Question for the Rugby guys...

Eirebear

and anyone else who wants to answer!

Ive managed to gain access to a scottish Premier league game next month which im really quite excited about having never shot rugby before.
I have some experience with soccer and Gaelic football so im ok with action shots in general but ive just got a few jitters with what in general is a slower game.

Any advice you could give me on things like where to position myself etc would be extremely handy if you could.
I'll be using my 30D with 200mm L f/2.8, its a 2 O'Clock KO so the light "should" be ok.
Cheers in advance.

Borderfox

From what I have shot of Rugby and other sports I was positioned between the corner flag and the goalpost to get players on the run in to score a try, then changed at half time to the centre line to get players running in getting tackled. All depends on how the game is going..

Eirebear

Cheers borderfox, i was thinking about maybe geting myself in line with the goalposts/try line at some point.
Im worried about not having the extra focal length im used to with the 70-300mm....although im sure the "faster" lens will mean ive got more chance of a high keeper rate.

Borderfox

I am sure PaulW can give you some more advice in terms of where to stand/sit

Borderfox

Last match I shot I set it to 1/500th and iso 400 and left it there for the match and it was grand, maybe if you are confident enough try panning with a player running with a slow shutter speed?

phog

If you can't get behind the try line (as recommneded by Borderfox) go for the touchline between the 5m and 22 as you should a few lineout shots.

I find it hard to get the full lineout - the throwin and the catch so I usually go for the catch and then the layoff to the receiver or the maul. The scrums can be an area to get a few pics too.

Borderfox

The last match I was at I had the Sigma 50-500 so I could cover nearly everywhere on the pitch, I must find the shots.

Paulw

Sorry, been away for the last few days.

Best place to sit would be near the corner flag. It will very much depend on TV camera positions and such. But, along the end line near the corner is best. You'll have players running towards you, good view of lineouts and hopefully a clear view of any pelanty kicks or conversions.

The 70-200 is a bit short, but it will work fine, especially for a daytime game. You'll want a good fast shutter speed (as best you can get, greater than 1/400) so you may need to bump up the ISO to 800.

Best of luck, and I look forward to seeing your photos.

Hugh_C

Eirebear wrote: »

and anyone else who wants to answer!.

Strap a head mounted camera onto a prop - generally they're thick enough not to notice and too busy trying to gouge the eyes out of the opposition anyway. Props are slow moving, so you can afford a slower shutter without the risk of motion blur

Eirebear

Cheers guys, you find those shots yet borderfox? Whats the 50-500 like?

Paul, you reckon i should tkae the old 70-300 along just incase i find im not getting much?

Hughchal....youv got it all worked out mate, nice idea

leinsterman

For me the best place to sit is in the stands ... but this is because I actually like watching the games ... shooting tends to take your focus off the game and onto just the action ...

When shooting there are lots of different positions that work but that 70-200 is a little too short for many ... I'd go for behind the try line ... the corner is good because this is where many of the more dramatic tries are scored ... and even at 70mm you'll be close enough to nearly fill the frame just inside the try line ... plus remember a lot of the tactics in Rugby is to go for the corner ... so there is usually a few lineouts in this area if you pick the correct side.

Another good area is about 5-10 metres in from the side lines behind the goal ...

Thing is to move around during the warm up and fire off a few test shots ... to check out what works best for you with your lens ...

leinsterman

... I should add I'm by no means any sort of expert on sports shooting having only shot about 20 or so games ...

It takes a lot more to really know what you are doing ...
but the secret is like anything else in life ... practice practice practice ... be prepared to fail on the way to success ...

magicbastarder

i've shot rugby before, but not at the level you're shooting at, and found not actually understanding the game correctly was a severe handicap - i.e. i was unable to predict where the ball might come out, or what someone might choose to do following a decision by the ref, etc.

Paulw

The 70-300mm will certainly give you extra reach will be handy. I have the 300mm on my main body, and then the 70-200mm f/2.8 on my second body. That gives me the best coverage.

I'm certainly no expert, having covered less than 5 games, but more and more I'm getting the hang of it (I hope). Plenty of samples on my FlickR.

Eirebear

cheers again folks, ive a fair understanding of the game so in terms of predicting whats going on i should be ok.
I'm gonna go and shoot a couple of local club games over the next couple of weeks so that i can get a little practice before this on the fifteenth.
Thanks for the help guys, much appreciated.

Borderfox

Heres one with a 70-200 f2.8

bigeoino

For position, I'd agree with some of the others, I'd go for 5 - 10 meters out and pray that all the action happens at your side of the pitch. But you know it'll be on the other side...

A clean take from an attacking line out, followed by a driving maul and a pop pass to someone to crash over the try line by the corner flag and you'll be made.

I find that scrums can be a bit static and lacking in action but if the scrum half is passing your way you will get a great shot as (if the scrums are steady) you can focus on the scrum half before he passes.
However, if you are under lights and it's cold, a couple of reset scrums and you'll get some great steam/ sweat...

Watch out for drop goals and "up and unders"/Garyowens

Also remember the usual:- players being told off (yellow carded) by the ref... great facial expression and if the ref is small and the 2nd row is being told off can be quite humorous too; the water being spat out...; the irate manager on the sideline - probably the same in any team sport.

Enjoy.

magicbastarder

also, when i was shooting, i didn't have a long zoom, and was stuck with a 350mm mirror, on a 35mm camera.
not great considering the play could be a hundred foot away one minute, and twenty the next.

City-Exile

Position yourself where the action is!
That means moving around, unlike Paul, who remains glued to the same spot.

With a 200, you'll need to move around, as you'll be quite far from a lot of the action, if you stay still.

One thing I think is important to remember, don't try to capture everything.
Anticipate the action, compose yourself & be patient.
You only need a handful of good shots from any game.

mikedragon32

My main thought would be about the light. I take my camera along for some of my club games and if it's alread a dull day, light fades even earlier than usual. This weekend it was already getting dark at 3:30 and most of the shots I took were pretty weak. You might be lucky and be at a floodlit venue.

Agree with most of the comments so far. 200 is too short (I use 50-200), even shooting across the pitch with it won't get you great shots if you're on the sideline and from the dead ball line you'll not get out much further than the 22m line (although you can obviously crop for the action shots for the action you were shooting).

This is what you get from the far touchline with 50-200:


Obviously if you're in a position to follow play up around the pitch, so much the better, but that's most likely a luxury you won't be afforded at that level of Rugby, but you never know.

...and from the near (from a slightly raised position):


This was from the dead ball line and as you will see from the quality at this size, it was seriously cropped to get the shot I wanted (action just beyond the 22):

Shrimp

stillorgan fc's j3's. ^^^^

I think

mikedragon32

Shrimp wrote: »

stillorgan fc's j3's. ^^^^

I think

Fo shizzle.

Well spotted.

Eirebear

Cheers again guys, about moving around.
The guy has told me that i will have the freedom of the touchline as long as a stay clear of technical areas and subs benches...which seems fair enough.

Im a little unsure of how much freedom that actuall gives me considering the fact that it is a fairly high level and i know for a fact there will be TV coverage along with photographers....
its just something im gonna have to get a feel for while i am there...luckily i learn quickly!

mikedragon32

Why not go to a game this weekend with your camera and take a few shots to get your eye in?

Technical areas are generally the areas where the teams and officials are and within about 3 meters or so of the touchlines (the touch judge would tell you if you're too close anyway). Another thing to factor in, if moving up and down the pitch, is to consider the folks who are actually paying to be there and don't block their view too much.

Let me know where you are and I can tell you where there's some games going on in your locality.

Eirebear

mikedragon32 wrote: »

Why not go to a game this weekend with your camera and take a few shots to get your eye in?

Technical areas are generally the areas where the teams and officials are and within about 3 meters or so of the touchlines (the touch judge would tell you if you're too close anyway). Another thing to factor in, if moving up and down the pitch, is to consider the folks who are actually paying to be there and don't block their view too much.

Let me know where you are and I can tell you where there's some games going on in your locality.

Im heading out on the lookout for local games this weekend...im pretty determined to get the best i can out of this one.
Im in Glasgow mate so if you know where there are some local teams then gimme a shout.

City-Exile

Look & learn, but also have confidence about why you're there.
The guy above posted pictures of scenery, with some rugby in the background. You'll need to be willing to crop your images.
It's all in the crop!
My advice about moving, would be to stay on the opposite side of the pitch to the benches & then move towards them for the final whistle, to catch reaction.
Good luck and enjoy the game.

P.

mikedragon32

City-Exile, I posted images to show what you get with the sort of lens the OP was considering, not cropped, finished images, in order to highlight that if play is on the far side of the pitch, that lens won't cut it without some serious cropping and loss of quality.

This is, I think, one of the better crops of one of my pics:

mikedragon32

Eirebear wrote: »

Im heading out on the lookout for local games this weekend...im pretty determined to get the best i can out of this one.
Im in Glasgow mate so if you know where there are some local teams then gimme a shout.

Best bet if you're in Scotland is to have a look at the SRU website: www.scottishrugby.org