Melissa Olsen |
Photographing a Boxing or MMA Event I am going to be shooting an MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) event in a week. I have a Nikon D200 and a Speedlight, and will be shooting with my 18-200mm 3.5 AF VR. I have no idea what the lighting conditions are going to be like at the event. Also, I have to shoot through the "cage". I am looking for sports photography tips! Thanks!
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- Gregory LaGrange Contact Gregory LaGrange Gregory LaGrange's Gallery |
If you're right by the ring, shoot wide through the hole in the links. If you're back in the crowd, you can see if any of the back rows will let you shoot down into the ring over the cage. If it doesn't, then shooting through the cage is all you can do. Avoid the flash - you'll just illuminate the cage.
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Melissa Olsen |
Thanks Gregory! I will be right by the ring, and I'll have some access to a basket above the ring as well. I didn't think about the flash illuminating the cage ... thanks for the tip!
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- Gregory LaGrange Contact Gregory LaGrange Gregory LaGrange's Gallery |
You don't have to shoot everything wide. But zoom in enough to keep the aperture open enough to keep blur. The longer the focal length, the more the cage disappears, but your aperture goes above f/4 fairly quickly so you have to find a useful compromise.
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Melissa Olsen |
Again, thanks Gregory! I so appreciate your help and suggestions - I'll let you know how it goes, the event is on August 17th.
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Bruce A. Dart |
Melissa, If you shoot available light, and you should for several reasons -- not the least of which you photos will be better and there is less distraction from using the flash -- you will probably need to use a higher ISO (unless you have fast lenses). The D200 has a "high ISO noise reduction" feature that needs to be turned on in this situation. Without it, you will likely get images that are so "noisy" (grainy) that they may be unusable. With it, you can get some nice results.
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Melissa Olsen |
Thanks Bruce!
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Jack Utter |
Hi Melissa, Is this for a Client or for Fun? If it’s for pay, you should already know how much lighting there is and what ASA and Lens you’ll need. Going in "cold" without test shooting first makes it hard to know how the images are going to turn out and adds to the stress of making "acceptable" work, besides NOT being very Professional.
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Melissa Olsen |
Thanks for all your tips Jack! I am worried about my lens not being fast enough...but at this point I can't afford another lens and the only other one I have is a 85mm 1.8. I am doing this as a "favor" for my brother-in-law who is promoting the fight - his usual photographer is out of town. I have told him that I can't guarantee anything since I've never done a sporting event before. I am hoping I can pull this off!
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- Gregory LaGrange Contact Gregory LaGrange Gregory LaGrange's Gallery |
You can use the 85. Your framing and where they are in the ring in relative to you are just means that you'll have to pass up on some shots if they end up right in front of you. Is this going to happen in an arena that host a pro basketball team, or is this a smaller event?
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Melissa Olsen |
It is small event, I think it can fit 5,000 people. Thanks again Gregory!
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