I have been given the opportunity to shoot a couple of WNBA games in the Key Arena. I've never shot in this situation and I'm looking for some pointers on expected lighting, lens choices, ISO and whatever else anyone can provide……………………... and a HUGE THANKS, Doug
Having shot some NBA, I can tell you that the most frequently used lenses are a 70-200 f/2.8 for near court and a 300 f/2.8 for far court. Occasionally, a 24-70 is useful if you happen to be on the baseline very close to the basket.
I can't help you with the lighting as I've never shot in that arena.
Thanks Russ………I'm not sure were I've heard that in the better arena's photographers can trigger strobes that are mounted high above the court….is there any truth to that?
guitarslinger wrote:
Thanks Russ………I'm not sure were I've heard that in the better arena's photographers can trigger strobes that are mounted high above the court….is there any truth to that?
Agree with Russ there, 70-200/2.8 and 300/2.8, you might consider a fisheye to get some interesting under the hoop shots, try to sit by the video camera men that are typically sitting next to the hoop
guitarslinger wrote:
I'm not sure were I've heard that in the better arena's photographers can trigger strobes that are mounted high above the court….is there any truth to that?
There is, but generally its the house photographer or team photographer that has access to the strobes, many times there are multiple banks, house/team, SI, local papers, etc. Depends on the arena and teams. A general photographer doesn't just get to use them, most of the time they will pay to rent them which can get to upwards of $600/game depending on the event.
A lot of photographers seem to be going away from using strobes as the high iso quality in the D3/D3s Mark III/Mark IVs are very good.
Geoff is right - the strobes are almost always reserved for the house shooters, unless you want to pay the steep rental fees.
OT a bit, while I agree the current crop of cameras allow you to shoot at higher ISO's, you still cannot beat shooting with strobes: they eliminate all color casts you can often get with house lights, and they also allow you to shoot stopped down to open up your depth of field.
I have no idea where Key Arena is…tried to look it up on another web site that has information on shooting venues and couldn't find it.
As for lenses, the above advice from all the posters is solid: 70-200 for near court stuff; 300 or even a 400 for far court; occasionally a 24-70 for wide near court action, too.
'Slinger, drop a message to this shooter via her SportsShooter member page, and ask about the lighting at Key Arena. She should be able to help you out.
Looks like you've about got it covered with the lens advice you've already received.
Honestly, exposure shouldn't be very difficult to figure out. High ISO and wide open so you have fast enough shutter speeds needed to stop action. That would mean at least 1/500 or 1/640. I'm gonna guess 1/640, f2.8 at ISO3200 might be close (give or take a bit on the ISO).
OT a bit, while I agree the current crop of cameras allow you to shoot at higher ISO's, you still cannot beat shooting with strobes: they eliminate all color casts you can often get with house lights, and they also allow you to shoot stopped down to open up your depth of field.
Its true the colors do punch a lot more when strobed, if you look at the most recent SI's a lot of the featured photography probably wasn't, at least it didn't look it to me.
As for lenses, the above advice from all the posters is solid: 70-200 for near court stuff; 300 or even a 400 for far court; occasionally a 24-70 for wide near court action, too.
Sounds about right, generally I'm shooting my 70-200 on a Full frame near court, and 300 far court with either full frame or crop body.
