I have a project

[jenj22]

OK i'm very excited and a little nervous.

My friend is putting together a golf tourny to raise money for breast cancer research. So she ask me to come out and take some pics of the event for her. I told her I would be glad to do it as long as she understands, I am not in any way a professional.
I think it will be tons of fun and great practice.
I love to take shots of anything but mostly for my own pleasure and viewing, I really haven't been around a golf course in years so.......any advice that you guys could offer would be great.

[ken1953]

Hi Jen, first thing...sounds like a great cause and a great opportunity. I was in the same boat last year when I was asked to help out at a major track and field event. I was lucky and had a mentor to help me get through it.
I recommend that you talk to your friend about "golf", especially if you know little or nothing about it. Next, go down to the golf course where the event is to be held and get the "lay of the land". I would recommend very highly that you talk to the golf pro and ask him about photographing golfers. Since you can't be real close, you're going to want some sort of telephoto lens.
One of the critiques I kept getting was that my DOF was too much in focus, so try practice before the event with your DOF focusing only on the subject and keeping the background slightly out of focus. It will make your shots look more professional.
Shooting in AV or TV really helped me with the constant changing conditions.
If you haven't used these modes much...a little practice will prove very valuable.
Finally on the day of the event. Make sure you have an "All Access Pass" so that you can get access to everyone and everything. A tripod is nice for the awards ceremonies, but not critical. And make sure to shoot as many people and situations as possible. Especially find out from your friend and the organizers about any "special" shots they may want. Show up early. Extra batteries, lotsa water, extra memory, snacks, good comfortable walking shoes, a nice hat for shade and I'm sure I've missed many things that some of the others will want to list. I'll move this over to the Viewfinder thread the most exposure.
Good luck

[Wild Wassa]

________________________________________
On the final day of an Australian Open once, I cost a guy from Great Britain, Mr Maurice Bembridge, a win in the Open. I accidently loosed off a shot with my hair triggered finger (only one shot was fired thankfully, when I'd set 12 and a half fps) when he was driving on the 10th, when at the top of his backswing, when he was the equal leader at the time. He put his drive onto the adjacent fairway and lost the Australian Open by 2 strokes ... thanks to me. The look on his face chilled me to my soul when he saw my camera.

This is true, this happening is no bullship. I learnt so much that day it is embarrassing to even say so. I went up to Mr Bembridge (I was 19 at the time) at the end of the tournament and apologized to him. He was very gracious and understanding, and complemented me on my keenness and the fact that I had not hidden from him. He came third so he was in the good money.

I learnt so much that day about what was required from me at major sporting events, I then spent the next 15 years shooting good sport, if not the best going. I'm still to put a sports shot on this site .. it could be time to loose another one off maybe.

Wait until the players are through their swing, and have raised their heads before you take a shot on the tee and fairways. There is no happening that you as a sports photographer need to be hair triggered for. Everyone has seen portraits of super golfers, and trophies being awarded, and excited players when they do extraordinary things like drop 60 ft puts, they're easy shots to get ... but what is also needed (and what sells) and what people value about the event ... is the ambience of the day. Having been with picture agencies I know what sport sells and what publishers want to see. This tornament will not be about amazing golfers and their unassailable swings and the 60 footers they sink ... it will be about what is happening. Photograph the happenings not just the golfer's swings.

If good shots of star players are needed, you can really bulk up on these shots when they are on the practice tee and the practice greens, go in close, really close ... it won’t matter what you do then. You will be able to move around the players with impunity.

Go to the player's briefing. Immerse yourself in what they are doing for a short while ... then you will see their happenings and shoot them being non golfers.

When I was with Auscape International, and other agencies, I specialized in international sporting events. Photograph the ambiance of the day; I learnt that time and time again. If you take good shots of players ... fantastic that is the bonus.

Ken's advice is spot-on.

Walk the course early, find the shots and see the pretty vistas before they surprise you. Don't try to cover too much ground, that is why wakling the course early is very valuable, to pick your spots. I'd walk the courses or go to the stadiums several days in advance, several times. Other wise all you will get is (possibly) meaningless shots of golfers ... seen one golfer, you've seen them all?

People think shooting sport is all about shooting athletes in flight and capturing the uncapturable "decisive moments." It is for parents.

Warren.

ps, I'd like to post images of sport here but there is a rule (?), about posting shots older than 2 years, sadly. This rule (?) is sad, ... photographic images are timeless.

[Wild Wassa]

A shot for a bit of inspiration.

The Galaxy.





Ok maybe not strictly the Galaxy ... but one of the practice greens the day before the Galaxy.

Warren.

[danic]

Hey Warren,

Not too sure on that rule, I've never heard of it, maybe PM Photo-John and see what he says.

[Sebastian]

Absolutely, positively do NOT fire until AFTER the swing, pro or not, it's a good habit to get into. Warren's advice is spot on.

On a more rudimentary level, my advice is to try and get low to try and eliminate any background power lines/buildings/crud and try to use the gentle curves of the course as compositional elements.

Good luck!

[mn shutterbug]

I gotta admit Wassa, you are lot braver than I would have been. I think I would have gone into hiding for a long time.

[WesternGuy]

jen, in addition to extra batteries and memory cards, take a backup camera if you have one or maybe borrow one that is compatible with your equipment...never know what is going to happen...it is always at the best of times that Murphy's Law kicks in.

One other point, if you can get or draw a map of the course, then as you do your walk around, you can make note of vantage points and places where you have a good view of what's happening. HTH.

Cheers,

WesternGuy

[ken1953]

jen, in addition to extra batteries and memory cards, take a backup camera if you have one or maybe borrow one that is compatible with your equipment...never know what is going to happen...it is always at the best of times that Murphy's Law kicks in.

Good idea...I carried 2 pentax *ist DL's. One with the 18-55mm lens and the other with my 50-200mm lens. This allowed me the opportunity to change lens shots quickly and I had the 2nd ist DL just in case one went down. I also had a Nikon Coolpix 8400 point and shoot. It's a prosumer quality that allows full manual and is really nice for wide angle. I never used it that day, but it was there if needed. I mostly used the 50-200mm.

My experience was a Jr. High/High School event, so I was interested in individual and group shots. Your experience may be a little different unless you are shooting a lot of local golfers, then you will, of course want to get some shots of them. But...again as has been mentioned...be careful when take your shot so that you don't foul a shot.

One last thing. Don't let us scare you off with our warnings. We're only trying to prepare you properly with our experiences. You're going to be great. Remember, your on the best photography site on the web and we'll help you in any way we can.

[ken1953]

Wassa...to the best of my knowledge...there is no such rule on this site. If the photo is useful and helpful and something you want to share with the rest of us, especially in the viewfinder forum, which is our "living room", please feel free to share it. If it is a shot that you think you'd like to try to make better in Photoshop or some other post processing program...we'd be glad to offer suggestions. I'm sure PJ will say the same thing, at least I hope. I've seen many shots from many years ago.
I'm just an advanced novice myself, struggling to be an amateur...hehehe...but this site is very accepting of everything we do...within reason...so please post away...i'm sure your experience will help us all!!!!!

[Wild Wassa]

Danic and Ken, Thank you for your advice.

I found my delusion which is only a guideline for posting images in 'Photo Critique'. I interpreted the guideline as being a rule applicable, across the Forum.

"Please post recent work - avoid posting photos more than two years old." - Photo John.

I found no guideline like this elsewhere on the Forum. I'm glad I thought it was a rule because I've shot a lot of new images and practiced a lot since I’ve been here.

It has been a very productive winter thanks to my misinterpretation of a guideline. Some golf shots hey? I live near a golf course, There are propably just green fee players playing today, very classy ... Oh why not?

There is nothing quite like being hit by a golf ball ... except for maybe the club head.

Warren.

[dumpy]

There is nothing quite like being hit by a golf ball ... except for maybe the club head.

I'm goping to jump a bit off topic here (my appologizes) and tell a sort of funny story, that I guess could be used as a warning for those that shoot golf (not that anyone really needs this warning, it should be common sense).

A buddy of mine and I were out golfing a few years back. Off the tee he duffed one into the woods to our right, it didn't go very far and the course was empty so he decided to go look for it and take a mulligan. In the mean time I decided to tee my ball up. When he was about 20-30 feet up in fron t of me to the side, I decided it was safe to tee off. He told me not to, I replied "you're far enough over, you're safe", he didn't like that answer. I hit (from a 3 wood if memory serves me right), sliced it more than I would have liked and caught him right in the thigh.

I will never forget the look on his face. He instantly dropped to the ground and stayed there for a good 15-20 minutes, screaming in pain most of the time. He will still not let me live this down.

I'm not the strongest golfer out there (not even close) and this was sliced pretty bad and still did a ton of damage. I could only imagine what a direct shot from a better golfer could do.

[Wild Wassa]

Dumpy, this is what your golfball looked like just before it hit your buddy ... :yikes:

I went and shot some golf yesterday afternoon. It took me 9 holes before I warmed up, and the game was then over.

I dare say, if I did the same again today, which I'm thinking of doing, it should be a totally different kettle of fish to yesterday's disoriented day .Yesterday I didn't see the angles, because I didn't know the course well enough, to make the shots work well for me.

I was on the wrong side of the light all afternoon, because of the orientation of the fairways and greens that I covered. The round didn't start until about 2 pm and the very cold day yesterday, was shocking and affecting. I was continually out of position for good shots because of the shadows that I would have cast across the lines on greens and particularly shadows on the player's golf balls, when I was trying to get the players in good portrait lighting.

Standing in front of top players you are relatively safe from injury but standing in front of casual green fee players yesterday, my life was at risk for most of the afternoon, so I opted to remain uninjured. If I was to photograph a golf tournament it would take me about 2,000-3,000 shots of practice before I really warmed up.

Yesterday in the 9 holes where I accompanied a foursome, I shot just over 400 practice shots ... and not one of the practice shots is above being well below average, not one.

So rather than photograph the brilliant stroke making, where 99% of the images were wasted because my placement and timing and feel and familiarity for my new camera is still lacking, and I need much practice, the 3-4 shots of the ambiance of the day that I took, I'm kind of OK with.

jenj22, If you are still going to photograph the golf tournament, you must have your mind around it. Even a simple thing like a social game over 9 holes is a huge thing to cover ... practice ... practice ... practice. You will possibly thank me for stressing this. No one says the word "practice" better than Allen Iverson ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGDBR2L5kzI

Images coming later in the day.

Warren.

[jenj22]

Thanks for all the advice. I have to admit you guys are making me a little nervous but I can deal . I have been practicing and hope to catch some moments.

[Wild Wassa]

That's good, you sound like you are well on top of it.

I won't put the little golf expose' on the Forum, since you've a handle on it but I'll put three shots on the tube showing different shooting techniques, that have recorded interesting changes in low key values.

A normal exposure, for good skin tones in shadow. 'The Big Stick'.





... and a 4 exposure HDR, for better skin tones in shadow. Shot in the camera as 4 JPEGs, then tone mapped and reworked to remove the ghosting from extra legs and extra golf clubs. A bit dodgy, but good fun and I need the retouching practice. I could work the grass better than I have ... but I've done enough to get by.

'The Fairway Jedi.'





'White Knuckle Golf.'





I look forward to seeing your images, jenj22.


Warren.

[Wild Wassa]

'Moon Shot.'





'Never up, Never In' ... ... too true.





'The Dark Golfer' ... ... and seriously rough.





Warren.

[another view]

No rule that I'm aware of either for posting old shots in Viewfinder, and thanks for doing it! I remember reading that Tiger Woods' caddy walked over to a photographer who shot just a fraction of a second too early, grabbed the camera and big lens from the shaking-like-a-leaf photographer and threw it in the water. Lesson learned...

I'm not a golfer or a pro shooter so I can't really offer much advice, but don't lose sleep over it. It's a great opportunity to work on your portfolio if you do want to do professional work. If they do a publication with your shots, ask them to list your name as a photo credit, and get several copies of it for your portfolio. Drink plenty of water or something like Gatorade (seriously).

[Wild Wassa]

This image is a 3 x RAW exposure HDR +/- 2EV, hand held. The reticle in the viewfinder of the Canon 40D with its compass rose for the AF system, allowed targetting a point in the image, and gave a more accurate image alignment, than if I had just fired away.

The Missed Putt ... and Still Rollin'.





The people in the shots above, are strangers and the shots are just how I wandered upon them playing.

The HDR has turned the immaculate greens into looking more like cow paddocks, when the 'Micro Smoothing' tool in Photomatix Pro 3 is turned off. This incongruity is well worth exploring, I like it. This shot below was taken just to remind where a good shot could be found quickly, if the shoot wasn't going well. This could make for a reasonable image with a dynamic sky, late afternoon light and and players on both greens with long shadows in the forground. This afternoon I might go and look at the back nine I still haven't seen the back nine yet, with water to shoot over. I told the Club Pro what I was doing and taking the shots to describe. He said I was welcome to walk the course when ever. Which isn't bad with the course being one minute from home ... walking on the soft grass is very easy on my legs.





Warren.

[Wild Wassa]

It is amazing how much a photographer needs to adjust their technique on a course ... within moments. All I need are some golfers now.








I think I've warmed up enough and have my mind around it, to take on a couple of fairdinkum golfers today. I'm about 1,000 shots underdone, in the practice I expected to be able do. It proved difficult without the golfers. I hope your tournament isn't in a little country town, my practice has been very shy of golfers. Today there will be a couple of hundred club golfers playing a tournament.

The dew on a green at 6.30 in the morning, is brilliant for photography, watching balls arc towards a hole. It is a shame it has been blowing heavily all night, last night, today will be dry and fast. It is 3.00 am, I'm having breakfast, I'll be on the course for about an hour before the first golfer hits off. I'm well prepaired for today ... just 1,000 shots underdone, of which I'll shoot most of those today.

There is a big difference between a pro and an amateur on a golf course. When I first joined Auscape International, Jean Paul Ferraro asked me for some shots of sports. I went over to his home for dinner with my shots ... my best 36 shots. I put a plastic sleeve full of trannies out on the light table and he said to me, "There are 36 shots in one of these sleeves, I want a thousand sleeves from you." Then he told me that Gunter Diekman from Gernany had over 100,000 images with Auscape.

I soon learnt not to be shy.

Warren.

[Wild Wassa]

Having the back-up landscape above sussed-out, showing the 9th and the18th greens, with particularly fine trees as the backdrop, was always going to be a good location for a potentially adequate golf image.

Yesterday's tournament provided the golfers. The location did the rest.

Turning (at) 18.





Warrren.









.

[Wild Wassa]

It isn't the full-blooded drives, showing the elongated muscles in Tiger's forearms. It isn't even the awesome repetitive technique of a Stewart Cink who puts the ball on the fairway time after time, and it isn't even the quality of the course with its beautifully manicured greens and aprons that Adam Scott has mastered ...

... it is the disappointment of being so close, experienced by every player.





This is golf Mate. That's where the shots are.

Good luck with your shots, I hope 'you' play the hottest round of the Tournament, ... jenj22.

C'ya.

Warren.

[Tgernj]

A very interesting golf topic. I'm a golf fanatic and it was my pleasure to find your theme here. Now I'm looking for a club with a hammer, what do you say to this, which one is better to choose?