Shooting a boxing match

I may have an opportunity to shoot a professional boxing match in

the near future. I do not know what kind of access I will be

provided, but it may be ringside, or from the front row.

 

I have a Canon 20d, and the following lenses: 17-40 f.4 L; 28-70

2.8 L; 70-200 2.8 L IS; 100 2.8 (macro); 300 f.4 L IS; and 50 1.8

(the cheap one).

 

I am seeking advice as to what equipment to bring and for tips and

tricks. Also, if anybody knows of any "rules" for ringside

photography, I would appreciate that advice as well.

 

Thanks in advance.

Check Jeff Spirer's posts. He photographs martial arts matches professionally. His work is very good.

 

I'd take the 17-40, tho' I'd rather have an f/2.8 zoom. The 28-70/2.8 will be okay if you don't have ringside access. But from ringside it won't be wide enough.

 

Frankly, tho', if I couldn't get ringside access I'd rather shoot from an elevated position toward the back of the venue with a fast telephoto and a tripod or monopod. Shooting from the first row, it'll be difficult to avoid distractions from the ropes.

 

Generally flash is prohibited for ringside photographers altho' they may make exceptions for photos taken after the match. Ask first. Don't assume that because dozens of folks in the audience are popping away with P&S cameras that you can use flash.

Lex has some good suggestions.

 

Don't ever use flash close up. You'll be out in a second.

 

There is a big difference between shooting from the curtain and shooting from the first row. From the first row, you're going to have a hard time getting anything that doesn't have the ropes in it. This is a major problem and you won't get much. From the curtain, you can shoot under the ropes or between the ropes, depending on how tall you are and where the action is.

 

You need to find out what the lighting pack will be. If ESPN or any other professional video coverage is taking place, you can get away with f4. If not, it's going to be very tough, you'll probably be better off with the primes.

 

For focal length, for regular shooting from the curtain, 28-70 is good, although with the 1.6 crop you might want to go wider. Some people use a second camera with a 70-200. I use a 1DMkII (1.3 crop) with a 28-70 and a 10D with 85/1.8. Works fine for me.

Bring the fastest lenses you have, both in terms of aperture and autofocus. The 28-70 will

be just about perfect if you manage to get ringside; the 50/1.8 will also be quite useful on

your digital camera. The 70-200 will be too long for most action shots if you're up close,

but can be used to get dramatic corner shots and will of course come in handy if you are

posted somewhat distant from the ring.

<P>

You will not be allowed to use flash, at least at most venues in the U.S. I really, really don't

like using it myself during fights, as I don't want to give a fighter an eyeful of strobe just

before a punch comes in--his job is tough enough as it is--but at the first card I shot here

in London, the local photographers were blasting away. It was so dark that was just about

necessary to get anything at all.

<P>

With luck, you will have good lighting, but that is more likely if the fight is in a large arena

or is televised. Otherwise, and more probably, you're just going to have to do the best you

can. You'll need to shoot at at least 1/250 second to freeze most of the action, although

that won't be near enough to keep most punches from blurring as they're being delivered.

It'll take at least 1/500 to freeze <I>almost</I> everything, if that's your goal.

<P>

You'll need to learn to anticipate punches, just like the fighters do, in order to have the

best chance of catching punches at the moment of impact. You'll probably find that

initially you're catching the aftermath of things most of the time. It helps to learn each

fighter's style, too, as that will help you learn the timing and rhythm of his punches. Be

ready for the last 10 seconds of each round--there is often a flurry of action then as

fighters try to "steal" the round.

<P>

Some other things:

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A pair of kneepads might be useful, depending on the height of the ring above the floor. I

have shot several fights while scrambling around <I>under</I> the press table. Bring a

cloth to wipe fluids--blood, sweat, spit, snot--off your lens, as you will often accumulate

such during a card. Keep your camera strap around your neck; I often use two bodies and,

during one of my first fights, one of the fighters nearly stepped back into a dangling strap

when he was near the ropes. Luckily, I didn't trip him up. Be ready to clear out rapidly if

they start coming your way; there is no guarantee that <I>you</I> won't get hit by a wild

punch or flying body.

<P>

Bring along extra CF cards. You'll have to shoot scads of pictures to get some really good

shots, especially when you're first learning, and it's best to shoot RAW if at all possible, as

the lighting conditions will likely dictate at least some degree of post-processing. Don't be

afraid to overexpose a little bit. That isn't as bad as the opposite; under the contrasty

lighting conditions you will likely encounter, you need to make sure you get enough detail

in the shadows.

<P>

Bring along business cards as many fighters, particularly when they are starting off, love to

get shots of themselves in action. You can build up plenty of goodwill and probably land

yourself some interesting business in the future.

<P>

Make sure that you don't get in the fighters' or the patrons' way, but be aggressive and go

get you some shots. You'll have lots of fun, and meet plenty of great people. Best of luck!

<P>

(You can see some of my own fight shots <a href="http://www.presquevu.com/

fights.htm">here</A>.)

Well, I see Lex and Jeff beat me with some very good advice as I was writing my own reply.

They are indeed correct that the 17-40 is very good for getting wider shots ringside; I didn't

recommend it initially simply because of the F4 aperture, which makes it too slow for

shooting at most venues I have worked (but will do just fine in sufficient light).

 

I had forgotten to mention to make sure that you use lens hoods on all your lenses; that will

cut down on flare from the ring lighting.

Bernard, some lovely shots in there.

While I can't advocate defying local rules and using flash where prohibited, I will say that as a former amateur boxer I doubt that flash is really much of a distraction. When I fought more than 20 years ago flash was permitted and used routinely at ringside. I know this only because I saw the results of the photos later. During the fights I was completely unaware of anything going on outside the ring, even at the ring apron. Any fighter who is distracted by a camera flash probably isn't paying attention to what's going on inside the ring.

 

Unfortunately fight photos have suffered since flash has been prohibited. Some of the most dramatic photos of past decades were taken with flash. But you gotta play the cards you're dealt. Fortunately, a good dSLR produces better high ISO images than any high ISO film, and things will only get better. I expect that in just a few years it'll be possible to get high quality images at ISO 3200-6400 with future dSLRs and get away with shutter speeds up to 1/500 second, maybe even 1/1000, with fast lenses. That will revolutionize sports photography. We'll see better sports photos than we've ever seen before.

thank you all for your advice and suggestions. I will post a few photos when I return.

 

Monte

Lex - It's not really about distraction. A flash left on and used when the fighter is on the mat a foot from the camera can seriously impair the ability to see briefly. This is pretty easy to do if you're shooting fast and not thinking about it. I use flash on my second camera for the shots of the fighters coming and going from the ring, and during the breaks. But when there's action, it's always off.