1st atempt with HS wrestling

[racedraper]

I was asked by a buddy to take pics of his sons match. Now this ws harder then I thought. I tried different setting, with and without flash . I had to get a new computer cause my last one went up in smoke, and yes I mean smoke. I still had a copy of Capture NX and dont have photoshop anymore for now.SO here you go

[Old Timer]

Pretty good for the first time out of the box on a new sport. I love that last one.

[bmetzler]

I too, recently shot some pics of my son's dual meet, and it was my first time using my still camera instead of a video camera. I'm dying to get back and try a few different things, but he's an 8 hour drive away from me, so my opportunities are limited.

I opted to not use a flash so as not to distract the wrestlers, but that may not be that big of a deal. I used my D 50 w/50 mm f/1.8 lens shot from the edge of the mat. My mistake was setting the ISO to 800, when I should have set it at 1600, but I still got a few good shots - not great, but a few I like. I have them downloaded on my computer at work, so I'll try to upload to flikr and post soon. I'm thinking of using my SB 600 for fill flash next time, and seeing how that works out.

Wrestling's a great sport and fits in well for photography, but I just have to figure out what produces the best results.

Enjoyed your pics - keep up the good work.

[bmetzler]

first attempt at downloading pics...bear with me!

[sgriggs2006]

Greetings!
I shoot a fair amount of wrestling for our local paper here....I have found my favorite setup is my cheap 55-200mm (read: high fstop) and my little sb400 speedlight. Usually shoot shutter priority around 1/200 or so. might get a little blurring on hands/feet if they are really putting a fast throw and very strung out, but very rarely... My wrestlers could care less about the flash, but then again, if they are right on top of me, I don't shoot.

Since my pix primarily go into the paper, I edit extensively and delete anything w/ indecent parts or looks. I never shoot intial starts unless they are neutral (ie, no down wrestlers)- it just looks a bit to homo-erotic. (sorry, there is no nice way to say that). So, I avoid all images that show a lot of behind. :-)
Sometimes, depending on the color of the wrestler or the singlet, I will push the exposure a little bit...anywhere from +3-+1 stops.
chow.
s.

[bmetzler]

Nice shots, Susan! I like the 3rd one framed by the ref's legs.

Next time, I'll try a zoom to cover some of those shots of action from the far side of the mat, and I'll try a flash as a lot of the action is fast moving like you said and blur is a problem with available light.

I don't get many opportunities to see my son wrestle as I'm in New Orleans and he's wrestling for a school in Tennessee. I should have done more of it when he was in H.S.!

Thanks for posting.
Barre