Golf Tournament

[bdunbar79]

Hey everyone, I was just asking here for some advanced tips/suggestions regarding a golf tournament that I am going to be paid to shoot for the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Oct. 14-16.  I know I've done things like this before, but I'm never above asking for help and seeking tips from those that are advanced sports shooters and so I thought I would pose some general concerns here.

First, unlike in the past, I will not have help doing this.  There are 10 teams and I have to get 2-3 photos of every player from every team.  I also need to shoot the awards ceremony at the end, on day 3.

How aggressive do you guys usually get with golf?  Do you stay far away and shoot people teeing off with a long lens, such as 300mm or 400mm or do you get closer?  What typical focal lengths would you use for the awards ceremony?  Worst of all, lighting is never ideal in these situations, so maybe using a 400 f/2.8 for teeing off and getting 40-50 yards away might be more suitable?  Metering may be an issue with high contrast/shadow parts of the day, which is my biggest concern. 

Thanks!!!

Brett

[pierceography]

I was in a golf scramble a few weeks ago where my company hired a photographer to get action shots and pictures of all the teams.  His approach seemed to work really well for him.  He found a green and tee box that were very close to each other.  He used a 5Dm2 and 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM.  He would get pictures of our approach shots (~70-50 yards away, he had an extender, but he said he only brought it "just in case"), and then shots when we were putting on the green.  Before we teed off on the next hole (again, tee box was right next to the green), he would ask us to get together for a group shot.  Then he would -- with our permission -- get shots of us teeing off.

So he got a wide range of photos -- approach shots with short irons, putting, teeing off, and a couple of groups shots.  He did this on holes #2 and #3, and when all the teams were finished with those holes, he got in a cart the course let him borrow and drove around taking pictures for another hour.

His approach (no pun intended) worked really well, and he really didn't have to put in a ton of effort trying to get nice pictures.  And even more important, he didn't annoy the golfers while going about his photog duties.

Even if you're not the primary photog at the course, the green/tee box approach would work very well.

Hope this helps!

[bdunbar79]

Thanks for your information!

I'm unfortunately the ONLY photog at the course, so getting everyone at one central spot would be amazing, at least that way I have everyone.  Then, other shots for the next hour or so would be bonus shots.  Gosh all these "no pun intendeds."

Anyways, thanks for you information!

[robbymack]

bdunbar,

i've shot a few golf events, the advice above is spot on if you need to get everyone.  With 10 teams you're looking at a pretty full field for the day, so our best option is to pick one or two spots on the course where you have easy access to the following three: tee shots, approaches, putts etc.  See if you can scope out the course a few days in advance.  In fact call the head pro and tell him what you are doing, he'll probably have a couple of suggestions and should also be able to make sure you have a golf cart for gear etc for the day.  If the pro is no help, try the course superintendent.  Ideally you'll find a few spots on the course without too many trees and you shouldn't have a problem with uneven lighting even as the day gets long. 

[bdunbar79]

Thanks.

[Northstar]

you've been given some good advice above...i would add:

1. look for "emotion shots".  watch golfers as they putt from close range (3-8 footers), often times when they miss they will react in interesting ways.   same thing with tee shots, find a hole with a water hazard and position yourself for their facial expressions/body language as ball heads toward or near the water.  this shot of the cal golfer missing and reacting in disbelief is more interesting than the shot of him making it.

2. also, take your 5d3 for the silent shutter...VERY useful in a sport where golfers have "rabbit ears".  I took the shot below from close range w/ my 70-200 because the silent shutter allowed me to do it without him hearing me.

3. follow just the leading groups on the last day so you'll hopefully get many images from the eventual winner/runner up.

probably stuff you already know but I thought I would chime in because i love golf and shooting golf.

[bdunbar79]

Thanks so much for everyone's help.  I took a 5D Mark III and 70-200 f/2.8L II IS lens.  The high contrast shots when the sun came out full blast didn't hurt too much as the files cleaned up nicely.  Again, thanks.

[Richard Lane]

I don't shoot Golf myself (well, photograph Golf), but I had this page bookmarked from another thread.

I thought it may come in a handy one day, and hopefully today is that day. 

http://blog.photoshelter.com/2009/07/fore-how-to-photograph-golf-li/