Twin 1 Loc: Nor California

Tomorrow afternoon I will join an experienced rugby photographer at a college rugby match. While he will always be helpful, I want to approach the match with some semblance of organization. I am still at the stage where those things that are automatic to him are a challenge for me. He has a job to do and I don't want to interfere with rookie questions because he will stop and try to answer them.

It will be a sunny day, early afternoon. I have a 7D, 70-200 f4 lens, with 1.4 extender. I will have a monopod.

I will start with Av mode with the lens initially set at f5.6 so the background is not in focus , but I am asking for any other hints to set this camera up to give me the chance to shoot pictures and not worry about missing something that I didn't set up.

What AF setting, manual, etc?, metering? Anything else.

I may blow the whole afternoon but I want to at least give myself a chance to get a decent picture or two without stopping to fumble with the menu.

Thanks for any guidance you might offer.

CaptainC Loc: Colorado, south of Denver

As a general statement, the best sports images show the ball and the players' eyes. Some exceptions, but not many.

AF should be Continuous or whatever Canon calls it -continuous servo or something. As action comes TO you, depress the shutter to begin focusing, then fire at the right time. This is where using the back button focus can be useful.

DO NOT take images of the backs of players or players doing nothing - we called those JSA shots - Just Standing Around.

Wait until the play gets close - it is tempting to shoot action far away, but those are garbage - you need CLOSE images.

If you set up right at the beginning, you will NEVER need the menus.

Twin 1 Loc: Nor California

Thanks for the pointers, eyes, faces. and the ball. I will concentrate on that. Tight shots, fill the frame.

I will pretty much stay in one area. I was told that moving around with a camera is for the young guys and that isn't me. I will let them find me.

ekimaging Loc: New Orleans, LA

I've been a photographer for 40+yrs, but have only photographed rugby now for about 5yrs.
The answer to how/what to shoot is up to you and what you will do with those photos. For example, the first three yrs of shooting rugby all my images went to a year end slideshow dvd. The images could be general, in that I tried to include shots with many players in one shot, etc, to include as many of the boys as I could. I didn't necessarily go for the "heisman" shot each time.
Now the last 2yrs I'm now selling the individual shots on line, so the shots must be more specific and action packed.
On another note, lets say you are trying to promote rugby in general, thus you may want to capture great shots of the uniqueness of rugby, such as scrums, line-outs, rucks, mauls, etc. One of my favorites of these types of shots that has sold well, is a very tight shot of the back of a scrum. The shot showed no faces, no heads, etc. Basically it only showed the interlocked arms, and torsos of the players.
Again, the type of shot you are looking for, all depends on how/what you are trying to do at the end. I would also suggest that you have a love for the sport. Without it, you won't capture the spirit of the match.

Twin 1 Loc: Nor California

Thank you, I am really a soccer guy but the photographer I am going with is a real rugby nut. He does get pictures in Rugby magazine. Still, the flow and the spirit of the game should be similar, with a tad more physicality. :-D

If I get anything worth keeping, I will post them.

ekimaging Loc: New Orleans, LA

I do not like using Al Servo, as I find it's too general and the images are rarely sharp. I have found "one shot" to be far more reliable, but it requires more work on the photographers part. If you know the sport and can predict the next action of the subject it makes it a bit easier to "be there, before they are".

The best shots are the close ones, but when the players are on the far side of the pitch take the time to look for the "big shot"... fans in the stands, the setting sun, or the rising moon, wide angle shot of the entire area, etc.
I rarely shoot from the sidelines, but at the same time, don't "wait" for the action to come to you. Chase it if you need to.

You must be familiar with your camera(s). You simply don't have the time to be fumbling in the field. You must change settings on the fly in the field, so know what you want and how to do it so you can make the change quickly and almost blindly. One thing I did early was as I added additional camera bodies, I bought used to get 3ea of the same body to make the jump from one to the other seamless. It also helps that all the accessories fit all the bodies, etc.
I just recently upgraded one body and have only shot one match with it to start getting familiar with it.

CaptainC Loc: Colorado, south of Denver

I cannot speak for Canon, but with Nikon's D3, Continuous AF is spot on. I have have shot motor racing, swimming, some football, and even I could not believe it, (coming from previous cameras) but out of thousands of images, I would guess less than one or two percent are not in focus. Now I do have it set for ONLY firing if the subject is in focus, so that certainly helps. But why would you want it to fire if not in focus.

Sorry about that Canon AF system. :-)

ekimaging Loc: New Orleans, LA

Captain you do make a great point about the different brands, and even lenses. Not every piece of equipment behaves in the same manner, even within brands. What may not work for me, may work perfectly for you, etc.
I have tried "Al Servo" for sports and auto racing and have simply found it too unreliable. While "one shot" has it's downside as well, I find I do better with it.

As for your comment about not shooting if not in focus, I have "stumbled" on some great "accident" shots where the focus was off on the subject (players on pitch), but was perfect on the faces of the coaches/fans on the sidelines, thus revealing their emotions. Not every "miss" is a "miss" if you know what I mean.

CaptainC Loc: Colorado, south of Denver

I do know what you mean. Some mistakes turn out to be real keepers. I would not want to build a career around that, but sometime is is truly better to be lucky than smart.

ekimaging Loc: New Orleans, LA

CaptainC, you seem to be a man of absolutes.. either it's on or it's off...black or white...beginner or professional....in focus or nothing, etc.
One of the things I love about photography is that it's almost infinite... nothing is absolute. It's an art form that every artist sees/uses in a different way. Some professionals spend days and earn thousands photographing a plate of food. Some spend one afternoon a week shooting their children play little league.
Not everyone is seeking a career in photography. Some are merely seeking pleasure. That accidental great shot is worth it's weight in gold to that little league player's dad, while the $10,000 food shoot is just a paycheck.

CaptainC Loc: Colorado, south of Denver

Absolutely!

No gray area in focus. It is in or it is out. Now if the miss hits something cool, fine. But yes - an out of focus image is garbage. Absolutely. No excuse for showing it. I come from a background of do it right or go home. :-) No excuses.

I should add that I agree that an accidental shot could be gold to a kid's dad - no issue there at all. Well...as long as it is in focus.

Twin 1 Loc: Nor California

Here is the result of my foray into Rugby photos.
Most have been cropped to get the effect I wanted.
My goal was to get shots that showed the intensity, showed faces, and showed the ball. Given the harsh midday sun, faces were a bit of a challenge but that is what I had. I did screw up one thing, I had been trying something and forgot to put the ISO on Auto, these are all shot with a very high ISO.

I shot about 100 photos, dumped those that just froze action and didn't tell a story, those that didn't have faces or the ball, and those that were plain crap.

The one that looked to be the best for the day.


Very cropped but I liked the kids on the sideline


Faces-ball


Trapped - a lot of faces but that is what it is about


Going down - moving official


The chase is on


In 1959, my twin brother and I would have been on the flags.

ekimaging Loc: New Orleans, LA

Twin1, first and foremost, break yourself of the idea that you must shoot from the sidelines. With 31 people on the pitch, you simply have way to many obstructions to reap good shots. On your next attempt, shoot from the endzone, only running over to the sideline for a lineout or close scrum.
You can catch an occasional good sideline shot if you wait for a ruck and are properly lined up with the players to catch them passing the ball out.
Second, your DOF is way to deep, but I can only assume that's due to the high ISO.
If your shooting with anything less than 400mm, save your money for longer glass. Cropping is not the solution for the wrong lens.
Third, know the sport. Understand what is happening on the pitch so you can a) follow the action, b) predict the action. Knowing what a team will do at a given point in the match will allow you to be there when it happens.
Finally, using several old sayings such as "practice makes perfect", or "you learn by doing" is your best step forward. Becoming better at something doesn't come from osmosis. You must be critical of your own work to better yourself.
Also understand that being a great sports car photographer doesn't make you a great rugby photographer, etc. You will find that each topic you shoot requires a new learning curve.
Keep it up. I look forward to more shots. Ed

CaptainC Loc: Colorado, south of Denver

Great start. But ekimaging is right - DOF way too deep - you want to blur all that distracting background. When I used to do this kind of thing I would be at f/2.8 or maybe f/5.6 tops. Out in the sun, shooting in Aperture Priority will keep that shutter speed up to action-stopping duration with no problem. If you need a touch faster, just bump the ISO up a small amount. If you want to use Auto ISO, then set your shutter speed floor to 1/1000 or even faster.

With the subject 50 feet away, f/2.8 will still give you decent DOF for one person, go to f/5.6 if trying to include more than one or two.

These do look a bit underexposed.

Twin 1 Loc: Nor California

Gentlemen, thank you both for your comments. I will put them to use as soon as I can, except for the longer glass. It will take me a bit of time to get that. I know the 70-200 f4 limits me but that is where I have to start. With the 1.4 extender, I will be sort of close for now.

But, the DOF issue, the direction of play, the exposure and the tight shots are things I can work on today.

Thank you again for looking and offering critical comments.

They are exactly what I look for. I evaluate soccer officials and single comments don't work. Specific direction, pointing to a specific problem I can work on do. Both of you have done that.