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Photography Question 

Joyce Bohm
 

How to shoot action shots in very low lighting


I have tried taking photos of a wrestling show which is located indoors with very poor lighting. I have been using 800 speed film with a fast lens and I have tried diff aperature settings ie... 5.6, 4 ect. I do not have a light meter so I have been adjusting to try diff things. I'm pretty new at this and need some help. When I get the film developed only 1/4 of the picture is exposed properly. Is this because my shutter is staying open longer than my flash unit is going off or what? HELP


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August 10, 2002

 

Jeff S. Kennedy
  Well, if you don't have a light meter then whatever you do will pretty much be hit and miss anyway. What I'm wondering is you say you are using a fast lens but the apertures you are using are 5.6 and 4.0. The fast lens doesn't mean a thing unless you use its speed. Open it up and shoot. What kind of camera are you using that you don't have a meter?


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August 12, 2002

 

Joan Bellinger
  For years I photographed wrestling matches in the Carolinas, which was almost always in low light situations. I always used a flash and film speed of 800 or 1200. The lens I used was a 70mm-300mm with a Pentax K-1000 body. Be certain you are not using a shutter speed too fast for your flash sync. Check your shutter speed dial or your camera's manual.


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August 13, 2002

 
- Gregory LaGrange

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  if you mean 1/4 of the picture is exposed and the rest is dark with a distinct straight edge between light area and dark, your sync speed is set too high. The shutter starts to close too fast for when the flash fires. Depending on camera, it's supposed to be 1/125 most likely or it could be 1/60.


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November 16, 2003

 
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