Lighting a Gymnasium for Sports

Nikon speedlight, battery and wireless sync

When HS seniors that are athletes come through the studio for their senior portraits, I like to support the teams they play for.  During this time of the year, I am fairly active with winter sports.  Because a large majority of the HS seniors that came through the studio this year were athletes, I find myself out many nights or weekend mornings at boys' and girls' basketball games, hockey games and wrestling matches.

Even thought modern SLR cameras work extremely well in low-light conditions, I am not thrilled with the quality of light that most high school gymnasiums provide, so I like to supplement the existing light with my one.  This does two things: 1) help stop the action; and B). helps to add definition to the athletes, depending on where the lights are placed.




I have four Nikon speedlights (old SB-28s...the grand daddy to the modern strobes) in the studio, and I usually set up two of them in the gym with wireless remote syncs.  The location of the lights depends on the sport.

Strobes placed along basketball baseline, on bleacher railings

If I am photographing basketball, I attached the strobes to Manfrotto clamps and then place the lights on the bleacher railings along the end lines.  I always set the flashes to Manual, then set them to ISO 3200, 1/32nd power and point them towards the top of the key.    I tape a 1/4 Roscoe Wintergreen gel over the flash head to match the white balance of the gym I usually shoot in.

If I am shooting a wrestling match, the location of each light is a little different.  I usually place the two lights 180 degrees opposite each other, so they are both pointing to the center of the mat.  It doesn't matter if is in the near left and far right corners, or near right and far left corners, as long as they are pointing towards each other, and you will not be photographing right into the patch of either of the lights.

I have not set up lights at a hockey rink yet.

  

In the camera, I set a custom white balance in the gym, which usually comes close to the 1/4 Roscoe Wintergreen gel that I've placed over the flash heads.  The camera is on Manual exposure setting, at 1/250 sec. shutter speed, a f2.8 aperture with an 80-200mm f2.8 lens.

If you look at the basketball and wrestling images, you can see the edge definition that the strobes provide.  They are not there to provide all the light I need for my exposure, hence the reason they are set to 1/32 power.  The low power also keep the duration of the flash very short, which helps to freeze any movement, especially in the basketball.