Keeping things interesting, shooting from above, playing with light

Last week I shot Mens Volleyball at the Bren. I knew that since I only was lighting half of the court, I could backlight the players during one of the games. The first game I shot from a balcony and got some standard shots, all on my strobes with a 300mm.

Nikon D300, 300mm, 320iso, f6.3, 1/250th

Nikon D300, 300mm, 320iso, f6.3, 1/250th

Nikon D300, 300mm, 320iso, f6.3, 1/250th

Nikon D300, 300mm, 320iso, f6.3, 1/250th

Nikon D300, 300mm, 320iso, f6.3, 1/250th

Right after the first game ended I quickly made my way up into the catwalks, adjusted the positioning of my strobes and headed over to the opposite side of the court. I choose my position and sat up there for the whole next game. Backlighting the players was interesting. It was also very hard with the 300mm. It was difficult to get the ball and the players in the same frame without it looking like a big blob of shadows. I should have taken my 70-200mm and definitely will the next time I try it.

Nikon D300, 300mm, 100iso, f10, 1/250th

I also experimented with shooting the players while backlit on different parts of the floor. Its a new angle that I haven’t seen before and I’m pretty happy with the shots I got.

Nikon D300, 300mm, 100iso, f10, 1/250th

Nikon D300, 300mm, 100iso, f10, 1/250th

Shooting the same things the same way gets boring. You have to keep things interesting.