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> I came to the conclusion that sports photography is really people photography so I started looking for good portraits That's an interesting realization you m

> I came to the conclusion that sports photography is really people photography so I started looking for good portraits That's an interesting realization you made, but what were you doing before that? I'd also say that the flash comment was very uninformed. In any arena/stadium that the games/matches are broadcast, they will be lit properly in order for the cameras to have a proper exposure. This also means there's plenty of light for the photogs.

FireBeyond 2y ago
> I'd also say that the flash comment was very uninformed. In any arena/stadium that the games/matches are broadcast, they will be lit properly in order for the cameras to have a proper exposure. This also means there's plenty of light for the photogs. That's not (entirely) accurate. Lighting for continuous light (e.g., TV broadcast) is quite different from still photography. NBA arenas, at least, absolutely ARE equipped with strobes in the rafters that are radio-activated from the camera. Watch as the team comes down the court, and don't watch the players but watch the court, you will see the flashes reflect on the court (and apologies if you can't unsee them after, but they're not overly noticeable). As you say, there is a good amount of light, but if you want a tighter aperture or are shooting a player at high speed, you need more than the arena is lit for. Further info: - https://petapixel.com/2017/06/03/bright-flashes-nba-games-may-never-noticed/ https://petapixel.com/2017/06/03/bright-flashes-nba-games-ma... - https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/nta77s/anyone_notice_a_bright_flashing_light_that_would/ https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/nta77s/anyone_notice_a... - https://imgur.com/a/puri1RN/ https://imgur.com/a/puri1RN/
- briandear 2y ago
  This is absolutely correct. Can confirm because I did NBA photography for many years.
brudgers 2y ago
the flash comment was very uninformed https://youtu.be/1IyD1mLgyeM?si=FLVemqt1Dui4jLVU https://youtu.be/1IyD1mLgyeM?si=FLVemqt1Dui4jLVU If you are videoing for slow-mo you might have a 1/240 shutter speed. If you want to freeze motion in a closeup. You want to be about an order of magnitude faster…and about two orders of magnitude faster than 30p. In addition, video typically uses smaller sensors to improve depth of field at wide aperture — you don’t want bokka — and to keep lens size down (even though broadcast lenses are massive and six or seven figures). And of course video tolerates a lot of motion blur and noise. In other words, the fire truck doesn’t rely on garden hoses.
briandear 2y ago
> I'd also say that the flash comment was very uninformed. In any arena/stadium that the games/matches are broadcast, they will be lit properly in order for the cameras to have a proper exposure. Absolutely incorrect. The lighting at an average NBA game would require a high speed “film” — take a light meter next time you go and you won’t be able to get a fast enough shutter speed at a low enough ISO for a glossy shot. In the olden days, we’d have to push 800 ISO Fuji color film one or two stops unless we had stadium strobes. Maybe digital post processing is the norm these days, but watch an NBA game and at key moments, you’ll see strobes firing from the rafters. TV shutter speeds are slower than those used for still photography and additionally, TV lenses are gigantic and let in far more light. The typical sports still camera lens is the 300/2.8 or the 400/2.8 and even shooting at a 2.8 aperture, you still need a lot more light than the broadcast cameras.
- brudgers 2y ago
  In addition, ISO and shutter speed cannot light the subject 2/3 stop above ambient to create emphasis. There are approximately zero scenes that would not benefit from well executed flash…though there are many were flash is impractical… …doing the impractical is also known as magic.

FireBeyond 2y ago

> I'd also say that the flash comment was very uninformed. In any arena/stadium that the games/matches are broadcast, they will be lit properly in order for the cameras to have a proper exposure. This also means there's plenty of light for the photogs. That's not (entirely) accurate. Lighting for continuous light (e.g., TV broadcast) is quite different from still photography. NBA arenas, at least, absolutely ARE equipped with strobes in the rafters that are radio-activated from the camera. Watch as the team comes down the court, and don't watch the players but watch the court, you will see the flashes reflect on the court (and apologies if you can't unsee them after, but they're not overly noticeable). As you say, there is a good amount of light, but if you want a tighter aperture or are shooting a player at high speed, you need more than the arena is lit for. Further info: - https://petapixel.com/2017/06/03/bright-flashes-nba-games-may-never-noticed/ https://petapixel.com/2017/06/03/bright-flashes-nba-games-ma... - https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/nta77s/anyone_notice_a_bright_flashing_light_that_would/ https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/nta77s/anyone_notice_a... - https://imgur.com/a/puri1RN/ https://imgur.com/a/puri1RN/

briandear 2y ago
This is absolutely correct. Can confirm because I did NBA photography for many years.

brudgers 2y ago

the flash comment was very uninformed https://youtu.be/1IyD1mLgyeM?si=FLVemqt1Dui4jLVU https://youtu.be/1IyD1mLgyeM?si=FLVemqt1Dui4jLVU If you are videoing for slow-mo you might have a 1/240 shutter speed. If you want to freeze motion in a closeup. You want to be about an order of magnitude faster…and about two orders of magnitude faster than 30p. In addition, video typically uses smaller sensors to improve depth of field at wide aperture — you don’t want bokka — and to keep lens size down (even though broadcast lenses are massive and six or seven figures). And of course video tolerates a lot of motion blur and noise. In other words, the fire truck doesn’t rely on garden hoses.

briandear 2y ago

> I'd also say that the flash comment was very uninformed. In any arena/stadium that the games/matches are broadcast, they will be lit properly in order for the cameras to have a proper exposure. Absolutely incorrect. The lighting at an average NBA game would require a high speed “film” — take a light meter next time you go and you won’t be able to get a fast enough shutter speed at a low enough ISO for a glossy shot. In the olden days, we’d have to push 800 ISO Fuji color film one or two stops unless we had stadium strobes. Maybe digital post processing is the norm these days, but watch an NBA game and at key moments, you’ll see strobes firing from the rafters. TV shutter speeds are slower than those used for still photography and additionally, TV lenses are gigantic and let in far more light. The typical sports still camera lens is the 300/2.8 or the 400/2.8 and even shooting at a 2.8 aperture, you still need a lot more light than the broadcast cameras.

brudgers 2y ago
In addition, ISO and shutter speed cannot light the subject 2/3 stop above ambient to create emphasis. There are approximately zero scenes that would not benefit from well executed flash…though there are many were flash is impractical… …doing the impractical is also known as magic.