Tips on shooting hockey?

[Pakneh]

I would say the arena lighting has the biggest impact on your photos, second being aperture of your lens. I used the Tamron 70-200 VC on the 7D, 6D and 7D Mark 2. To each their own advantages, but the 7d Mark2's Flicker setting is a game changer for crappy arena lighting. I could not comment on the Sigma 120-300 or Canon 70-200 but the Tamron certainly is the speediest of my lenses and depending where you set up can cover the net to middle of the arena. Good Luck!

 

[Northstar]

one more.

Nice shots cello...sounds like fun!

Editing can help hockey photos quite a bit...it seems like i almost always have to bump the exposure and shadows in PP when shooting hockey because there usually isn't enough light to begin with. Also, with shots through the glass, the image sometimes is a little cloudy, but adding some contrast will usually diminish the cloudiness.

I edited your second photo by raising the exposure and shadows, and cropping a bit more. What do you think?

Ah yes! That looks so much better!! Thank you!

I'm always looking for better glass.. not that the 85mm isn't great but I realized how useful a zoom could be. Maybe I need to plan for a sigma 120-300 2.8? or even tamron 70-200 2.8. f4 is not going to work! Ideally, I'm thinking the 7D II with a fast zoom lens.

Cello...For sports like hockey, the speed and accuracy of the AF is also critical...in this regard, canon lenses are best as far as I know...not sure on the others.

I've shot hockey with the canon 85 1.8 at f2.2 and it works pretty well in poor light for short range shots in the corners. The canon 70-200 2.8ii is sooooo good though.

 

[Northstar]

Looks good Northstar. I'll be shooting my first hockey game next weekend and read through your posts, which have some really great tips. Thanks

Yeayea... good luck next weekend!

Thanks for your kind words.

 

[Roo]

Ok I've taken a voluntary role with one of the teams in the national league here this season and the first game was last weekend.

We've all submitted our images for the game and I really can't believe some of the rubbish put forward especially by one that classes himself as a pro. He is one of the league's paid guys using a 1Dx and, while his exposure is mostly ok, his white balance is inconsistent and he uses far too much contrast losing the detail in the uniforms with the blacks are really just blobs. Of the rest, 2 are really good although one of those needs to use noise reduction more often and the others just underexpose everything and crop poorly. As for myself I was feeling a bit rusty with my timing being a bit off but still got some passable shots. All round it was interesting introduction to pro sports ;D

 

[jdramirez]

I get to contrast someone... Who am I kidding, all the time. The last team I shot had deep navy blue team colors... And I find it hard to distinguish that from being black when a moderate amount of contrast was used.

Also... You know that we take 100's of photos at any event, but normally we only show the top 5% because they will take your breathe away... So maybe his contact is 100% submission regardless if it is mediocre or not.

Ok I've taken a voluntary role with one of the teams in the national league here this season and the first game was last weekend.

We've all submitted our images for the game and I really can't believe some of the rubbish put forward especially by one that classes himself as a pro. He is one of the league's paid guys using a 1Dx and, while his exposure is mostly ok, his white balance is inconsistent and he uses far too much contrast losing the detail in the uniforms with the blacks are really just blobs. Of the rest, 2 are really good although one of those needs to use noise reduction more often and the others just underexpose everything and crop poorly. As for myself I was feeling a bit rusty with my timing being a bit off but still got some passable shots. All round it was interesting introduction to pro sports ;D

 

[Northstar]

Ok I've taken a voluntary role with one of the teams in the national league here this season and the first game was last weekend.

We've all submitted our images for the game and I really can't believe some of the rubbish put forward especially by one that classes himself as a pro. He is one of the league's paid guys using a 1Dx and, while his exposure is mostly ok, his white balance is inconsistent and he uses far too much contrast losing the detail in the uniforms with the blacks are really just blobs. Of the rest, 2 are really good although one of those needs to use noise reduction more often and the others just underexpose everything and crop poorly. As for myself I was feeling a bit rusty with my timing being a bit off but still got some passable shots. All round it was interesting introduction to pro sports ;D

sounds like fun Roo... would love to see some of the photos!

 

[FTb-n]

earlier you asked about the 12fps and how much it contributes to getting "the shot". i think it contributes greatly! for serious sports photography, the 1dx can't be beat. in a few years when the next 1 series comes out and the current 1dx is being sold in the used market for $3500, it might be worth consideration.

Northstar, I dove into 1Dx-land with the recent falling prices and shot our local ice show this past weekend. The 1Dx is a dream to work with, and the 12 fps did up my keeper rate for shots of skaters in mid-jump.

For both single and double rotation jumps, I was able to get a bunch of sharp images with the skater facing the camera. But, I learned something. Every skater has a different facial expression during a jump and and many would not want these images posted. It's a lot easier for them to smile during a splits jump.

I'm amazed at the high ISO image quality with the 1Dx. Most shots were at ISO 8,000 f2.8 (70-200), and 1/800.

While not an action shot, here's a favorite:

 

[dolina]

Know your camera in and out
Know the game in and out
Know the players in and out
Bring enough memory cards and batteries
Keep a cool disposition
Follow the rules of the venue

 

[Northstar]

earlier you asked about the 12fps and how much it contributes to getting "the shot". i think it contributes greatly! for serious sports photography, the 1dx can't be beat. in a few years when the next 1 series comes out and the current 1dx is being sold in the used market for $3500, it might be worth consideration.

Northstar, I dove into 1Dx-land with the recent falling prices and shot our local ice show this past weekend. The 1Dx is a dream to work with, and the 12 fps did up my keeper rate for shots of skaters in mid-jump.

For both single and double rotation jumps, I was able to get a bunch of sharp images with the skater facing the camera. But, I learned something. Every skater has a different facial expression during a jump and and many would not want these images posted. It's a lot easier for them to smile during a splits jump.

I'm amazed at the high ISO image quality with the 1Dx. Most shots were at ISO 8,000 f2.8 (70-200), and 1/800.

While not an action shot, here's a favorite:

FTb-n...Glad to hear you're enjoying the 1dx! It truly is an amazing camera.
Love the photo you posted...beautiful!

 

[Roo]

jd - I get what you mean about shooting hundreds of photos but only showing a 5%. However, I got to shoot next to him last night and it's really off putting when someone has their finger mashed to the shutter button of a 1Dx all game ;D During the course of the game I took about 500 shots but I'd guess that he took closer to 2000 or so. At times I'd was wondering what the hell he was shooting because there was zero happening. I get that you might want to get a shot of the lonely goalie when the action is up the other end of the rink but he shot a 2 second burst. I think I'd put him in the category that believes better gear makes you a better photog. Anyway it doesn't really matter what he does in the end because I'm doing something I enjoy and it's appreciated by the club. The reason I brought it up was because it was my first time shooting a sport with a supposed pro tog lol.

FTb-n - spectacular shot in those conditions. You're certainly putting the 1Dx to good use

Northstar - it is fun. I've attached a few shots so far. I hope you like the 3 legged skater haha

 

[Roo]

Some from the latest game

 

[FTb-n]

Roo, you are certainly nailing the hockey shots. I particularly like the flying players two posts ago and I love the controlled motion blur in your most recent post. The motion blur was something that I tried to do during the ice show, but found it tough to put all the pieces together -- a skater moving in a straight line (and not jumping), a background to blur, no other skaters in the foreground, and a spotlight on your subject. I can imagine hockey has its own challenges in getting this shot with other players on the ice and with your subject moving erratically to avoid them.

 

[Roo]

Thanks FTb-n! You have actually picked my 2 favourites as well When I did the under 18's international series in December, they had a a couple of ice show demos in the breaks. I tried to do some slow shutter with them but I found it difficult and got nothing worth keeping, so I know what you mean.

 

[Roo]

Thanks to Fox Sports I tried a couple of things I wouldn't normally do at the latest game. When they televise a game here they insist on having the top netting pulled aside so I rode on their coattails and went high in the stands for a different perspective. I used the Samyang 14mm to shoot the national anthems (US anthem was played for the 4th of July) and puck drop. I then switched to the Tamron 150-600 for the rest of the first period. I had to switch iso up to 5000 and my keeper rate was lower but I did get some shots I wouldn't normally get.

 

[Northstar]

A couple shots from last weekend.
One of the local rinks installed new LED lighting that allowed me to shoot at ISO 1600...last year it would’ve been ISO3200 or higher.
I’ve shot at two indoor ice arenas since the hockey season has started that have had their lighting upgraded to LED, and it’s been a big improvement....roughly 1 to 1.5 full stops better at each.

 

[Northstar]

after a little more thought...here’s a shot taken at 1/1250th, f3.5, ISO 3200. I have no fears of shooting the 1dx at ISO 3200, so I gave the light to my aperture and shutter speed...but as you can see, i could’ve shot this at f 4.0, ISO 1600 and 1/500th (if my math is right) (i’m drinking beer on a Sat night so it might not be..ha ha)

my point is that lower quality gear will be able to take great photos of indoor sports more and more now and in the near future as LED light prices continue to fall and lighting systems are upgraded for cost saving reasons.

 

[zCanadia]

I've always struggled with hockey photos-- not sure if that's a gear related drawback or myself lol.

 

[Jaysheldon]

Hi
Finally got to test my new 6D with a 70-200 f4 IS at an arena in Toronto and am pleased with the high ISO performance compared to my cropped 60D (miss the faster fps, though) at least on a computer screen-- I have no trouble trusting the 6D at 6400. I've attached one image, reduced without any edit (which may be too small). Shot at 1/400 sec at f5.
(One thing, though: I shot though the glass. If you look at the guy on the right the colour of his pants change -- I'm pretty sure that's the reflection of a window behind and to the right of me.)
As for focus, I pre-focused with AF (often in One Shot) on the goalie or the goal post and waited for action. Haven't figured out BB Focus and AI Servo for sports. Should I focus on a player, then keep BB pressed?

 

[Roo]

A couple shots from last weekend.
One of the local rinks installed new LED lighting that allowed me to shoot at ISO 1600...last year it would’ve been ISO3200 or higher.
I’ve shot at two indoor ice arenas since the hockey season has started that have had their lighting upgraded to LED, and it’s been a big improvement....roughly 1 to 1.5 full stops better at each.

That lighting looks really good Northstar and I hope it's part of the stadium upgrade they're planning here.

 

[Roo]

Hi
Finally got to test my new 6D with a 70-200 f4 IS at an arena in Toronto and am pleased with the high ISO performance compared to my cropped 60D (miss the faster fps, though) at least on a computer screen-- I have no trouble trusting the 6D at 6400. I've attached one image, reduced without any edit (which may be too small). Shot at 1/400 sec at f5.
(One thing, though: I shot though the glass. If you look at the guy on the right the colour of his pants change -- I'm pretty sure that's the reflection of a window behind and to the right of me.)
As for focus, I pre-focused with AF (often in One Shot) on the goalie or the goal post and waited for action. Haven't figured out BB Focus and AI Servo for sports. Should I focus on a player, then keep BB pressed?

Welcome Jay. Nice first up shot.

Shooting through glass at ice hockey will always be a problem with reflections but you can minimise them - wear solid dark clothing so you don't reflect in the shot, minimise your angles and shoot as close to the glass as possible.

In most sports you're better off with AI servo and bb focus. Servo will continue to track the subject while it moves. Using your case of pre-focusing on the goalie, when you do go to take the shot you may miss focus as the goalie is moving across the other side of the goal - with AI servo it will continue to track the goalie as they move. Using bb focus you can start and stop focus when you choose which gives you more flexibility and you can either follow a player or switch to another player.

Shoot wide open @ f4 and you can either have a slightly faster shutter speed or reduce your iso. Happy shooting!