Figure Skating Photography, Videography, and Visual Storytelling

[Maya]

16 minutes ago, YesWay said:

 

Yes, FZ300 should be very similar to FZ1000. Actually, very similar settings on my micro-four-thirds cameras too.

 

Bear in mind that what works for me, isn't necessarily going to work for everybody! But at the very least it might give you some ideas.

 

Personally I shoot JPG-only. Can't be bothered with RAW at the best of times, but in any case - lighting at figure skating competitions is usually quite constant, so it's comparatively easy to get your settings and white balance right from the start, and do without the "safety net" of RAW. With modern Panasonics and a decently fast SD card, you're also unlikely to ever fill the buffer or wait for card writes, when using JPG-only. It keeps "shot-to-shot" and "burst-to-burst" speeds high, so you need never miss a shot on account of the camera.

 

On the older Panasonic superzooms, I favoured AFF autofocus mode, but newer ones I think the AFC is probably better. Either way, any difference in performance seems very small or maybe even imaginary ^_^  I don't use any kind of "tracking" AF.

 

I use a single focus area, set quite large, and positioned so it fills a large part of the bottom half of the frame. My theory is, the camera will have an easier time locking onto skaters, if all it "sees"' is their legs against a bland background of ice. (if the focus area is centred, there might be high-contrast adverts on the boards, spectators in the background etc, that could "distract" the autofocus). It seems to work well for me - but beware of tv cameras, judges etc grabbing focus if they "pass by" at the bottom of the frame...

 

I normally use Shutter Priority ("S") mode. I think with the FZ1000 I typically used 1/400th - 1/500th shutter speed, depending on how good the lighting was. Auto ISO. Under indoor lighting, this will cause the lens aperture to be effectively locked wide open, and only the ISO will vary. If a few test shots show the camera using ISO higher than about 1600, I'd look at bumping down the shutter speed. Slower shutter speeds mean less "keepers", but with practice it needn't be too bad.

 

(I do not fear this personally - but I've had a lot of practice, and I am also am used to airshow photography, where we use long lenses but slow shutter speeds, to get blurred propellers - because frozen propellers look like a dead plane about to crash!  This necessitates learning a steady hand, and good panning technique to synchronise with the subject's motion. I also grew up in the era when everything was manual, nothing on a camera was prefixed by "auto", "i" or "e", and there was no such thing as "image stabilisation" ^_^ )

 

And speaking of image stabilisation - I normally turn it off completely for the skating (turn it on for K&C, rinkside shots etc though). IMO, I get the sharpest results that way, and I have some theories as to why that might be - but this not really the time for that. It's not for the faint-hearted though, and most people will be far better off keeping I.S. turned on. Perhaps a good halfway-house compromise is to use "panning mode" stabilisation?

 

I'm OK switching off I.S. because - like I said - I grew up and honed my technique without it. And also, the old "rule of thumb" says that if shutter speed is at least 1/FocalLength, then it should be unnecessary. eg. if I am at the FZ1000's maximum equivalent focal length, 400mm, then if I use at least 1/400th shutter speed, I shouldn't need I.S. That's a bit tricky for the FZ300 though, you'd need to be shooting at 1/600th according to that rule of thumb. (Airshow photographers laugh at that rule though, we often shoot at anything up to 1000mm, and 1/250th shutter speed, hand-held).

 

I tend to hold the camera with my elbows tucked in against my belly. With the viewfinder pressed to my forehead, this creates a kind of tripod that helps keep the camera steady. When panning with the skaters, I sit back in my seat, straight, and turn with my whole torso, keeping camera/head/arms locked together as a unit. Again, this helps with stability and smooth panning - but also means I keep out of my neighbours way, and don't block their view.

 

I always shoot "landscape", I never rotate the camera to "portrait". I simply crop my photos instead, when needed. Partly because I don't want to stick my elbow in my neighbours face to rotate the camera, but also because even "modest" 16-megapixel cameras have way more pixels than I actually need. So, I don't care how many I am throwing away by cropping. My photos still have to be reduced afterwards to screen sizes, or for sharing on the web. And I almost never print bigger than A5 either...

 

If shooting JPG-only, be sure to set your white balance - Take a few test shots and check your colours look OK. Tweak until they look right. Personally I use a "digital grey card" to set a custom white balance - I get as close to the rink as I can, and place the card so it catches the rink lighting. Do this once when I arrive at the rink, save it, and then I'm set for the whole competition. Beware of lighting changes though (eg. Occasionally they don't turn on all the lights during practice sessions). Gala's are different of course, I just set white balance to "sunny" and it usually captures the coloured lighting OK.

 

Also beware of "custom setups" (one of the "C" modes on the mode dial) on modern Panasonics, there are several "gotchas": If you set a custom white balance, it will be NOT be used when you switch to a "C" mode , unless you re-save your custom setup WHILE the custom white balance is active. ie. switch the mode dial to your "C" mode to load it "clean", then set custom white balance, making sure you also select or "set" the new custom white balance, then re-save the "C" mode.

 

Although colours should be correct when you set WB from a gray card, Panasonics may still tend to be a bit "blue". Lots of people tweak their WB (custom or otherwise) a click or two towards "amber" to compensate. (I don't bother myself).

 

I use centre-weighted metering.

 

I normally use at least +0.66 (+2/3) or more exposure compensation, to avoid "too-dark" skaters and featureless block-black trousers, against "well-exposed" ice. Ice will tend to be get "blown out" by this, but I consider that preferable to under-exposed skaters. For lighter/coloured costumes I will use less +compensation. For all-dark costumes I use more. Gala's I typically use zero.

 

I also use the shadow/highlight control to boost the shadows +2 or +3

 

"Photo style" is set to "standard" but within that, I set Sharpness and NR to minimum, or nearly minimum (because I prefer to use specialist software to control final sharpness and noise reduction). I set Saturation +1 and Contrast 0.

 

Anything beginning with "i" in the setup menus is normally turned off.

 

I always have the rear screen closed, so it doesn't distract my neighbours in the crowd - but also to save battery. The viewfinder only turns on when I bring it to my eye, so when I lower the camera no battery is wasted on a screen or viewfinder that isn't being used.

 

I tend to keep the camera close to my eye during a performance though - I mostly watch by peeping over the top of the camera, so it takes only tiny movement to be ready to shoot when needed.

 

What else can I tell you? If I missed anything or you have questions, just ask, I'll try to answer as best I can...

 

Wow! Thank you so very much for taking the time sharing your experience and advice!!! I really do appreciate it. My next skating event will be GPF. I can't wait to use the settings you use that I haven't tried. The only advice I'll likely find difficult to follow is holding the camera in hands as opposed to mounting it on a tripod. Even with a tripod, I had muscle strain, mostly in my arms. I opened my tripod minimally and sandwiched it with my own legs so I don't get into my neighbors' space. 

 

One more question: if you get as close to the rink as you can when you set WB, would the lighting and color look different from where you actually sit and take photos? Or, is the difference minor enough you could ignore it?

 

 

[YesWay]

35 minutes ago, Maya said:

 

Wow! Thank you so very much for taking the time sharing your experience and advice!!! I really do appreciate it. My next skating event will be GPF. I can't wait to use the settings you use that I haven't tried. The only advice I'll likely find difficult to follow is holding the camera in hands as opposed to mounting it on a tripod. Even with a tripod, I had muscle strain, mostly in my arms. I opened my tripod minimally and sandwiched it with my own legs so I don't get into my neighbors' space. 

 

Ah, yes, it can be tricky to follow skaters, or use a viewfinder, when using a tripod. A monopod might work better, and they can also be lighter and more portable. Either way, if it were me, I'd probably use a ball head, but leave it quite loose - so the camera is still supported, but moves fairly freely?

 

I've done that before for video, with a monopod. It worked quite well, and the monopod could tilt easily, which seemed to help when following a skater as they passed by (I didn't have to move "around" the camera to stay "behind" it, if you know what I mean?). It took a little practice keep the camera horizontal while doing that though.

 

35 minutes ago, Maya said:

One more question: if you get as close to the rink as you can when you set WB, would the lighting and color look different from where you actually sit and take photos? Or, is the difference minor enough you could ignore it?

 

 

 

If you set white balance near the rink, then colours of skaters on (or near) the rink should be OK, no matter where you take the photo from. But photos of other areas (away from the rink) could be a bit "off". You can shoot RAW if that's a concern, and set the white balance after the photos are taken.

 

(Note the point made earlier though - everyone will see photos with slightly different colours anyway, according to the quirks of their particular screens/monitors - unless they are among the few who properly calibrate their displays)

 

Good luck at the GPF, you are sure to enjoy, camera or not!

[LeadenMyr]

5 minutes ago, LeadenMyr said:

Hi all! Just coming here to share some good news IMO 

 

EFFING AWESOME PICTURES ARE COMING

(in case you're not some weirdo like yours truly this is Joosep Martinson, the man behind the mind blowingly beautiful pictures from Helsinki that are a gift to all this fandom)

Sorry for quoting myself, I thought it might be cool to post this here as well 

[LeadenMyr]

Hi! Continuing with the topic on how to make the workflow easier, I found this, I'll look up reviews later, but this looks like it could make things easier for video, though I only just saw it and well, who knows.

Hope you guys find it interesting!