btbg

Photos from the Clearwater Classic Volleyball Tournament in Bend Oregon.

service receive

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saving a wild pass. The team eventually won the point

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beating a double block

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covering for the hitter on a cut shot

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jaymatt Loc: Alexandria, Indiana

Good job.

raymondh Loc: Walker, MI

Volleyball is tough to shoot. These are pretty darn good!

btbg

Thanks,
Volleyball is one of those things that gets easier to shoot the better the competition.

The team in question won eight straight state titles before finishing third last year. The tournament is the best one in the state every year so the competition was good as well.

Not only that the lighting at the two gyms in question was better than usual.

Made shooting a joy.

timspix Loc: Lexington, SC

Love "Beating the Double Block" !

Jules Karney Loc: Las Vegas, Nevada

Really captured the moment. Good stuff.

vma Loc: Idaho

Btbg
Great photo's
I am just starting to take volleyball photos of district high scholl playoffs. Purchased a 24-70mm lens Im hoping it will be perfect.
Could a d5300 camera with 24-70mm f/2.8 lens be able to get photo's as clear as yours?
What camera, lens & settings did you use?

Thomas902 Loc: Washington DC

btbg kudos on capturing the decisive moments here... Those girls looked to be intently focused on their game...
And you're truly a adventurous photographer for shooting indoor sports... Huge challenge with ambient illumination levels and color temperature...

"What camera, lens & settings?" vma for the first amazing capture btbg used a Nikon D300S, w/ AF 80-200mm f/2.8D lens set to 80mm & f/2.8 @ 1/350 ISO:1600 hope this helps...

vma for this type of volleyball scenario you might want to consider the AF-S 85mm f/1.8G Nikkor it's razor sharp and will focus on your D5300

Thank you for sharing btbg... must have been a super fun event!

67skylark27 Loc: Fort Atkinson, WI

Second vote for the D5300 and using the 85mm 1.8 with it for indoor volleyball. I use the other primes
also depending on where I sit - 50mm 1.4 and 35 1.8. ISO 640,1/640th or 1/800, at 1.8.

vma Loc: Idaho

Thank you everyone. I was getting discouraged but your enthusiasm has helped me not resort to taking pictures of flowers (its fall they are almost gone). Wish you all a great photo day. Life is good.

67skylark27 Loc: Fort Atkinson, WI

Just by my own observations with shooting volleyball and specifically to shutter speed:
If you want to freeze the action and the ball when it's being spiked, you want a minumum
of 1/640 or 1/800. Digs are fine at 1/500 and player reactions/celebrations are a bit lower.
Too slow of shutter speed kills clarity/sharpness. I think shutter speed is more important
than iso to some degree. What I have found is focus is the most difficult part of shooting volleyball,
mainly because a players moving in front of your focus point and back out. Shooting single point,
continuous focus has led to more keepers for me, shooting vertical gets the ball in more shots, and
shooting jpeg large on hi speed. Also, focus on one player at a time, or one type of shot, blocking,
spiking, digging etc rather than trying to follow the ball around.

My guess, and this is only a guess on a lens I've never used. Start out with these settings:
ISO 1600, f2.8, 1/500th, jpeg large,AF-C on single point,Hi continuous shooting and really focus
on shooting on the number of the player, in vertical. The amount of lighting in the gym determines
the quality - try to get to 800 iso if possible, and if you have a gym with great lighting, shoot
like mad and take advantage of it.

vma Loc: Idaho

Thank you 67skylark27. I took some pictures last week with auto ISO and with a UV filter on. The pictures were a bit blurry but my lighting was good (because the ISO really creeped up 6400). I forgot to take the filter off & besides needing more light what other negative does a UV filter cause?
I'm going to take my 50mm f/1.8 & 24-70 f/2.8 Thursday. I will try & post a couple pictures if I remember how. The game will be in another school gymnasium so who knows what the lighting will be like in this school. Thanks again.

67skylark27 Loc: Fort Atkinson, WI

Yes, please post some pics, although starting a new thread would be a good idea for those as
we're not the Original Poster. Or message me with them and I'll share as well. I shot last
Thursday's game at ISO 1600 and my images were acceptable to share on Facebook
and will print just fine for the parents at 8x10.

vma Loc: Idaho

I got to shoot a few High School Volleyball pictures last night. D7200 w 24-70 f/2.8
ISO 800. 1/500 & 1/640 spot focus
It was so much fun. Im learning but appreciate your criticism. I did lighten the exposure a bit in lightroom.

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67skylark27 Loc: Fort Atkinson, WI

These are nice, getting the celebrations are important, plus getting the ball in there!
With the camera setup you have, going higher in the iso will really help, try going to 1600
next and getting your shutter speed up to 1/800 or 1/1000. That will make your images
sharper. Can't wait to see more!