MMA Fights

[mark1123]

I am taking pictures at an MMA (mixed martial arts) event in a few weeks. I guess the setup is similar to a boxing match...building is dark in general, but lights directly on/in the ring. I would be taking action shots from outside the ring during the fights, and then be in the ring after each fight for pictures of the fighters.
I have a Nikon D300 with an external flash. I need to figure out the camera settings, or at least get them close before the event.
I hope to find a couple of events that happen before this one so I can practice, but I wouldn't be able to get in the ring to practice.
Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks.

[oldwolf]

High ISO and somewhat low f/stop.

You can also point your flash up and tape an index card to it so the light bounces forward. That way you won't blind the fighters or his corner when you're in the ring taking pics.

If you want to freeze the action then shoot in shutter priority mode and try different shutter speeds. Not sure what the max sync speed on the D300 is though so you'd top out at whatever sync speed it is.

I'd definitely go with a high ISO no matter what mode you shoot in though.

Knowing the sport will also help you with getting that one shot that people will talk about for a long time. Worse thing you can do when shooting sports is to not know the sport enough to anticipate a crucial moment.

[fearthepenguin]

Just a word of advice from someone who's been on the inside of the ring. Don't forget that most of the rings are in chain link cages. Their is a good chance that you won't be able to shoot between the roops like you can at a boxing match and the cage is usually around 7 to 8 feet tall.

[oldwolf]

Originally Posted by fearthepenguin

Just a word of advice from someone who's been on the inside of the ring. Don't forget that most of the rings are in chain link cages. Their is a good chance that you won't be able to shoot between the roops like you can at a boxing match and the cage is usually around 7 to 8 feet tall.

It depends on the promotion. He might luck out with a ring and not a cage. Pride is a big promotion out there and they still use a ring. Of course they aren't US based but there are still some smaller ones in the US that use a ring. Keep your fingers crossed hehe.

There was a book released by some UFC photographer a few weeks back. Some of the photos looked pretty good even though he had to contend with shooting through a cage. If you can find it at the book store then I'd suggest looking through it. It might give you some ideas about what angles give the most drama and what not.

Good luck.

[mark1123]

Thanks, I appreciate the tips. Unfortunately, it's in a cage and it's 7' tall. The D300 max ISO is 3200. I'll try using a high ISO and experiment with different shutter speeds. Do you think these settings will be ok knowing that in some situations, I'll be in the dark and the action is in the light?
I think I want a mix of pics where the action is frozen and some more artistic where it's blurred a little.
I've been in the sport for a few years so I'm familiar with how it works. I'm going to see if I can find that book, too.

Thanks again.
Mark

[oldwolf]

Name of the book it Octagon by Kevin Lynch.

You should be ok with the ISO. I'd probably bump it down one notch just to try and avoid the noise at higher ISOs.

Another trick you can do is to get rid of that matrix focusing or whatever Nikon calls it. It's where it analyzes all the points in your AF system and picks the best ones to focus on. Turn that off and use just one focus point. That way you can focus in on the action beyond the cage and it should blur out the cage.

The camera won't care if you're sitting in the dark. It only cares where you point it and what light is hitting the sensor. Ok, it might care if you were sitting in the dark and it was getting rained on but that's besides the point.