Gymnastics C&C welcome!

[CMfromIL]

2nd attempt at taking some shots at my daughters gymnastics practice. All were taken under 100% fluorescent. I was on the shutter priority setting.
1. My daughter mid flip: (f5 1/160 iso1600 +2 170mm)

2. Young girl I happened to catch. She was about 6" off the ground but concentrating hard! (f/5 1/100 iso1600 +2 165mm)

3. Tried something different here, slowed down the shutter speed. (f11 1/8 iso1600 140mm)

4. Most interesting shot (for me) of the night. Not sure about the result, but I keep coming back to it. Bothered slightly by the 'bar' that sort of blurs in front...but w/out the bar she wouldn't be jumping! Thoughts? (f11 1/8 iso1600 235mm)

 

[StringThing]

Interesting. The 3rd one would have been amazing if the 3 surrounding gymnasts were still and in sharp focus while the main subject was motion blurred. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong here but maybe a little faster shutter speed.

 

[Trever1t]

^ correct.

Shutter speeds are too slow, the subjects suffer motion blur. Shooting in low light like this is really difficult.

 

[Robin Usagani]

I am always a fan of motion blur. However, if what you are blurring is the "subject", I would use a 2nd curtain flash. That way you see the blur but also see the sharp subject on the top of the motion blur.

 

[imagemaker46]

Gymnastics is tough to shoot even for the very skilled photographers. Dealing with all the equipment packed into a small space. Faster shutter speed would stop them but the busy backgrounds really take away from all of the them. The only one that "works" is the last one, and only as an art type image. If you can move around more and find a cleaner background to use it would make all the difference. Sometimes it takes a lot of looking to find that small window of clean space to work with. Shoot from the floor and not the stands, if you can.

 

[imagemaker46]

I am always a fan of motion blur. However, if what you are blurring is the "subject", I would use a 2nd curtain flash. That way you see the blur but also see the sharp subject on the top of the motion blur.

Using a flash of any kind is prohibited in gymnastics, and for the matter a host of other sports.

 

[CMfromIL]

Funny thing about blur...some love it, other hate it. I threw up a picture of some roller bladers, and got 'dinged' because it was too 'static'. I was at 1/400 for those!

Thanks all for the tips though. Unfortunatly I was forced to take pictures from the upstairs gallery. Usually it's not too busy, so I can set up a tripod. Last night it was very full for some reason, so all the shots were freehand. Makes the 1/8 shutter shots particularly difficult. I do wish the background on 3 was sharper. I think I moved ever so slightly. However her hands are pretty well set, so I thought it made at least an interesting shot.

Thanks again for the comments, I'll try again.

 

[Robin Usagani]

But this is her daughter practicing not competing.

I am always a fan of motion blur. However, if what you are blurring is the "subject", I would use a 2nd curtain flash. That way you see the blur but also see the sharp subject on the top of the motion blur.

Using a flash of any kind is prohibited in gymnastics, and for the matter a host of other sports.

 

[CMfromIL]

I don't know about the facility policy on flash photography. Regardless of the policy, we are not allowed on the floor, or to take pictures except in the gallery area. And that's about 25-50' from the equipment. I only have a stock flash. While the suggestion of a second curtain flash is appreciated it wouldn't be possible for this setting. Thanks again for the input though.

I'm constantly learning something new on here!

 

[sierramister]

Funny thing about blur...some love it, other hate it. I threw up a picture of some roller bladers, and got 'dinged' because it was too 'static'. I was at 1/400 for those!

Thanks all for the tips though. Unfortunatly I was forced to take pictures from the upstairs gallery. Usually it's not too busy, so I can set up a tripod. Last night it was very full for some reason, so all the shots were freehand. Makes the 1/8 shutter shots particularly difficult. I do wish the background on 3 was sharper. I think I moved ever so slightly. However her hands are pretty well set, so I thought it made at least an interesting shot.

Thanks again for the comments, I'll try again.

I don't think the rollerskating photo definition of "static" was that they wanted to see some motion blur. For example, if I took a photo in a football game of a wide receiver running a boring route with no jukes or action, it would technically be an action shot because he's moving, but it would be "static" in the sense that nothing is really happening. In the skater photo, it would have been more interesting if they were cutting a bend at high speed or trying to avoid an obstacle and they needed some cool moves. However, it's merely a photo of four guys skating in what seems to be a pretty relaxed stance. They are moving, but nothing is really happening.

In these gymnastics shots, don't think that these guys want motion blur. Motion blur shouldn't be what you're after. You need to nail the stop motion first. You really need to get your shutter speed down to 1/500 or faster. To do this, turn your aperture way up (f/5, f/3.5 if you can, depending on your lens). On the T3i, I think the noise performance should be good, so try turning that up as well (I'm not sure, but you may be able to go 3200 or 5000). From there, use aperture priority and see what shutter speeds its giving you. If you are near 1/500, then your shots will look much clearer.

The other option is to stop the motion with flash. If you can use flash, your best bet is to let the camera meter the scene and see what it gives you. Ideally, you need very little ambient light in your initial exposure and you want your flash to light the subject.

 

[shootermcgavin]

CM the first one I think would've been awesome just need like 1/250 or a tad more to get rid of the blur on the feet. I don't know how strict the gym is there, but the one my kids went to didn't mind me walking around on the floor and taking photos. It's going to be hard to get good sharp photos with high iso and your zoom out far, plus it sounds like you might be shooting through glass.

 

[shootermcgavin]

Oh also CM I'm probably not the best person to explain it because I hardly understand it, but at the distance you're shooting even at f4-5 the background should still be in focus. Someone will probably put the link that explains it, basically the further the distance the great the depth of field I think I'm saying that correctly. I'm assuming you were changing the aperture to get the girls in the background in focus but I don't think that was necessary.

 

[Robin Usagani]

I see. Then pretty much all you can do is shoot with aperture wide open and ISO upped high.

I don't know about the facility policy on flash photography. Regardless of the policy, we are not allowed on the floor, or to take pictures except in the gallery area. And that's about 25-50' from the equipment. I only have a stock flash. While the suggestion of a second curtain flash is appreciated it wouldn't be possible for this setting. Thanks again for the input though.

I'm constantly learning something new on here!

 

[CMfromIL]

Thanks sierramister.

The first two shots I didn't want the blur, but for the 2nd two I most definatly did. Unfortunatly I wasn't able to get on a tripod and I moved slightly during the shot. I wanted her hands planted on the bar, and the body moving around them. I think had I been on a tripod I might have pulled it off. I took about 50 shots of various girls, this was the better of them.

I just need more work!

Anyways I really appreciate the feedback, and do try to incorporate the suggestions in future shoots. For having the camera for about 4 weeks, I've learned a lot. Cheers.

 

[imagemaker46]

But this is her daughter practicing not competing.

I am always a fan of motion blur. However, if what you are blurring is the "subject", I would use a 2nd curtain flash. That way you see the blur but also see the sharp subject on the top of the motion blur.

Using a flash of any kind is prohibited in gymnastics, and for the matter a host of other sports.

Doesn't matter if it's a practice or not, using a flash during gymnastics is dangerous, all it takes is a simple distraction and someone ends up hurt. The same goes for figure skating and any other sports that require concentration. Typically the sports that allow flash, hockey, volleyball, indoor soccer, swimming, and usually cat walk mounted high enough and not on camera. Although some swim meets allow camera mounted flashes.