p.1 #1 · Suggestions and tips for a shot of a hockey puck getting hit
I have a buddy who asked me if I could get a close up shot of a hockey puck getting smacked by a hockey stick. He wants me to try and capture the pieces of ice that could potentially spray out.
At this point that is all I have to go on so very open to any tips.
I need more help on suggestions on how to get that type of shot as opposed to camera settings.
I'm thinking that even under optimal conditions, this could take multiple tries on both the guy swinging the stick as well as me trying to get the shot, even assuming the guy is semi decent.
Concerns of ice/water hitting the lens and always having to wipe it clean after every shot, getting hit by the puck or ice/water myself, etc.
Should I sit 1-2 feet away and shoot with a lens like a 24-70mm or should I sit back farther with a 70-200mm?
p.1 #2 · Suggestions and tips for a shot of a hockey puck getting hit
I would probably use a fisheye lens and set it on the floor as close to the puck/stick as possible, then lay down on the floor looking through an angle finder to know when to fire the shutter. I'm kidding! (sort of; actually a FE could offer some interesting possibilities if one was really wanting to try something different).
Seriously, I've had photos showing sweat being knocked a football player taken with a 400/f2.8 from 30-35 yards away, so I'm not sure why you would think about being so close as to worry about getting hit by the stick/puck, or cleaning ice off the lens. I'd probably start with a 70-200 and set it up so it was enough out of the way to not have any issues.
I would say more important than the lens and the placement would be how you light this project. Not sure how to begin suggesting how this might be done without knowing what you've got to work with in terms of venue and lighting gear/experience.
p.1 #3 · Suggestions and tips for a shot of a hockey puck getting hit
jimil wrote:
I'm open to any and all ideas and suggestions.
Thanks guys!
My suggestion is to use a fast prime of moderate length. Say an 85 f/1.8 or 100 f/2. Then use a tripod and cable release. Focus on the puck and try to get the shot right as a person slaps it. The fast prime allows you a faster shutter speed and because the environment is controlled, you don't really need to worry about zooming or moving around. A cable release will allow you to watch the stick without using the viewfinder, making it easier to time the shot with photograph.
If you go with a flash, which would also be a good idea, the prime would be less important.
p.1 #6 · Suggestions and tips for a shot of a hockey puck getting hit
Thanks for the suggestions guys. I'm still trying to get more info on what exactly he wants for the shot. I'm thinking that a combination of a 70-200mm shooting way down low at just above the ice. Now that I've sorta narrowed the plane down to a x-y axis, I just need to determine where I should be shooting from.
Either from behind or from the front at various angles in relation to where the puck is.
As far as lighting goes, it will probably be under house lights at a large skating rink and I'll supplement that with dual 580EX II's.
Never done any sort of action shot like this before as I'm usually outdoors shooting motorsports.
p.1 #11 · Suggestions and tips for a shot of a hockey puck getting hit
Sorry - didn't mean to take over the thread. My point should have been more clearly articulated. I took about 40 shots to get the smashing apple. Lots more were close, but not the exact moment. And I knew exactly when the impact was going to happen, it is just incredibly fast - and then it's over. This was taken at 1/1250 and the spray from the apple moves a surprising amount in that short time. I imagine the puck/spray will be very similar. Because the ice (background) and the spray are the same color, you will have an even bigger challenge. If you can get the camera all the way down to ice level, you may be able to put up a small black drop in order to get some contrast. And then just shoot a bunch in order to narrow down that moment of impact.
p.1 #12 · Suggestions and tips for a shot of a hockey puck getting hit
You're gonna need a fast shutter speed to really freeze things in terms of flying spray. This is 1/800th on a stick flex shot (ISO5000) and still I wish I had more...
p.1 #13 · Suggestions and tips for a shot of a hockey puck getting hit
place puck on ice, place camera next to puck, set flash to 1/128th and very close to puck, spray & pray. Should either take you 5 minutes or 5 hrs, depend on how good you are.
p.1 #14 · Suggestions and tips for a shot of a hockey puck getting hit
I have zero experience here, but the rusty cogs are turnin' in the ole noggin. You are definitely going to have to use flash to freeze action. How about using a sound trigger (with correct delay) to trigger a speedlight set to fast flash duration? I know for balloon bursts/glass breaking/etc they have a dark room so the shutter sits open for a few seconds and the burst/break triggers the flash... which in turn only shows what was flashed in the image, which is the bursting/breaking.
Perhaps you could shoot on dim ice like this and have the slap of the stick trigger the flash?
I'm kidding! (sort of; actually a FE could offer some interesting possibilities if one was really wanting to try something different).