Shooting Hoops is HARD!

[joe_jackson4]

<p>Dave, I'm certainly not going against the lashings of sensible advice above - and I implore you to heed their wise words, dude! :) - but just for a somewhat different approach I think I'd be tempted to use a fast normal prime, open it up, dial in a slow shutter speed (1/60th or less), and wind down the ISO as necessary.</p>

<p>I'd then try to time the shutter with any briefly stationary positions/expressions/elements, and let any surrounding movement/action just do its motion-blur thing, while using the narrow depth of field to try to isolate the particular element I was interested in (face, ball, hand, shoe, etc...)</p>

<p>This would be, of course, be making a tough job even tougher, and I'm sure my keeper-rate would be spectacularly low, if not zero... :) But I think I'd try it anyway, just to try to get one or two funky pics... If I got lucky I'd really try to push my luck a bit and slow the shutter right down to 1/10th or so, and take full advantage of the SR...</p>

<p>It this sensible advice...? Of course not :) Would it result in some interesting shots...? With a bit of practice, maybe...</p>

[bob_rapp1]

<p>I am not sure this will help.......<br>

I shot professional basketball in the early 70's with a Spotmatic and used Tri-X which I rated at about 640. Never mind.<br>

The two lenses I used were the 50mm f1.4 and 35mm f2.0 Takumars and stopped down to f2.8. This was long before AF and, with practice, follow focus evolved.<br>

Position, Most of the un-obstructed action takes place under the basket. I would position my self to my right of the backboard and focused using the ground glass only - which allowed me to frame the shot as well.<br>

Over time, I found that if I missed the action in the viewfinder, I got the shot. If I saw the action, I missed it. That night, after I developed the film and started making prints, I saw what I missed seeing in the finder!</p>

<p>Cheers,<br>

Bob</p>

[mountainvisions]

<p>Bob,</p>

<p>While others with fancy cameras might not think so, your advice is still very relevant today.</p>

<p>I've been hazed on here a few times for prefocusing as "real" sports photographers don't do it. But understanding the techniques of old, is the best way to overcome any modern short comings.</p>

<p>Under the basket with a wide is one of my favorites, of course I have not shot basketball since 1998 while at college, I turned down a chance to shoot the local CBA team because my heart wasn't in it (never like basketball, but shooting the Ladybacks had it's perks!!).</p>

[zane1664879013]

<p>I can't seem to get good results using autofocus, so I don't bother anymore. I use a -A 50/1.4 lens, shutter priority set to 1/500, ISO at 800 or 1600. Prefocus on an area of interest (top of key, baseline, wherever) and take a set of shots there. Move on to the next area and shoot a set there. Burst shooting 3 or 4 can often help, since timing a perfect shot is very tough. Drop any high standards you might have regarding perfect focus, DOF, and color balance and you'll get enough good shots to make the day worthwhile.</p>

[pjjdxn]

<p>Dave, get to know your camera, lens and flash. Come in tight for shots, if you do not need a wide shot...Always shoot on manual. I do not know what type of flash you use but try setting at 1/4 power and down. My settings are always around f2.8 and f4.0.I use the 85 F1.4 manual focus, the 200 F2.8 manual focus an the 300 F4.0 manual focus along with a 35 F2.0 manual focus and sometimes 135 mm F1.8 manual focus. If I do not have two bodies with me, I will change the lens to reach down the other end of the court. If you get to shoot in a college gym or a pro gym the lighting will be much better. take a look at my sports photos on my page...There is a basketball section and another sports section...Good luck, Joe <br>

P.S. here is link to a tight shot http://www.photo.net/photo/6517416</p>

[bob_rapp1]

<p>During the tiime I shot professional basket ball, I never used a flash. I felt that the ambient light was enough. Care had to be given to exposure, development and print making. As I said before, I used only 35 and 50mm lenses but cropped the photo for impact. See the difference between flash and natural here:<br>

http://www.remembertheaba.com/TributeMaterial/Beaty.html<br>

Cheers,<br>

Bob Rapp</p>

[pjjdxn]

<p>If you are shooting in a pro gym or college gym, their lights are always better than high school gyms. Most of the time you need a flash in a high school gym unless it has nice window light and it is a day game, but most games are at night..</p><div></div>

[pjjdxn]

<p>This shot was with a 200 mm F2.8 Manual focus Pentax lens in a high school gym with poor using a flash on 1/8 0r 1/4 power...This was about half court or a little longer...</p><div></div>

[shots worth sharing]

<p>Thanks, Joe & Bob! In fact, I don't use flash--partly because I think it would be too intrusive and distracting in a middle school context but also because I need to keep it simple at this point in the learning curve. Also, from what I've seen of other parental shots, it's no easy fix and can make things a lot worse rather than better unless you know how to do it right. <br>

By way of update, I should say that I've tried some of the techniques suggested here and while I can't say there's been much improvement (in fact, the results have genearally been worse for various reasons) it's proving very instructive. I'll keep at it. </p>