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Arena Sport Strobe Lighting 102
Workshop at the Ranch
May, 2005 Edition
Hi and welcome to this edition of Workshop at
the Ranch. Last month we discussed arena sport strobe lighting
where I showed a step by step set up of sport strobes and gave
examples from a recent boxing tournament. This month I would like
to continue that thought process with some additional images from
past assignments that required sport strobe lighting. (I recommend
that you read the 2005 April WATR "Arena Sport Strobe Lighting
101" to help you better understand this continuation article.)
We are going to START SMALL and work our way up to something BIG,
but keep in mind that all I am doing is arranging my lights in
a similar set up to those used for studio portraits. The difference
being a larger "studio".... a gym or arena. Also,"Sport
Strobes" have a very fast/short flash duration instead of
studio strobes that have a slower and longer flash duration (see
2005 April Workshop at the Ranch.) So, let's get to it...............
Image#1A and1B Gymnast...Blaine Wilson
was a 3 time Olympian. This image was captured in 2000
before he left for the Sydney Olympics The Still Rings
are his strongest event...literally! This image is a good
example of my thinking that arena lighting is similar
to studio portrait lighting ...only BIGGER. This arrangement
is commonly called CROSS LIGHTING. The venue is a small
gymnastics gym, a "small arena" so to speak,
with no catwalks. I wanted to showcase Blaine's physic
as his strength is legendary in the sport of gymnastics.
I used the gymnastic gym's overhead spotting rig from
the high bar directly behind Blaine to hoist up a black
cloth backdrop. I used Bogen Lightstands for my Elinchrom
500 strobes (NOTE: this image was taken in 2000, today
I use the Elinchrom 600RX.) I used a SOFTBOX on the strobe
that was in front of Blaine and a 20degree Grid on the
back strobe. Each strobe was about 15feet from Blaine.
The front strobe was raised up to about 10feet and the
back strobe raised to 13feet (Maximum height of my lightstand.)
I recommend using sand bags for additional anchoring on
the base of the lightstands. I positioned the lights about
a 3/4 angle off the front of Blaine and a 3/4 angle off
the back...a "CROSS LIGHT" arrangement. My SOFTBOXED
strobe in front is 1/2power and gives me an exposure of
f5.6, at 1/250 sync shutter speed at ISO200. My "BACK
LIGHT" (sometimes called a hair light) has a grid
and is set at Full Power which gives me an exposure of
f8, 1/250 sync at ISO200. This f8 exposure is 1 stop brighter
than my f5.6 front light exposure and is a common light
value in portraiture, and it is effective in accentuating
Blaine's arm strength. I am positioned on a 16 foot step
ladder. Blaine is capable of holding this skill, a Maltese
Cross, for about 4 seconds. The Elinchrom strobes in general
have a fast recycle time, (time required for the strobe
to charge up to full power). The older Elinchrom 500 strobe
unit can recycle in about 2.5 seconds while the newer
600RX units that I use today boast a 1.5 seconds recycle
time. I usually count to 3 before taking another shot
(with the count of 1 being the instant I press the shutter
and the count of 3 being the 2nd shot). By this count
I tend to wait 2 full seconds between shots. With this
method of counting there will be no question that all
strobes will be completely charged when I press the shutter
for my next shot. All strobes are triggered wirelessly
with Pocket Wizard Multi Max Transceivers.
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Image#2A and 2B Figure Skater...This
was an advertising shoot a few years ago. I rented the rink
after hours and hired the athlete who was a former Olympian.
The skater appears motionless but is actually performing a
fast "layback spin." There were no catwalks over
the ice rink so I used 4 Bogen Lightstands for each light
and positioned myself atop a 16foot Ladder. Using sport strobes
does not require a big event with a big arena. A small venue
is a good place to use them. Here again I am trying to think
of arena lighting as a BIG PORTRAIT. I used 2 SOFTBOXED strobes
approximately 15feet in front of the skater and about 20 feet
apart. I raised them up on the lightstands 13feet (sand bags
are recommended for stability). I faced the softboxes almost
directly at each other. I wanted a soft "SPILL"
of light to illuminate my subject. I used my Elinchrom 1000R
Sport Strobes at Full Power. The "spill" of light
gave me a reading of f8, 1/250 at ISO200. By photographing
down on the skater the ice became my background. Therefore,
I decided to add some color to the ice...similar to a colorful
background in a portrait. I used 2 additional Elinchrom 1000R
units each with a small standard reflectors, each with 30degree
Grids and Colored Gels approximately 15 feet behind the skater
and about 15 feet apart. These strobes are also on Bogen Lightstands,
but only 4 feet high because I want to scatter the colored
light across the ice. I set the strobes at 3/4 power and achieve
a reading of f5.6, f1/250 at ISO200 on the ice around where
the skater will be spinning. Remember that whenever you use
a grid or gel with a strobe the light intensity is reduced.
I used Pocket Wizards to trigger all 4 strobes wirelessly
as neither the light from the softboxes or the grids would
carry far enough to activate the built in slaves on the strobes,
(this is not a flaw in the strobe but a result of my use of
grids and "spill" of light.) With 2 "Softboxed"
strobes 15 feet in front and 2 "Gridded" strobes
behind I have created a SQUARE arrangement of lights that
allows plenty of room for the skater to skate into the square
with enough speed to perform her spin. I must allow a point
of entry and exit amid all the strobes, power cords and ladder
for her to skate comfortably onto the "MARK" (the
area on the ice that I want her to perform her spin). All
my light is now concentrated within the square and I have
an exposure of ISO200, f8 at 1/250 sync speed exactly on the
"mark." A nice blend of color creates a beautiful
pastel ice surface for her to skate on. |
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Image#3A and 3B There are many applications
for sport strobes away from the big arenas. Here is George
Forman's daughter, Freda Forman. The venue was a small boxing
gym with a low WHITE ceiling. I positioned 4 Elinchrom 1000R
sport strobes equally around the boxing ring at a distance
of about 15 feet from the ring. Each strobe had a small
standard reflector. I raised them to about 10feet high (about
10 feet from the ceiling itself) and pointed them straight
up with the idea of bouncing the light off the white ceiling
and showering it all over the gym. Each Strobe was set on
full power and I achieved an exposure of f8, 1/250 sync
at ISO200 on the boxing ring and general area surrounding
the ring as well. Pocket Wizard MultiMax Transceivers were
used to trigger one of the strobes and the built-in slave
triggered the other 3 strobes. I used a step ladder to get
above the ropes and clean up the background. This portrait
was taking just seconds before she began her sparring session.
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Image#4A and 4B Pole Vaulter.... A
big arena with catwalks is a common place for the sports photographer
to install sport strobes. I secured my Elinchrom 600RX sport
strobes to the catwalk with Bogen Super Clamps, safety straps
etc... (this is an excellent time to review the 2005 April
WATR "Arena Sport Strobe Lighting 101".) Each strobe
has a sport reflector. Pocket Wizard Multi Max Transceivers
were used to trigger the strobes and the Remote Nikon D2X
wirelessly. At Full Power I had an exposure of f5.6, 1/250
sync at ISO250. I try and find a catwalk position for the
strobe that gives me a 45degree angle of light on my subject.
My 2 light set up works well for many situations and is an
inexpensive way to capture great quality images. (NOTE: This
is a short text of description because there is not much complexity
with this set up....short, sweet and easy.) |
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Images#5A and 5B Bull Rider...This is
a good example of a 4 strobe set up. I have arranged my
4 Elinchrom 1000R sport strobes in the arena catwalks. This
is a large arena where each strobe is about 150 feet from
the subject. Usually photographers will use a sport reflector
which would spread the light to illuminate the audience
and subject evenly. I wanted to illuminate just my subject
so I decided to use my POLISHED LONG THROW REFLECTORS instead
of sport reflectors for this job (NOTE: I have 4 custom
made polished long throw reflectors that I have used for
many years...Bogen is now making two models..."Maxi
Light" 43degree and "Maxi Spot" 29degree)
The polished long throw reflectors will accomplish two things.
1. These reflectors narrow the light to a more concentrated
area, thus only illuminating the bull rider and not the
audience and background. 2. The concentration of light from
the polished narrow reflector can increase the intensity
of light by about 1and1/2 stops. This can be very useful
as long as you do not need to light up the entire arena
and audience. With all 4 Elinchrom 1000R sport strobes set
on Full Power I achieved an exposure of f7.1, 1/250 sync
speed at ISO200. Had I used my sport reflectors I would
have had an exposure of about f4.0, 1/250 at ISO200 which
I felt might not be enough depth of field to have both riders
and bulls completely sharp.
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Image#6A and 6B This final image has some
interesting features but is still very similar to a portrait
lighting arrangement, but on a larger scale. I used a simple
2 light set up to light the players on the basketball court.
I positioned 2 Elinchrom 600RX strobes in the catwalks directly
over the corners of the court at my end. Each strobe has a
30degree grid to narrow the light to illuminate only 1/3 of
the court. I achieved an exposure of f5.6, 1/250 sync at ISO250.
(NOTE: This 2 light setup is almost identical to the pole
vaulter setup (image#4), except I have now added grids. I
wanted to reveal the sold out arena of fans but also wanted
to create a sense of drama to the scene. The audience is my
background...just like a background is used for a studio portrait.
Often times a photographer will light a background in their
studio portrait...I am doing the same thing by lighting my
background, the audience. I used 3 Elinchrom 1200RX strobes
set on 3/4 Power each with a gel placed over the polished
long throw reflector to illuminate the audience with the color
of the home team...blue. I positioned the strobes for the
audience in the catwalks out of the view of the camera. I
achieved an exposure on the audience of f4, 1/250 sync at
ISO250. This is 1 stop less light than the exposure on the
players (f5.6). Just what I want. I like the depth that this
image has and it is strikingly different from the standard
basketball shot. I used a Nikon D2X camera with a Nikon 10.5mm
Fisheye Lens. The low angle is achieved by placing the D2X
on a Slik Ballhead attached to a floor plate. I positioned
the camera in front of me and fired it manually. I corrected
the fisheye distortion using Nikon Capture. |
Well,......there you
have it. More arena sport strobe lighting. Remember where we started
with our lights............small, like a portrait lighting set
up and we worked our way up to a bigger venue and set up of lights.
Remember to revisit past editions of Workshop at the Ranch and
On the Road to see other examples of images using sport strobes
and better understand how they are used. All monthly editions
of Workshop at the Ranch and On the Road beginning in January
2003 are archived and accessible to you on my website. Until next
time........Adios, Dave
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