Muay Thai Photography in a Cage....

[shas295]

<p>Hey Guys,<br>

I am taking the photo's for an extremely important night of cage fighting. First ever Muay Thai event in a cage. I have been taking the standed ring shots and using a 50mm which is wonderful until they get to close but I make it work. Now for a challenge I have a cage as well. I have a Cannon 7D and a 1000D usually put my 15 - 85 on the 1000 for the victory shots with flash. Taking in the lighting etc with really appreciate advise on best lens to use as I have mentioned it is soooooo important to get this right.<br>

Thankyou Shas</p><div></div>

[William Michael]

<p>Assuming you are close to the cage, on a 7D I would suggest the EF-S 17 to 55F/2.8 IS USM (and a very high ISO) would be the most flexible lens to use.</p>

<p>You should look out for advice from <a href="../photodb/user?user_id=19592">this man</a> - and at least read his past posts on these Subjects.</p>

<p>WW</p>

[William Michael]

<p>Addendum –</p>

<p>I just had a squiz at a few of the shots in your portfolio and it seems the Ring Shots (fights - not sparring shots) are shot in a situation with a lower EV than what I expected - as the EXIF states you are pulling around the equivalent of: F/1.8 at 1/320s @ ISO1600 for those fight shots.</p>

<p>SO, if that is really indicative EV how much light you will NOT have for this cage fight and if you are to be situated close to the cage – a fast, wider than 50mm prime might be the answer for you: as I would expect that a shutter speed of around 1/320s or faster, is where you would want to be most the time: and an F/2.8 zoom might not allow for that shutter speed if the cage is a dark as the Ring Shots in your Portfolio.</p>

<p>WW</p>

[shas295]

<p>Hi William, thankyou so much for your help, I have just sent of a message. I am fairly new at all this,with so very much still to learn.</p>

<p>Thanks again<br>

Sharon</p>

[Spearhead]

<p>What you need for a standard size cage is a lens that covers the range of the 24-70. Better for focal length would be 18-55, but that lens isn't fast enough. Assuming you are shooting through the cage, the most important thing is to deal with the cage itself. If you can get to the cage, you may be able to get your lens far enough into an open "diamond" to not have the cage in your photos. However, you will be restricted in movement. Alternatively, if you can't do that, just make sure you are as close as possible and not focusing on the cage and are shooting wide open so that the cage itself is blurred. You really need a 2.8 lens for this, but the 24-70/2.8 is pretty expensive. If you can rent (and I think there are mail order rentals if nothing is close), it would be well worth it.</p>

<p>Also, if you have Lightroom 4, the noise reduction is excellent and you can shoot at a very high ISO and still get good shots, that will help get the shutter speed up to where you aren't getting a lot of subject motion.</p>

<p>If there are risers above the cage, see if you can get on them. You get a clean shot of everything except when it's directly under you. The downside is that the shots tend to feel a little dead, less intimate, and it can be unsettling when it rocks as fighters hit the cage.</p>