Photographers often ask me, “How do I light high school basketball?” We all know high school gyms are caves. Everybody lights a gym there own way based on their equipment, but here’s a little insight into how I light high school basketball.
My typical setup when I have to cover both teams is like this:
Most of the time, I set up a remote camera on the far end of the court, opposite from where I will be sitting during the game. Usually, it’s on a floor plate as far back from the baseline as possible. For the remote camera, I set up two light stands with a Nikon SB-800 speedlight on each pointed up towards the ceiling of the gym. I try to set up the lights on each corner of the baseline, as far back as possible. I use the built in commander on the Nikon D300′s pop-up flash to fire the strobes. The camera is triggered with one set of Pocketwizard tranceivers firing the camera with a pre-release cable (note: if not set to pre-release, there will be a big lag and you will miss your shot!).
I do the same light setup for my end of the court, except I fire these directly with Pocketwizards, not using a flash as a commander. I only use the lights on my end for shots of offense, whether it be with my 28-70mm or 70-200mm lens. When the action moves to the far end of the court, I switch to the Nikon D700 with a 300mm f2.8 lens. I shoot available light with this camera because high ISO’s look really good. I shoot with the long lens and fire my remote camera at the same time so I get two sides of the play at the far hoop.
Technical info for above photo: Nikon D300 on floor plate, 17-35mm f2.8 lens zoomed in to 30mm, ISO 800, 1/250th, f4, two Nikon SB-800′s on remote mode, fired using built-in commander with output of +3. I triggered the remote camera with Pocketwizards (you can actually see me in the photo sitting on the opposite end next to the cheerleaders firing the camera). If you have questions or need help with your setup, feel free to ask!
Check out more photos from some recent games below:
Carlos Delgado is a photographer based in Long Beach, California. He has a broad portfolio and has a client list that includes The Associated Press, The New York Daily News, The Orange County Register, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Long Beach Press-Telegram and many more.
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Great info, Can you translate to Canon?
I shoot HS BB too and put a SB600 in each corner of the bleachers up against the wall behind the baseline. This shorts my light right in front of the basket since the wall is only about 6 feet from the back of the basket.
You are lucky they let you put a remote on the floor and that it doesn’t get hit and light stands don’t get knocked over.
Questions
How much room do you have between the baseline and your light stands?
What zoom setting are you using on the SB800?
When you are shooting your 300mm and fire the remote (and two flash on stands) how do you keep from getting the flash in your image with the 300mm?
When you say “pointed up at the ceiling” what angle would that be?
Thanks!
Darrel – There are many ways to light high school gyms and if it works for you then that’s great. Not all gyms are light stand friendly and not all gyms have enough room between the baseline and the wall to allow for a remote camera. Leaving a camera on the ground unattended doesn’t fly in high school playoff games, and in most levels from college and up. However, if I get there early enough during regular season games, I run by my set up with the officials and most times, they allow it. Having insurance is a must.
To answer your questions, I try to keep my light stands as far back from the baseline as possible, usually right up against the front the front row of bleachers. When I shoot with the 300mm and the remote, rarely does the flash spoil a frame in the motor drive sequence, but sometimes it does happen. I point the lights straight up with a little angle towards the basket so the light bounces down towards the hoop.
Tracy – You can easily achieve this with Canon cameras and flashes. However, you will need Pocketwizards to fire your Canon flashes.
Here’s a simple diagram to get a mental picture:
I forgot to add that I zoom the flash in to 105mm. Also, there has to be at least 6-7 feet of space between the baseline and any light stand or it’s a no-go. If I can, I’ll mount the remote on the hoop post or a bleacher railing behind the basket with a magic arm. The floor plate is my last resort, but most times, it is the only option for a remote other than a behind-the-backboard (which I usually don’t do for games on deadline). If it gets knocked over it gets knocked over, which is why I sometimes use an old D200 instead. It all depends on the client I’m shooting for. If my client wants two or three photos from only one team on a quick deadline, I do without the remote.
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A thoughtful opinion and ideas I will use on my blog. You’ve obviously spent some time on this. Congratulations!
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