Arena Sport Strobe Lighting 101

Workshop at the Ranch
April, 2005 Edition

  Hi and welcome to the April edition of Workshop at the Ranch. I have devoted earlier issues of Workshop at the Ranch to the subject of arena sport strobe lighting but felt that this topic is always worth additional examples and information. Each year I have several events that I photograph for the United States Air Force Academy. One of my favorite events to cover is the Wing Open Boxing Championship. I enjoy this Olympic style boxing event and especially enjoy lighting the arena with sport strobes. Let's begin..........

  First off, every photographer must OBTAIN PERMISSION to light an event. The person in charge of media relations is a good place to start asking for permission. Sometimes there can be a TV conflict with strobes being used, or previous photographers who did not follow the rules laid out by the arena might prevent you from gaining permission. Sometimes a photographer must be a good sales person to persuade the event personnel to allow them to install lights. Remember, the use of sport strobes is a luxury the event coordinator allows you. It is not a right you have as a member of the media. You must also have insurance. Usually $2 million of liability insurance is required. You must have the proper equipment; ex: Sports Strobes that have a FLASH DURATION of 1/2000 or faster(shorter) is essential.......WHY?...because a slow flash duration like that of studio/portrait strobes can be disconcerting for the athletes and also effect the iris of a TV camera (and we do not want TV mad at us). I use the Elinchrom 600RX units with 1/2050 flash duration and the Elinchrom 1000R units with a 1/4000 flash duration (NOTE: the 1000R units are no longer in production). I sometimes use the Elinchrom 1200RX units (1/1450 flash duration) for background lighting at a non televised event. I do not hard wire. Rather, I use the Pocket Wizard MULTI MAX Transceivers to trigger to strobes wirelessly. Bogen Super Clamps and Safety Straps are also standard. If you are interested in purchasing sport strobes please call JODY GROBER at ROBERTS DISTRIBUTORS in Indianapolis, I buy all my equipment from Jody at Roberts...ph:800-726-5544...ask him about "STROBE CORNER KITS." This is a complete sport strobe light package for one corner of an arena. Now, on to some examples...................................

Image #1 Once you have permission, the proper equipment, insurance and some experience...(do some test shots with your strobes,wizards,clamps,etc....in your garage or some place easy BEFORE you get to the arena). Now you are ready to FIND THE ELEVATOR that goes up to the CATWALKS of the arena.
	Image #2 I decided to do 3 different lighting arrangements for the boxing tournament. I brought everything I have regarding lighting. This image shows my Elinchrom 600RX units, Elinchrom 1200RX units, Elinchrom 1000R units (in the Lightwear Case), Pocket Wizard MULTI MAX Transceivers, Bogen Super Clamps, Power Cords, Reflectors, Safety Straps (red climbing harness and carabiner that I made myself long before photo equipment manufacturers were producing them), Grids (10,20,30, and 40 degree), and some Roscoe Gels. I carry all my lighting gear in LIGHTWEAR cases. I have several sizes. This picture shows my equipment spread out in the catwalk. You can see the blue canvas boxing ring down on the main floor of the arena to the left. This arena seats about 6,500 spectators.
Image #3 Here is one of the 4 Elinchrom 1000R units clamped to the catwalk with the safety strap in place. I like these straps because I can safely secure the strobe before I position it and clamp it to the catwalk. I am using a standard reflector and a 20 degree grid The grid will narrow the shaft of light and keep the audience several stops under my exposure setting. I will position 4 Elinchrom 1000R units in line with corners of the ring and set far enough back on the catwalk so that light can get under the boxers head gear. Each unit is set up exactly the same as the first one. You can also see the Pocket Wizard MULTI MAX Transceiver hanging on the catwalk. It is connected to the strobe with a sync cord. I will set the MULTI MAX on the RECEIVER mode and select a channel that no one else is using. I will trigger the strobe via another Pocket Wizard Multi Max Transceiver set on the TRANSMIT mode. It is connected to the hotshoe on my D2X camera. From past experience I know that 4 1000R units at 3/4 power each...and all have a 20 degree grid will produce an exposure of ISO250, f5.6 at 1/250th (this is the shutter sync speed for the D2X,... this exposure will be my exposure for RINGSIDE shooting). THE ARENA AMBIENT EXPOSURE IS ISO800, 1/500 at 2.8. I want to have about a 3 stop difference between my strobe exposure and my ambient exposure. My exposure for the light from the strobe MUST BE AT LEAST 2and1/2 stops BRIGHTER THAN THE AMBIENT. If your strobe exposure and ambient light exposure are closer than 2and1/2 stops you will have a ghosting effect in your action images. Similar to the ghosting a slow flash duration can cause. With the 4 Elinchrom's in place I now have 1 of my 3 lighting arrangements ready. (Remember: I am going to use 3 different lighting arrangements for 3 different styles of pictures). I will use a WB of 5600K (daylight) on the Nikon D2X.
	Image #4 At last...here is an image captured with the 4 Elinchrom 1000R units. The grids prevent the light from illuminating the audience. Light is concentrated on the boxing ring only. It is my choice to light only the ring and I do not want any light on the audience when I shoot from my ringside position. If I had wanted the audience lit I would not have used the grids. Sometimes Sports Illustrated or ESPN might want to have light on the audience so they could capture images of famous people like Jack Nickelson. There is no one famous in the audience tonight so I used the grids to concentrate the light on the boxing ring. Nikon D2X, ISO250, 1/250 at f7.1 Why 7.1? (Remember: my 5.6 aperture was for RINGSIDE shooting where I am under the lights. This image is from the catwalk where I am level with the lights so I can shoot at 7.1 instead of 5.6. I DO NOT USE A LIGHT METER. I take a shot and use the LCD monitor and the FLASHING HIGHLIGHTS to choose my exposure. Some photographers use the Histogram but I do not.
Image #5 Here is an image illustrating my 2nd lighting arrangement. One Elinchrom 600RX unit at Full Power with a HIGH POLISHED Long Throw Reflector (mine is an old custom made reflector... BUT, Elinchrom makes them now...call Jody). I used a Bogen Super Clamp to secure the strobe to the catwalk...you can see it just over the referee's shoulder. I taped a Rosco Amber Gel (color tinted plastic sheet) over the front of the reflector. I wanted the sunset look that the outdoor fights in Las Vegas have. The Amber Gel warmed the image to look like sunset...(I could have set my WB at 10,000K to give warmth but I thought the Gel would really saturate the image). The Pocket Wizard is set on a different channel than my 4 light arrangement. I can change back and forth between the two lighting arrangements by changing the Multi Max channel back and forth. Now I can produce 2 two very different styles of images for my client. The Gel reduces the amount of light by 1 stop and I only have 1 Elinchrom 600RX. The High Polished Reflector helps increase the light by 1and1/2 stops...so, my exposure settings now are different from my original 4 light arrangement. Nikon D2X, ISO 250, 1/250 at f4.5. I am right on the edge of the 2and1/2 stop difference between ambient exposure and strobe exposure.
	Image #6 This image was also captured using the one Elinchrom 600RX with the High Polished Reflector and Amber Gel. This is a difficult shot to capture as the strobes need 3 seconds to recycle power I can only shoot every 3 seconds. This is SINGLE FRAME shooting...no 8 frames / second to help you get the moment. The hard right to the jaw resulted in a TKO. Nikon D2X, ISO250, 1/250 at f4.5, Nikon 70-200mm VR Zoom, WB 5600.
Image #7 Here is an image showing the 3rd lighting arrangement. I positioned one Elinchrom 600RX directly above the corner of the ring. It is triggered by the Pocket Wizard Multi Max Transceiver that is set on yet a different channel than the other two lighting arrangements....(Remember: I am only using one of the lighting arrangements at a time. I switch back and forth between the 3 lighting arrangements depending on the style of lighting I want). This overhead position creates a TOP LIGHTING effect in the corner of the ring, like the lighting used in the movie "Million Dollar Baby". Deep shadows and DRAMA are created with this style of lighting. I wanted to capture an image that had POWER and this Power Profile of a boxer was the result. I used one Elinchrom 600RX at 1/2 power and a Roscoe Blue Gel. I allowed some ambient light from the boxing ring lights to illuminate some of the boxer's facial features and I wanted the strobe to light the head gear. Nikon D2X, ISO320, 1/125 at f4, WB 10,000K, Nikon 70-200mm VR Zoom with TC 14E 1.4X Teleconverter. My exposure is less than a 2and1/2 stop difference between my strobe and ambient exposures. Therefore, the light from the boxing ring lights will slightly illuminate the boxers facial features. I set my WB at 10,000K to add warmth to the ring lights on his face while the strobe directly overhead with its Blue Gel lights the boxers head gear back to a Daylight color balance. I like it.
	Image #8 I had permission to shoot from the catwalks...(always ask permission). For this image I used my original 4 light arrangement. Plenty of light from the 4 Elinchrom 1000R units. Nikon D2X, ISO250, 1/250 at f7.1 (remember: I am in the catwalks looking down so f7.1 is perfect), WB 5600K, Nikon 300mm f2.8 with TC 14E 1.4X Teleconverter. POW!....Right on the chin!...and without 8 frames / second to help me (Remember: it is single frame shooting with sport strobes...only 1 shot every 3 seconds because of the power recycle time needed for the strobes).
Image #9 Sometimes I like to get in tight on a boxers face, especially when it is bloody. Ringside shooting position using the 4 light arrangement and the Nikon D2X, ISO250, 1/250 at f 5.6 (Remember: down at ringside I open up my aperture to f5.6), WB 5600K, Nikon 70-200mm VR Zoom with TC20E 2X Teleconverter.

    I hope you have enjoyed this issue of Workshop at the Ranch. The use of Arena Sport Strobe Lighting can really increase the quality of your images. The time and money spent doing your own lighting is very rewarding and allows you to offer something special to your clients. Whenever you find yourself lighting an event keep in mind it is your TIME and MONEY that provides your client with this kind of superior quality. You should be compensated for it. See you next time at Workshop at the Ranch..........................Adios, Dave