Evgenye Loc: St. Louis, MO

I am taking some senior photos of a friend's son who is a hockey goalie. I want to shoot him, in goal, on the ice in a number of different scenarios... Stills, action shots, etc. My question is, what type(s) of continuous lighting (along with mobile power source (s)) would you suggest to give me to get some great shots with my Canon 5D Mark IV and Canon 7D Mark II (for action shots, continuous shooting) with Signa 85mm f/1.4 and Canon L 70-200 USM II f/2.8 lens among possible others. To my knowledge, strobe/flash/speedlight will not cycle quickly enough to allow me to take continuous action shots. I would like to shoot as low as ISO as possible to keep the noise low for the senior portraits. Thank you in advance for your input! Have a great day.

JD750 Loc: SoCal

Well the good thing is you have defined you goals. That is a critically important step.

WILLARD98407 Loc: TACOMA, WA.

The Villages Loc: The Villages, Florida

Forget the noise - Get the shot!

Ron Dial Loc: Cuenca, Ecuador

What is the ambient light- color and intensity?

david vt Loc: Vermont

There is a user named Les Stockton whom regularly posts absolutely amazing hockey shots in the sports section of UHH. You may want to look at his work, perhaps reach for him with your question. You might also post your question directly into that section

My only advise, as a rank amateur whom regular shoots indoor sports, I can say that, unless you are staging the shots, I would not use strobes or extra lights as it will be a distraction to the players. Shoot in natural light only, with settings to match. Good luck, and I do really recommend Les

fotogk Loc: Tuftonboro, NH

If you do use a strobe, cut the power down which would give you faster recycle time. If you could stack two strobe you could cut your power down even more thus having a even faster recylce time allowing you to use slow continous to achieve your goal

GLKTN Loc: TN

Have you checked on external power source for your flash? I am wondering if that would allow continuous shots. Hopefully someone here can answer that.

Notorious T.O.D. Loc: Harrisburg, North Carolina

The external battery pack will give better refresh with the Canon Speedlites. Reduced flash power will also help. High speed synch might be needed depending on the ambient light level to stop motion. I believe that Profoto A and B series will keep up with rapid shooting. You maybe able to rent Profoto gear for the shoot as an option too. There may be other brands that offer a solution too... Good luck.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

You don't want much, do you? Geez, that's a tall order!

I take it you will have some time on the ice without interruption. That, time, alone, is often expensive.

Continuous lighting bright enough to handle the scene with realism likely would be prohibitively expensive to own — between $7500 and $15,000. Bright continuous, color-correct lights aren't cheap. Immediately, I'd look for a rental house.

Several high-output LED panels MIGHT do it for portraiture. Li-Po and Lithium-ion power sources usually work well with those. Search B&H for 'LED Lighting' to review the options.

You'll probably need this chart:

https://www.sekonic.com/united-states/support/evluxfootcandleconversionchart.aspx

An incident meter that reads out in EV can help. Pick an ISO you want to use, look at the aperture/shutter speed combination you need, then read the required EV. Use the manufacturer-supplied charts in the specifications to see how much light you need.

It is easy to become discouraged and start looking at portable studio strobes!

Remember to consider the ambient lighting. To avoid weirdly colored heads and shoulders, etc., you need at least five stops of illumination MORE than the ambient light level. It helps to pick a color temperature closest to the ambient light in the arena, too. So a little location scouting is in order.

dsmeltz Loc: Philadelphia

I also recommend the UHH sports forum. https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/s-103-1.html

wrangler5 Loc: Missouri

I'm not a hockey fan so don't have a real feel for the rink, but my general impression is that in order to have enough space for a goalie to be moving around much during the shoot, the inverse square rule is going to require lights that are HUGE in terms of output, whether flash or continuous. I've also used Nikon, not Canon, for most of my photography years, so don't know the strengths of the camera bodies you mention.

Given those limitations, my suggestions are (1) forget extra lights and just use what's available at the rink, and (2) buy or rent the best high-ISO Canon body out there (if the ones you have aren't already there.)

jayluber Loc: Phoenix, AZ

Was that an intended PUN?

Jaackil Loc: Massachusetts

Not sure what the actual end result you are looking for. But here is my input. I appoligize if it is off base. If you are looking to simulate game action strobes/speedlights will work fine because you have time on your side. If you are taking actual game shots you can’t use flash or continuous lighting anyways. The equipment you have will work fine for actual game shots don’t worry about noise. As others have noted continuos lighting would be expensive even to rent. If this is posed action you really don’t need to run and gun. You just need to understand what you want and how the goalie moves and time your shots. I can usually get what I want with a couple of takes. Personally for this type of shoot I like darker edgier shots to make them more dramatic. These shots were taken with 3 speed lights. They were used in the yearbook as well as printed at 24x36 posters hung in the rink on senior night. Shot with a D7100 and a 50mm 1.8 lens. Shot at 125 f5.6 iso 400.
I have also used 500w work lights on stands in a rink obviously you would have to be plugged in. They would give you inexpensive continuous light but they get hot and will make the goalie uncomfortable if used too long and will melt the ice which won’t look good in the pictures. With them you get about 20 minutes of shooting time before the ice will get slushy.

Evgenye Loc: St. Louis, MO

My apologies, these photos are a surprise for his father who is my best friend so they are being staged. I have secured two hours of ice time... So all my equipment will be in the ice, but I'm an amateur at this and this is a first time attempt, however,.I wouldn't ever attempt to use a flash during a game.... that's a big no no. As most everyone knows who had ever been to a high school hockey game in the Midwest... The ice is fast and the lighting is terrible. I have had to take game shots all the way up to ISO 12800 in order to get a fast enough shutter speed to freeze the puck. Anyway... That's why I why I was asking about the continuous lighting option with mobile power. Thank you for your input and all your assistance... All your suggestions are helpful and welcome!