Some Hockey Shooting Advise Please

Hello,

I have been asked to shoot some local hockey high school games and have previously never shot any sports.

I would greatly appreciate any suggestions so I don't end up with crap at the end of each session/game.

I shoot with two Nikon D200's and have six or so of the higher end Nikon lenses.

Thank you,
Derek

Hi,
The only sport that I have shot is horseback riding. But I can tell you that out of all the pictures that I shot of the jumping horses the fastest shutter speed ones were the best. I don't have any suggestions on lighting because I shot outside.. sorry. Also, it seemed that when I was putting them all together is was more convenient to crop the photos down to where I wanted them. So, don;t zoom in to much and you will have more to work with in the end. I hope this helps a bit. I am by no means a pro but that is what worked best for me

Hi Derek,

Nill Toulme amongst others will help you when they see your thread. They really know!

Meanwhile, some ideas. I assume it's ice hockey Go to the ice rink and find out where you will be allowed to shoot from. See if you can photograph during a practice game or when the rink is used for something else. Ask the coach what they want.

The idea, AFAIK, is to catch each of the kids in some action and at the same time get all the peak moments. You want to arrange with the coach to have the kids line up at the end of the game to take a team shot. Think of how you are going to deliver the pictures. Will you be selling to parents or delivering a set of pictures to the school. Don't end up shooting and then find the consent from the parents is missing! This has to be worked out. Also will you have exclusive rights to sell the pictures to parents or are there other photographers too and will they be competing for your space?

Do you have an account with exposure manage.com. smugmug or some other site that will allow you to sell you pictures online after the game?

Exposure manager, (like the others) will allow you to set your prices and the company will deliver your pictures with your logo on them and conact info as if it came from you and then each month give you the difference between the print cost and what you charge for the orders they fulfill.

Usually it's better to start as an assistant!

Good luck.

I look forward to sports shooters to fillng in the parts I have omitted.

Asher

Hello,

Thanks for the replies so far. Really looking for exposure info and the lighting is that odd stuff that causes exposure problems.

I am doing this as a favor to the coaches/team and will not be selling anything. Mainly the shots are to be used on the school's web site and perhaps a print or two made, but this is not a paying job for me by any stretch.

Thanks for your replies and happy holidays,
Derek

hi derek!
i shoot alot of high school hockey.
my first suggestion is to shoot raw so you adjust the white balance later. because of the way the lights cycle, often sequential shots do not look the same! i shoot canon and use the 70-200 f/2.8 most of the time. i try to keep the shutter speed as high as possible, but it can get as low as 1/400, maybe 1/250 and still be ok. to accomplish this i am usually at iso 1600, and usually around f/4
i suggest finding a good clear spot in the glass - that can be a real challenge - and hang out down at your team's scoring end. follow the puck.
nill can elaborate more i'm sure!

Hi Derek. If you haven't already done so, read the Sports Basics sticky thread in this forum.

You'll want to shoot manual exposure in the rink. What lenses do you have available? You'll need at least f/2.8 and maybe f/2. Start out trying 1/400 f/2.8 (or f/2 if you have it) at ISO 1600 and 3200 and see what your histograms look like. You'll have a lot more keepers if you can keep your shutter speed at 1/400 or better.

Nill
~~
www.toulme.net

Great suggestions from Marian & Nill's. The sports thread btw is excellent, thank you for reminding me it was here.

My son played hockey for years. Getting a clear piece of glass to shoot through will be difficult. If you decide to shoot from the bench's or the timer/penalty box area I have only one word of advice. Helmet!

Borrow one if you have to. If you are anywhere in the stands where you could be hit, wear it there too. Often you may find yourself isolating a player away from the action and thats when you'll get hit.

I've seen more than one parent or local press photog go down from an errant puck while taking pictures. Depending on the age/skill level of the players, those pucks can do some serious damage.

Have fun and please post afterwards.

Jeff

Thanks much for the replies.

I was planning to shoot with the 70-200 2.8 Nikon lense I have and my D200s though I am not at all happy with the noise levels the D200s seem to have, but that is another issue altogether i guess.

Anyway I appreciate the thoughts and the link to the Basics thread I will take a look at it today.

take care and Happy Holidays,
Derek

Let me add that Derek needs to deal with poor arena lighting and not get into expensive equipment.

Derek, what flash do you have?

Asher

i think derek's 2.8 lens should be ok, especially shooting raw and using a noise cleaning program...no need for flash. my high school shooting is in arenas of varying quality of lights and even in the bad ones i can get some decent shots. i also am strongly opposed to using flash during a game. it's ok if you're shooting a long shot from the stands, or posed shots before/after the game, but if you are ice level shooting players skating at you during the game, i don't think it's a good idea.

It's especially not a good idea if you're shooting thru the glass. ;-)

Happy Holidays to all,

Nill
~~
www.toulme.net