Shooting NCAA Basketball

What is it like to shoot NCAA Basketball for a wire serivce with a deadline? I go over some shots to get and things to be aware of while covering these kind of events for a wire service.

[@aortiz1009]

Excellent coverage Seth, well done. I actually didn't know it was that difficult; meaning to shoot for a wire service. There is a lot going on and you basically have to be on the top of your game.

[@Allieischill]

Love this video. So awesome how you showed exactly what photos you took as we watched the game.

[@eugenetay105]

Really insightful video! Thanks for sharing. Looking forward to more POV vids of your workflow!

[@RogerHolien]

great birds eye view of what you do! thanks nice video, appreciate all your hard work.

[@intelinsideTV]

I absolutely love these kind of videos would love to see more.

[@HoopHaven]

Very informative video, thank you for showing how you covered the event. One thing I'm interested in is what were your settings?

[@brianjames368]

Honestly you're my favorite photographer

[@sjsphotographysports]

Well thank you for that man, that means a lot to me.

[@nathanpuxty868]

love your videos. I learnt more from your videos than big names like kelby or lynda.com thanks man.

[@duckmedia93]

Awesome Seth love it

[@chantestephens]

Awesome video!

[@maxleelovesyou]

Hi Seth, what a great video! Could you share your camera settings for shooting basketball? ISO, shutter speed etc? and AF mode? Many thanks!

[@RickyLJones]

Excellent video, very well done!

[@danbalan4653]

this is exactly what we need, a raw-like video of "how to"... great work. Just one question, what's your aperture and shutter speed in your remote camera with 24-70?

[@christianalandau8263]

Are you able to get these great shots using only the lighting in the arena? Great video and advice

[@beezybmb]

need more videos like this(nice shoots too bro)

[@TheNoursFamily]

How many pics do you send to your company vs the ones you took ? Thanks, great job.

[@SportsMajorsVideo]

Questions Seth, before sending your photos to the wire service, you're just doing crop editing in Photo Mechanic? Also, what picture style do you use shooting basketball? Thanks Troy

[@mrg6424]

Great video man, nauseating, but great!!!

[@bongkeiwong4225]

Its a nice share， many thanks

[@Lovelyforlife1]

Cool video!

[@RollyShow]

wow really great insight, subscribed

[@kathygragert5845]

What color settings do you use for indoor basketball?

[@MatsAndersson]

Great. More please!

[@TEZZA26366]

Hey Seth, great video. What iso are you shooting and shutter speed please

[@awillingvessel238]

are you using a f4 or f2.8?

[@50slaughter]

thanks for your videos. Just bought a 1dx and what settings do you suggest for high school basketball? I have the 70-200 II USM lens.This is like a computer

[@13hfcadc]

Ricky Slaughter What’s up Rick! For the Manual settings, it’s complicated because it all depends on the kind of light the gym provides. If it’s a gym like on this video, your setting should always be: Shutter speed: 1/800 - 1/1000 ISO: maybe from 1000 to 2500 maybe, maybe even 800 depending on your Aperture F stop: 2.8 to 3.2 There’s no exact settings, you need to play around with it so you can get sharp images and not grainy. Also, High Continuous speed and change your focus settings to AI SERVO. It helps the focus to keep following the area when it moves suddenly. I suggest you to go and look for Peter Read Miller videos. He’s good! Best of luck!

[@reynoirjr]

I 2nd Hector's comment...but Assuming the gym is fairly well lit i would start at 1/800s - F2 (if your using a fast prime) or 2.8 - iso 2000-4000....i wouldnt go above f2.8 personally but with a 1Dx you could hit f4 and push the iso to 8000 or 12,800 and probably not get much grain.

[@apixelintime]

Hey Seth - good stuff. I shoot roller derby so I get the lower light, fast moving subjects. I would love to do a vid like this - I am assuming that you are shooting it with a gopro - where do you mount it?

[@sjsphotographysports]

Yes I mount the gopro on my head (head mount)

[@rolandharrison579]

Thanks Seth, great video (keep them coming as really useful and practical). Just wondering how you manage when you have a great shot but the player number is not visible? Had this a couple of times with football (soccer). How many images do you send at half time and how descriptive are they as not sure on how much time you have to download, caption, edit and send images before your back on the court? I use code replacements and PM5 so as prepared as I can be but just need to describe what's going on. Thanks and please keep them coming.

[@sjsphotographysports]

There is a feature of the 1DX that allows you to speak into the file of that particular image. In photomechanic, you can hit a play button on that image you spoke into to hear which player(s) are in the shot you got. As far as your workflow goes with editing/captioning/sending them out via FTP, it all depends on the game and your workflow. For this game, I sent over 27 images at half time, which is a pretty large amount for half time. Normally, you send 8-10 shots. Hope this helps you out. Also, feel free to contact me via private message on instagram if you want to ask me any questions!

[@rolandharrison579]

Seth Sanchez Thanks Seth, that is fast to send 27 captioned images at HT and like you I would normally have around 8-10 images. Soccer can sometimes be difficult as the action is continuous for 45mins (each half) and no stops except for the HT of 15mins. Will start using the voice recorder as a back up as most players don't have their numbers on their front and you have to wait for them to turn around to see their number. Thanks for the offer via Instagram, will keep that in mind. Cheers

[@nwarfare2123]

Seth Sanchez is it hard to get accepted at maxpreps photographer's network application?

[@sjsphotographysports]

not really, just have to submit 5 solid tight framed shots :)

[@RobbS2022]

Well done.

[@uniyunique]

Hi, there I don't know if you still checks the comments but I am really curious. I am a 7D Mk II user, just changed it from Rebel t5 to 7D Mk II, so most of things are so different and difficult for me. One of the things that I am struggling with is AF-points. When you are taking pictures of a moving subject(sports mostly), what kind of AF points do you use? For example, what did you do when you were taking pictures of this USC vs UCLA game? Secondly, did you do manual focus or auto focus on your camera that has 24-70 lens on?

[@csd72]

Thanks for the video.

[@PC-Addicts]

Awesome video! After you are done editing in Adobe Camera Raw, what exactly do you do, just save the images from Adobe Camera Raw, or do you open them in Photoshop to save them?

[@sjsphotographysports]

I save them in camera raw to a folder on my desktop then drag them into Filezilla after I am logged into the server.

[@PC-Addicts]

Thanks for the fast reply and info Seth!

[@nwarfare2123]

+Seth Sanchez how hard is it to get accepted into Iconsports Wire.

[@thomastarner8683]

Shoot jpg's and skip Camera RAW. ;) I still need to get PM for my culling. Good content here, any future videos in the works?

[@poeticflairphotography7087]

Hello Seth can I use a 300 F4 lense successfully to shoot basketball. I am more concerned with f4 aperture that the reach. Thanks

[@Bg_visions]

yes plz do more

[@danielcarlstedt9216]

What iso and shutter do you shoot in ?

[@nd-lw1el]

ur mom

[@therookiewhoraces]

How did you set your focus for the PW?

[@50slaughter]

Seth Im shooting high school basketball with a 1d x 70-200 lens 2.8. I shoot for max prep with football but cant get a sharp enough picture in basketball. What suggestion would you give please and thanks. I use case 4 for focusing.

[@DMVimages301]

Do you sit the go pro on your hat and record videos like that?

[@sjsphotographysports]

I place it on my head and put a beanie over it!

[@rolandharrison579]

Seth, one other question, I have a Canon gear - 1Dx and 300mm f2.8 II and 70-200 f2.8 II, but not shot BB and looking to get some indoor sports shots like these and I just wondered what your setting were in the video i.e. Shutter Speed, Aperture (assume f2.8 for 400 for far courts shots but suspect f3.5+ for 70-200 for near court shots?) and ISO (is the auto?). Do you use AWB or custom setup before the game? Is your metering Evaluative. Any starting point on settings will be really useful when I get started. Thanks again.

[@sjsphotographysports]

Video is being uploaded as I type this that covers camera settings for Indoor Basketball/Sports :)

[@rolandharrison579]

Seth Sanchez Thanks Seth, just seen your video and very useful to hear the settings. Really appreciate this. Thanks and keep them coming.

[@richa4425]

Seth Sanchez Is there a difference shoot RAW vs SRAW? Also does PhotoMech convert image to JPEG or do you have to use LR to do that?

[@sjsphotographysports]

Rich A Just the file size, its compressed. I am unsure honestly. I have never saved a file off PM, only LR and PS.

[@nwarfare2123]

+Seth Sanchez how hard is it to get an assignment from iconsports wire?

[@iamtheboss67]

how to get access to basketball games? i'm a sports photographer from Kuwait

[@MCGrigg-es7tu]

What are your thoughts on sigma's 120-300mm f/2.8 ART lens?

[@sjsphotographysports]

Funny you ask, my friend next to me was shooting with it haha :) I have not tried it, but he said it is working very well for him for now!

[@nwarfare2123]

+Seth Sanchez Hi how do you get an assignment from Iconsports wire?

[@JGZphotography]

I use your mentioned Sigma lens for outdoor sports on my Canon 7D Mk 2, which is fantastic yielding the equivalent 192-480mm @ f/2.8. A little much for indoor sports, and it's pretty heavy at 7.6 lbs. by itself. I prefer a 1.4X teleconverter on a 70-200 f/2.8 instead, when I really want some tight basketball or volleyball shots for almost 450mm max with a 1 stop loss. I'll do a trade-off by increasing the ISO proportionally to decreasing shutter speed, but not less than 1/800 sec.

[@maxbulewoo]

very nice POV , hope comeback sports photography on someday

[@jougom8654]

Thanks for the video ;)