On-Ice (hockey) Portrait Lighting Question...

[john_k6]

<p>Hey there,</p>

<p>As the resident "person-with-and-SLR" camera, I've been asked to shoot a set of on-location portrait shots for our upcoming high school varsity hockey senior night, meaning: in between periods we'll quickly roll out some rugs on the ice, ask our senior boys to skate over, stand next to their mom/dad, hand him/her/them a rose, then get a quick photo snapped to capture the moment for eternity.</p>

<p>So my question is how to prep for the best lighting setup to capture these shots?</p>

<p>I will have available to me:</p>

<ul>

<li>Decent camera (Canon 5D MkIII)</li>

<li>Decent (fast) lens(es) (50mm 1.4 prime; 24-70mm 2.8; 70-200 2.8)</li>

<li>Decent on or off camera flashes: 1 Canon 600EX; 1 580EX</li>

<li>Ability to use flashes (direct, bounce, etc), on camera or off, including sitting within 24" soft-boxes on extender poles</li>

<li>Ability to have 1 or 2 parents, ahem, "assistants," hold and point my (extender mounted) flashes</li>

<li>Semi-decent knowledge of how to configure shoot in various modes including flash multi-flash master/slave</li>

</ul>

<p>I won't have:</p>

<ul>

<li>Time to set up mounted off-camera tripods/lights/etc</li>

<li>Ability to finely control whether subjects hit their mark</li>

<li>Ability to shoot multiple shots until I get it right</li>

</ul>

<p>So that said, I'm seeking advice on how to best approach this shoot. Should I just put an EX on top of the camera, meter for whatever light I have, shoot straight on for fill and hope for the best? Or should I get more ambitious, and consider anything from a simple single flash off-camera fill setup to a setup where I use 2 flashes sitting in softboxes off angle from the subject???</p>

<p>I've read up as much as I can on how to best shoot a fast moving hockey game in crazy indoor lighted ice rinks. And I've even found some articles on how to set up and light a team photo on ice. But this shoot is a bit different in that I'll be shooting *portraits* in an indoor ice rink without the chance to walk out and set up a flash shoot.</p>

<p>Needless to say, any detailed guidance you can provide will be greatly appreciated!</p>

[denisgermain]

<p>these shots will have nothing to do with "fast moving hockey game in crazy indoor lighted ice rinks"<br /><br />Imagine being in a church... hardly any lights.... drag the flash and try to get the largest off camera light source as possible for photos that don't look like snapshots.<br>

OR<br /><br />Go without a flash all together! With the 5DMIII you will be able to get great shots at 800 ISO, f2.8 @ 1/125 in any arena.... these are not action shots so don't worry about having to freeze the action!</p>

[User_6502147]

<p>OK, the more you prep the better your results. Arrive early so you can do all of this without stress > less mistakes too. Find out about logistics of this, so you can properly frame the people you'll be photographing. It may help to have an "assistant" or two to make sure you have an opening to take photos...that could be crucial during emotional sport event such as hockey. Worse, you may have to get some bear spray....well maybe just a threat will work :>).</p>

<p>Try setting your light/s in appropriate spot/s....assuming you don't want to slam them with the camera mounted flash. You could ask one of the "assistants" to stand-in for you, this way (in the end) all you'd need to concentrate on is just the framing. If one of the lights needs to be sitting on the ice....make sure you make a mental note exactly where....in case the refs ask you to fold your operation. Don't know about you, but I'd prevent the camera to make any decisions for me (shutter/ISO/aperture)....what I'm saying is that if the "staging area" will remain the same...I'd have everything in manual....even focus. That is totally up to you. The bottom line is: try to keep max IQ, by that I mean keep the ISO's as low as you can and balance the shutter & aperture. Having someone to model the light/s on will give you more pleasant effect. If you have enough time to play, you might want to set up a "hair" light or back light....just make sure the light unit is not going to be visible in the photo. Set you WB to manual...test the set up....and most of all make sure you'll have a memory card + extra one....same with the camera batteries. </p>

<p>Again, depending on the logistics, I probably would prefer somewhat compressed look of the 70-200, though I'd still keep the 24-70 nearby - you'll be the final arbiter. Having the lens on monopod would help....and it should be on an interchangeable plate....giving you the option of taking it off at any time too. You can test what F-stop you would be most comfortable with....and just as a precaution, be prepared that the people you're photographing, they may not be on the exactly perfect film plane to the camera....yet you still want them to be in focus.</p>

<p>Just to convolute things, I might (I say might) try to pull this off from across the rink with something longer like 300mm perhaps. Anyway, something to ponder on.</p>

<p>Maybe someone chimes in that does this sort of stuff all the time....I don't even do sports, ha ha.</p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

<p>Les</p>

<p> </p>

[daverhaas]

<p>In an ice arena the absolute worst thing you can do is to "drag the shutter" and go for a natural light look. The reason being - light in arenas (HS in particular) tends to be one of two types: Sodium Vapor or Florescent. Both of these light sources send light in different patterns or waves. If you drag the shutter or go for a "natural" look - One shot you take may have a red tint, one a blue tint, one a green tint. Have fun fixing that in PS. </p>

<p>It is nothing like shooting in a dark church. It is shooting in a dimly lit ice arena, and trying to get shots for senior night. The only similarity is that you have one shot to get them right. </p>

<p>My suggestion: <br>

Use both an on camera and off camera flash. The flashes will blow out the arena lights - which is really what you need, and want. Use the on camera as a master and the off camera flash as the slave / remote. Use the softbox with the off camera - 45 degrees to your subject (approx) - about the same distance as you, and 2 feet above - angled down at the spot. Shoot in raw. Fix any wb issues in post.</p>

<p>Dave</p>

<p> </p>

[john_k6]

<p>Thanks for the great posts and recommendations! I really appreciate you all taking the time to help out. I'm thinking I'll shoot with the 24-70 (I don't know if I can pull back far enough warrant the 70-200) and will look to using 2 flashes, one w/ a side/down lit softbox and one on camera. For the on camera flash, I assume I should fire it pointing straight up, perhaps w/ the diffuser card out (I won't get any bounce off the rink's high-ceilings)? I'll also have to look at how to split the light between the two units (or will the ETTL handle that if I shoot on ETTL?... you can obviously tell I don't shoot with flashes!).</p>

<p>Anyway, as long as I can capture everyone in frame I know the moms will be happy; if I can actually snap a decent photograph that will be icing on the cake. :)</p>

[daverhaas]

<p>John - </p>

<p>I shoot Nikon and their iTTL handles it all - so I am not sure about Canon's eTTL. </p>

<p>Try it before the big day - find a stand in to fill the role (off ice) of player - then shoot a few with flash up, and a few with flash down. </p>

<p>Dave</p>

 

[cegeiss]

<p>John,<br>

<br />I am doing a similar thing each year for my college team. The portraits with the parents are taken before the game with the boards as a background. The first year I used an on-camera flash. The pictures turned out OK (standards were low - taking their portraits is not my day job) but the reflection of the flash in the plexiglass was annoying. The second year I asked one of the players who didn't get dressed to hold the flash off-axis (using a wireless remote), used a diffuser and blasted away: much better. I am shooting girls, so there was no shortage of "models" to figure out the lighting before the game. Shooting in raw gave me enough latitude in exposure. Getting everybody to smile and not to blink was (and still is) the main challenge.<br>

Christoph</p>

 

[john_k6]

<p>Cristoph and others, to close the book on this post, the shoot ended up pretty well (at least by my standards and expectations)... I ended up shooting with only 1 off-camera flash (through a softbox), but that worked pretty well all things considered. More than the technical aspects of lighting and shadows, I was probably more challenged by the limited time to "get the photo" - which is want makes event and sports photography so difficult!<br>

Anyway, here's a sample from the night. I did some cropping and skin tone touch up in pp; I was pleased with how the off camera flash worked out. I definitely learned a lot and look forward to applying my learning experience to next year's event! :)<br>

<a title="NR8A2506 by Unsocialized1, on Flickr" href=" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8502/8409858219_4d741e27c7_b.jpg" alt="NR8A2506" width="683" height="1024" /></a></p>

 

[john_k6]

<p>BTW, here's the cropped and printed version of the photo I shared in the thread...</p>

<p><a title="NR8A2506 - Version 2 by Unsocialized1, on Flickr" href=" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8378/8520931286_cef91a7652_b.jpg" alt="NR8A2506 - Version 2" width="1024" height="945" /></a></p>

[jeff_cross1]

<p>1/200, f8, ettl on the strobe. Be at least on the red line, preferably the furthest blue line from the back of the rink. Use the inverse square law to black out the rear of the rink and shut down the contribution of the crappy arena lights. I hope this helps..<br /> Jeff / PrestigePhotoPro.com</p>