Taking pictures of sports shooting (shotgun)

<p>I recently took some pictures of the Blue Ridge Mountain 3 Gun shooting competition. And although many of the pictures turned out good (www.lanhamphoto.com) it is difficult to get a picture of someone face when they are firing a weapon. Kinda obvious, right... Well, I was curious if anyone had some ideas to get better pictures in this type of circumstance. Not only are there the standard safety factors you would realize, but the competitors move around a lot and fire in different directions, making it sometimes difficult to stay behind the line of fire.<br>

All comments welcome.</p>

<p>First, you need to be faster snapping the picture than Matt Dillion was at drawing his 45. You might try using a 3 shot burst- Try to time the first a little early. You didn't say what kind of shooting event-rifle, shotgun, cowboy, etc. The circumstances are quite different.</p>

<p>I am shooting at 6 or 8 frames per second depending on the body I am using at the time. Usually at 1/1000 or faster. I use a 18-200 IS, or a 100-400 IS lens, so getting the shot fairly sharp and crisp is not the problem. And once I get in a grove, I am typically anticipating the shots as most shooters shoot in a particular cadence or rhythm.<br>

Next up is a shotgun competition, however, I taken pictures of firing a handgun, shotgun or AR.<br>

Thanks for the response.</p>

<p>Obviously, safety is the first rule. Shooting (pun intended) this kind of event has to be done behind the line.</p>

<p>Have you thought about using a camera mount (tripod or clamp with a ball head, etc.) down range (out of the line of fire, i.e. low to the ground) and the use of a wireless remote?</p>

<p> </p>

<p>I suggest you take some shots before and after they shoot -- while they're getting their gear ready and getting their "game faces" on AND after they finish and clear theri weapons and move off the line.<br>

If you want to sell pics you will need images of their faces aking with their equipment. If you can you might try to get some photos of the targets if they are posted making sure you can read the names.<br>

You might also talk to the folks running the event to see what they might be able to do to accomodate you -- especailly if you have some photos of them to pass out. By "them" I mean the judges, the time-keepers, etc etc.<br>

Looks like a lot of fun -- wear your ear-muffs.<br>

These look like some serious shooters as I saw $2K worth of scopes on many of the rifles.</p>

<p>Bill - Thanks for the input, I think you are on the right track. I might consider getting some time of remote setup, but at my last event, I focused on taking more pictures before and after, plus getting some posed pictures from in front of the firearm.</p>