lighting in different parts of the arena. It's very frustrating when the camera won't fire because the conditions aren't right for it. Manual causes it to shoot when you tell it to, and it takes a load off it's "brain." And personally, I would rather have underexposed or overexposed shots than none at all; if nothing else I can use them as a basis for learning more, and as a justification to acquire better glass With your current lens, you'll likely just want to open it all the way and set your ISO as high as you can without getting grainy pics. Play with the shutter speed to get it as fast as you can without ending up with dark pictures. You didn't mention what the event was, but I'm guessing it will be moving quickly, which could cause you to need relatively fast shutter speeds to stop action (at least 1/500, but probably even faster). You may find shooting into one part of the arena gives you better results than other parts depending on where the ambient light sources are and what type of light it is.

Unless your system totally chokes on you and refuses to autofocus, I would leave the autofocus on and let the camera do the work for you. I would set it to use the center focus point only as that is typically the most sensitive (I don't know what kind of autofocus system your camera has). If you find that the action seems to be taking place in one part of the arena more than other places, you might try manually focusing for that spot and wait for the action to get there.

I also agree (with zona5101) that the primary thing you should do is have fun and observe carefully, ask questions if it is tolerated. I'm a hobbyist at this time so I try not to ask too many questions of the pros at events as they are working, just a quick one if I can get one in, or I just kind of lurk around to see what kind of equipment they are using. Since you are actually shadowing though, that may be a different situation. Take advantage of it if it is a case of open questioning.