How to shoot a swim meet...?

[Destin]

Alright, so most of you guys on here know that I've shot alot of different sports. Football, basketball, baseball, soccer, volleyball, motocross, mountain biking, pretty much everything that happens within 40 miles of me or so, I've tried shooting at some point with decent results. Swimming however, has alwas interested me, but I'm yet to actually shoot a meet.

Basically, This is just me looking for quick tips on where to shoot from, lighting ideas, etc. I'm assuming, like basketball, it'll be somewhat poorly lit and I'll need to use flash, preferably somewhere off camera if I can make it happen. Any input would be great. I'm just hoping not to drop something expensive in the pool..

 

[Derrel]

Many swim meets use electronic stating/timing, and flash units can set it off...something like that...flash is usually not allowed in "my area" at swim meets...might be different there in western New York..I would ask the organizers of the meet about flash use.

 

[Destin]

Many swim meets use electronic stating/timing, and flash units can set it off...something like that...flash is usually not allowed in "my area" at swim meets...might be different there in western New York..I would ask the organizers of the meet about flash use.

Literally just sent an email out to the AD and coach at my local high school to ask about flash, and access. The access won't be a problem, as I know them both pretty well from going to the school, and shooting a ton of other sports there. Never would have thought flash would interfere with the timing system, but that's a good thing to keep in mind. Gonna be hard to shoot in with natural light and get good results I think..

 

[imagemaker46]

Destin, no flash before the race starts, using a flash on camera is ok during a race, although I don't personally like the look. Most pools you can get away with 1250-1600 iso, 500 2.8, you can shoot at 400th, but like most sports faster the better. Shooting butterfly, back and breast are better from the end of the pool, take the opposite end of the start, should be fewer lane judges. Freestyle shoot from the side, watch the swimmers when they come up to breathe, if they breathe looking away from you on the first length, they should be facing you on the second, but not always, distance swimmers change sides all the time, and some swimmers only breathe to one side. If there is a diving tower overlooking the lanes and you can use it, makes for nice backstroke shots, use the 5m platform, 10 my is too high. Swimming is an easy sport to shoot if you really watch the swimmers, timing is everything, they all do the same things, strokes don't change.

If you want to look at a few swim shots, my web site. www.imagecommunications.ca in the featured favourites gallery.

 

[skieur]

Actually lighting is much better for swimming than basketball, partially because of the reflection and distribution of the light from the water. I would hope that your camera is well-sealed against moisture and pool chemicals or that you maintain a little distance from the water. Flash and/or strobes are of course really helpful.

As far as shooting, look for any handshaking, or other gestures from the swimmers that indicate good sportmanship or congratulating the winner etc. Try for the dive in at the start and of course the finish. The hardest part is to get the facial expressions that indicate the effort and determination to win.
This will require a fast telephoto and some great timing. It helps if you camera has 5 to 10fps, needless to say. If he/she is there, a shot of a very expressive coach works too. Camera angles can be difficult to work out too, since you don't want a hand in front of a face or a too busy collection of body parts in the background. Depth of field may need to be adjusted on the go, which of course will affect your other settings as well. It will help too, if you can predict where in the pool the potential winner(s) are going to be.

skieur

 

[Destin]

Imagemaker, you've got some nice shots there! I'm not so sure on camera flash would work well. I guess I'll just have to go shoot and see what happens. 1600 is the limit for my iso capabilities right now, so I might be in trouble because it gets dark out at about 4:30 or 5 here now, so all thoses wonderful windows and skylights in the pool room won't be helping me much at the 6 o'clock meets. Thanks for the advice, and I'll definitely check it out. No dive towers here, just the starting blocks, so that's out.

Do you think my 70-200 is long enough?

 

[imagemaker46]

Imagemaker, you've got some nice shots there! I'm not so sure on camera flash would work well. I guess I'll just have to go shoot and see what happens. 1600 is the limit for my iso capabilities right now, so I might be in trouble because it gets dark out at about 4:30 or 5 here now, so all thoses wonderful windows and skylights in the pool room won't be helping me much at the 6 o'clock meets. Thanks for the advice, and I'll definitely check it out. No dive towers here, just the starting blocks, so that's out.

Do you think my 70-200 is long enough?

You should have no problem shooting lanes 1-3(freestyle) or at the end of the pool you can shoot fly, back abd breast no problem with a 70-200 2.8. I shoot swimming with a 300 2.8 or 400 2.8. Shooting the starts is tough if they don't take the back stroke marker down, you would have to be sitting on the deck shooting under it, and in order to get a face when they dive, you'll have to shoot lane 0-1, depending on the pool, alot of swimmers keep their heads down when they dive in, for backstroke they start in the water and you can get some nice action there, watch the warmups, you'll see how the arch into the water. The only times you'll get water splashing your way are on the turns or start, but generally the amount of water that is leaving the pool isn't a risk to the gear.

Use the light from the windows as long as you can, try some backlit stuff as well, makes for a different look. Watch the light on the water, you can use the light from any score boards as well, don't go nuts trying to overwork the light, or constantly changing exposures. If you can shoot head shots on the blocks, watch the backgrounds, there is always a clean one if you look past the swimmers, use the goggles they wear as well, great reflections.

Have fun.

 

[Destin]

Shooting the meet now. The light in this pool isnt bad. ISO 1250, f3.2, around 1/400th. And the lights are all bounced off the ceiling meaning no harsh reflections. Oh yeah, and they're daylight balanced so flash wouldn't be an issue

 

[Destin]

Alright, how'd I do for my first swim meet?

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