Shooting the 2016 CrossFit Invitational (PhotoFit #22)

Last weekend I had the chance to head up to Canada and shoot the CrossFit Invitational, an international competition, showcasing the best athletes from this year's CrossFit Games, setup in a viewer friendly 2-hour format.  The event itself is a whirlwind to shoot, with its own unique set of technical challenges.  I'll try to highlight those to spell out some tips I can give one you when you find yourself shooting fast-moving events.

First and foremost, the invitational is a blast to shoot and I was able to be a part of a great team, shooting for CrossFit HQ.  Our team include our head of photography, Dave Re, another shooter Tai Randall, and an editor Ian Webb.  I've had the chance to work with all these Games veterans before, and looked forward to another great shoot with them.

The invitational is a different beast than the Games.  It is just a 2 hour event, 1 heat of each workout, pitting 4 teams of 4 against each other.  Blink and you'll miss it.  At the Games, you're starting your day at 6AM and aren't wrapped until well into the night.  Sounds great right?  With those long Games days though, you're able to dial in your equipment, and the events.  When you have 8 heats per event to shoot, you work out the kinks on the early heats, and make sure you have everything perfected and mapped out for the top heat with the big dogs.  Yea, it can be grind to shoot for such long periods, but it really allows you to be comfortable with the WOD and know what you're doing when the pressure is on.  

The gear getting packed up before the trip.  Always an adventure getting everything to fit into just one case.

At the invitational, it is a totally different story.  There were basically 4 WODs this year, spread out over 2 hours, with built in commercial breaks.  There were no redos, and there was no earlier heats to dial in shooting positions, sight lines, and equipment.  Well, that's not completely true, and what the first part of my advice would be: When there are rehearsals for an event/production/show, be there!  Take notes, ask questions, and go through the motions.  As much as I hate sitting around inside a venue all day waiting for an event to kickoff, I was able to watch two dress rehearsals of the entire event.  These rehearsals are critical for the production team to deliver a perfect live feed and television package.  As a photographer, I kept my eyes and ears open so I could see how the workouts flowed.  Where do the athletes enter from?  Which station do they go to first?  Which direction do they face (always a critical bit of info)?  How long do they have between WODs?  In what order do they lift in?  And this just begins to scratch the surface.  During the second dress rehearsal I also made a point of walking through the media lane and following the fake action, occasionally snapping a behind-the-scenes photo or two to get a feel for how crowded the floor would be and what lens may work best during different events.

Kari Pearce during the handstand walk.  Nikon D4s, Nikon 70-200, 1/640th, F2.8, ISO 6400, Copyright CrossFit, Inc 2016

All the while, I'm consulting my counterpart, Tai Randall who shares responsibility in covering the event itself, and our boss Dave Re, who is able to focus more on capturing really unique moments and angles during the event.  Between the three of us, we were able to map out a basic plan for who would cover what, and how.  Again, there are basically no breaks during the event, and little time to really confer with one another once the action starts.  Having this plan in place was crucial to us making sure every inch of the floor was covered.

Rich Froning sticking his Clean and Jerk opened at 355lbs.  Nikon D4s, Sigma 120-300, 1/640th, F2.8, ISO 6400, Copyright CrossFit, Inc 2016

All of this practice and prep was beyond helpful come the big show.  While there may have only been one heat of the workouts once the action started, I felt as though I had already seen them twice before and knew what was coming next.  This really helped me stay on top of things and know where to be and how to get myself in a position to take a good photo.  I actually realized after the blur of shooting for two hours, how well everything actually went to plan.  I, and the rest of the team, weren't scrambling around.  We knew what was happening, and where to be to capture it best, and I think the final product really speaks to that.

Team Pacific hitting synchro muscle-ups, Nikon D4s, Nikon 70-200, 1/640th, F2.8, ISO 6400,, Copyright CrossFit, Inc 2016

On the more technical shooting side, I think this was a great event to highlight how you have to shoot to tell the story, not just deliver the same photo over and over.  I've talked about it before, but often for my images to stand out, I try to shoot very tight on athletes during competition.  I think it delivers a unique result and is challenging to get right.  At this event though, the story is not about individuals, it is about a team of CrossFit Games superstars coming together to compete against other teams.  Because of that, my go-to "shoot super tight" doesn't really work in this case.  Yes, Rich Froning is on the floor, but shooting him super tight, effectively isolating him from the rest of the team, doesn't tell in a photo how Team USA did.  Yes, there is absolutely a place when delivering the entire stack of images for highlights of each athlete competing, but the images that are really going to be important are of the team working (or not working) together, and teams battling against each other.  Ian pulled out a cool snap from the event where Team Pacific, with Games-rookie James Newbury up at the front of the worm, are battling together to get through the final workout of the Invitational.  It is a great shot because it includes the entire team, working together, and working hard.  To back up that shooting style, for the most part, I backed off using my Sigma 120-300 2.8, in favor of the smaller and more flexible Nikon 70-200 2.8.  Even though the optics in the Sigma are fantastic, I just didn't need that much zoom for the positions I was shooting from, or with my goal of trying to catch the whole team in action.

Pre-event establishing shot, Nikon D4s, Sigma 15mm, 1/800th, F2.8, ISO 6400,, Copyright CrossFit, Inc 2016

A few other shots I always try and get at events, is some bigger picture images.  These are shots trying to show the scale of the event, or are from angles not usually seen.  Two quick examples of this are the lap I took around the arena with a fisheye.  This shot, taken early in the morning before the event works as a great establishing shot to show the venue and the professional presentation.  The fisheye's built in distortion, when used right can really make a room look that much bigger.  Secondly, during the event, I ran up to the top of the arena a few times to try and shoot down and catch the action from above.  I was able to grab a whole slew of images of some muscle-up synchronicity, that just help fill out the coverage better than just doing it all from the arena floor.

Working with a pretty light setup for the Invitational.  Nikon D4, Nikon D4S, Tamron 24-70, Nikon 70-200, Sigma 120-300

Lastly, some of the bread and butter images that are just too much fun to capture were doing the snatch/clean & jerk event.  Here, it was all about highlighting the athlete lifting under the lights.  For that, I switched to the Sigma 120-300 and worked to get some head-to-toe classic lifting shots as well as some very tight expression/reaction images whether the lift was made or missed.  I was pleasantly surprised by just how fired up and animated the athletes were before and after their lifts.  Those post-lift reactions were particularly exciting this year as a number of athletes PR'd there lifts even under such a high pressure setup.

Brent Fikowski after putting on a snatch clinic, Nikon D4s, Sigma 120-300, F 2.8, 1/640th, ISO 6400 Copyright CrossFit, Inc 2016

I have a whole bunch of BTS and from-the-floor video from the event I'll have up in a video over the next few weeks, but wanted to get some quick impressions from the Invitational online first.  Beyond the shoot, make sure to check out Hollywood Ice Cream and Oshawa for an absolutely absurd Monster Shake, as well as some Poutine from Smoke's. Also, Canadian customs is no joke so make sure you're on the up-and-up when you go through your "friendly" interrogation.  

If you like what you've read, please share.  Feel free to post some content suggestions below so I know what you're looking for in my next post.  For bookings email shaun@superclearyphoto.com.  And as always, follow @supercleary on instagram and SuperClearyPhoto on Facebook.

Do You Need Pro Gear to be a Pro Photographer? (PhotoFit #21)

A few weeks ago I answered my number one asked question, how to make money shooting CrossFit.  I got a lot of great feedback and hope that got a few people some paying jobs.  This week I want to follow-up with what I think might be my second most asked question, do I need "pro" gear to be a pro?  If you don't want to read ahead, the answer is an emphatic, 'no."

Pro Gear vs. Cheap Gear

First off, what is "pro gear."  In my mind, pro gear is the stuff with the big price tag.  In terms of camera bodies, once you start getting into full frame cameras, and especially the 1DX series on the Canon side and the D4/5 series on the Nikon side you're in the "pro gear" land.  You're going to see camera gear that is very expensive as well with a better build quality.  In terms of specs, they have all the megapixels and focus points, and can do everything but take the photo for you.  What makes a pro lens?  Fixed apertures are your first clue (f2.8 lenses) as well as big price tags.  These lenses focus faster, are sharper, and are built better.

Let's be clear though with all this fancy stuff, pro cameras don't take photos for you and pro cameras don't work outside the rules of the exposure triangle.  Because of that, there is simply no replacement for knowledge.  You can put a "pro" setup in the hands of a first time photographer and they will get worse-than-iPhone quality photos.  You can put an iPhone in the hands of a pro photographer and they are going to deliver professional-level shots.  Don't believe me?  Watch the awesome series DigitalRev has put together, the Pro Photographer, Cheap Camera Challenge.

So what's the point of pro gear?  It makes life easier to get the shot.  Here's an example.  I actually was playing around with my D5100 with the kit 18-55 the other day, my first DSLR, and the camera I used to take the first photos I ever sold.  I was in the gym snapping away and needed more light, so I cranked up the ISO to 10,000.  Whoops, that camera maxes out ISO 6400 and it looks like total mud.  Fail number one.  Next one of my buddies was going to setup for a snatch.  As he went through the lift, I snapped away to try and get the whole sequence.  By the time the bar was half way over head, the camera slowed down and stopped shooting.  Error: buffer full.  Oh right, the buffer on low-end cameras fills up after a few clicks in a second when shooting RAW.  Lastly, I started trying to get some good close-ups without moving my feet, I zoomed the lens, kept snapping, and looked down and saw the photos were horrifically underexposed.  Right.... that kit lens that comes with the camera is variable aperture, so as I zoom in, the aperture closes down.

Now, switch over to my "pro camera' my Nikon D4, with a 24-70 2.8.  Even with this body over four years old now, I can crank the ISO to 12,800 and barely see any noise in my image.  I've almost never been able to fill the buffer, no matter how hard I've tried when shooting bursts during olympic lifting.  With my fancy zoom lens, the aperture is fixed so whether I'm at 24mm or 70mm the exposure stays the same.  Shooting with this camera just makes my life easier.  It doesn't get me in the right position to nail the shot, and it doesn't give me the knowledge to know how to expose the image properly. 

All that said, I could still nail the photo with the shit camera, but it is just going to take a little more effort.  That effort though, does distract from the act of creating a good image.  I'm not able to focus on composition as much, I'm not able to feel out the room as much.  I might have to compose the shot only using the center focus point because that is the only one that focuses quickly.  Because my attention become split, it means I might not be able to take the best possible image.  Further, in some situations, that crop sensor body and crappy lens might simply be in capable of working in extreme situations.  No matter how much skill someone has, if you're trying to shoot fast action in a very dark room, you are going to need a camera that can get its ISO over 10,000.  You're going to need a lens that has an aperture wider than f/4.  In that nightmare scenario, it just doesn't matter how smart you are, you need the gear to execute.

Gear Buying Tips

Let's talk about what I think of a few different setups and what you should consider getting if you're starting out.  A few basic rules.  I almost always get everything used, that includes camera bodies and lenses.  It is an easy way to save a few hundred dollars on basically new items.  I love using the Amazon marketplace for used items because you get a pretty great return policy if the gear turns out to be a lemon.  I also think you should sell anything you don't need.  Don't just let lenses and old gear depreciate.  Flip it for something newer.  

I also think you should buy the right thing once, and not just keep incrementally getting slightly better stuff.  For example, there's a 70-200 f/4 and 70/200 f2.8.  The 2.8 is one of the essential sports photographer lenses.  Everyone should work to get one in their kit.  I wouldn't ever recommend buying the f/4, even though it is so much cheaper.  Save your pennies and buy the 2.8.  The lens will pay for itself, and if you don't have the cash flow coming in from jobs, you shouldn't be buying pro gear like that anyways. 

My guiding rule which I've stuck to for five years when buying gear is this.  Does me not having this lens/camera body / light / gizmo mean I can't get a shot or mean I can't book a job?  If the answer is YES, meaning I was unable to do a job, or unable to book a job because I didn't own a piece of equipment, that's a no brainer.  Amazon prime, buy buy buy.  If the answer is no, I'm not going to buy it.  The only reason I may want it is as a toy or because I'm obsessed with camera gear.  Either one of those answers is not a way to run a business.  

So what sort of gear should you get to start off and what gear should you work towards? Lenses are more important than bodies.  Better lenses on cheaper cameras deliver better results than cheaper lenses on better cameras.  Because of that, I basically don't care what camera body you get.  New ones come out every year at all price points.  Once you start having a stable income from photography -- even a few hundred bucks a month, get a full frame camera.  The quality jump is huge.

Lenses.  These do not change any where near as quick as bodies and you'll use the same lenses many years if you buy quality.  The two best lenses to get right away are the 50mm 1.8 and 35 1.8.  These prime lenses are fantastic and extremely cheap.  Shooting in an indoor environment, that 1.8 will allow you to get a ton of extra light in the camera and allow you to make up for camera bodies that don't have high ISO capabilities.  You will also have to force yourself to learn what composition is and how to zoom with your feet.  Buy Sigma lenses.  What they are putting out now is incredible, and rival the Nikon/Canon equivalents in many regards and are generally half the price.

From there, the two essential lenses all sports photographers should have are the 24-70 2.8 and 70-200 2.8.  If you mostly shoot indoors, go for the 24-70 first, if you're mostly outdoors go for the 70-200 first.  With one zoom lens and a prime lens to cover yourself in extreme lowlight situations you have a kit that you can do anything from sports to portraits.  What you can't get overnight is practice, experience, and knowledge.  That's what you really need to invest in to get the most out of the gear you have.

My point in all this gear talk is this, every photo in this post was shot on a five year old camera body, and half the shots even had the kit 18-55 f3.5-5.6 lens on there.  (Except of course the shot of the D5100).  Right now that setup costs $200 if you can even find one new and in stock.  The other half of images I used a Sigma 35 1.4 lens on the same body (yes, the lens cost about four times the price of the camera body).  The results though even on such a cheap camera body were great.  I was in an extremely low light gym environment and able to get solid action shots during a group class that I'd be comfortable selling to a client.  Do you need pro gear to be a pro?  Hell no, you just need to know how to shoot and you can get pro results out of any setup.

If you like what you've read, please share.  Feel free to post some content suggestions below so I know what you're looking for in my next post.  For bookings email shaun@superclearyphoto.com.  And as always, follow @supercleary on instagram and SuperClearyPhoto on Facebook.

Getting Unique Shots in a Crowd - Shooting the CrossFit Games Part 2 (PhotoFit #15)

In my first post about shooting the CrossFit Games I focused on the challenges of shooting with long lenses in the gigantic Soccer Stadium.  In part two, I'll cover the complexities of shooting from fixed shooting positions and trying to create unique images that help you stand out from a crowd of other photographers.

For the third year in a row I've had the pleasure of working for CrossFit Inc. as part of their photography team.  In working within that team, positions and roles are assigned.  Once the action moves to the Tennis Stadium, assignments fall into two categories: assigned seats, and floater positions.  With assigned seats, you're literally handed a seat ticket and have to stay locked in that position.  These seats usually make for an incredible view of the action.  First and foremost, I've always been a fan of the sport itself, so getting a front row seat is never something to complain about.  As a floater - you're either shooting in the media lane or wandering around the stadium looking for good sight lines - I'll cover this more in the next post.

Katrin Davidsdottir at the 2016 CrossFit Games - Sigma 120-300 - Copyright CrossFit Inc, 2016, all rights reserved

The downsides of these seats from a photography perspective is that if I found myself in a seat where the action wasn't particularly close to you, or doesn't advance towards you, I sometimes found myself at a loss for how to capture great images.  The Games aren't unique in this, all major sports have assigned positions for photographers, and it's on the photographer to make the best out of those positions.

If I was in a less than optimal position for a specific WOD, I fell back on the importance of trusting in the team I was working with.  Because other shooters from the team are assigned across the rest of the stadium, I count on the fact that they are in position to get the perfect shot, and it then becomes my job to see how creative you can get in unique positions.

Katrin Davidsdottir - 2015 CrossFit Games - Sigma 120-300 - Copyright CrossFit Inc, 2016, all rights reserved

Lens selection varies wildly once you're in the Tennis Stadium, and I think that's a great way to become creative and stand out.  For the most part, I actually went back to my Regionals go-to, the Sigma 120-300 2.8.  I really love working with that lens, and only at the extremes was that 300 not enough reach in the Tennis Stadium.  For a few events this year, and when the action was panning across my seat in the south side, I busted out the 200-400 and tried to really get in super tight to athletes.  I always love working with the extra reach these monster lenses afford, but as the action gets closer, they get more and more restrictive.  

As a fun combo during the Ring Handstand Push-up event, I was stationed in the south seats (the finish line) and shot down the lane with the 200-400.  On my second body, I had a 70-200, and as the athletes closed for their last reps and sprint to the finish, I switched to that, to still get nice and tight, but offer a great degree more flexibility, and ease of use.

Camille Leblanc-Bazinet at the 2016 CrossFit Games - 200-400 f/4 - Copyright CrossFit Inc, 2016, all rights reserved

The Tennis Stadium is an incredibly unique shooting environment with the action so close, and the conditions so easy to shoot in.   When you look to your left and right there are dozens of cameras - some professional, some just part of the spectators', but you'll also notice most people are using very similar lenses.  Something I always try and think about when shooting in this sort of environment is trying to get shots other people aren't. With some base level knowledge, and because high-end equipment's price has come down so dramatically, it really doesn't take all that much to get a good result when the lighting is awesome like it is in the Tennis Stadium.  Even with a semi-entry level camera like a Nikon d5500 or a Canon 70d and a 24-120 f/4,($1000) you're going to be able to get sharp action photos with low ISO settings, and you're not even going to know it wasn't shot on a Nikon D5 with a 70-200 ($8000)

Cole Sager during the 2015 CrossFit Games - Nikon 70-200 - Copyright CrossFit Inc, 2016, all rights reserved

Because of that, I'm always thinking of how to mix up shots a bit so they don't just look identical to what everyone else shooting from similar positions are probably taking.  The "easy shot" is a classic head to toe of an athlete exercising with the whole athlete in frame.  Wide shots are much easier to take, and much easier to get tact-sharp focus on.  What I try to do once I get some safeties - the boring classic shots that help fill out coverage - is try to shoot very tight.  If I shoot super tight, my editors won't have to crop in post, and the image itself will have that amazing background compression and bokeh.  This is how you can get some really unique images while shooting from the exact same position as every other shooter. 

If I'm using a 70-200, I'm going to try to shoot closer to 200 and really get tight on the athletes.  If I'm on the 120-300 I try to go tighter than 200 (otherwise what's the point).  Yes, I miss a lot because of this.  Yes, I get a lot of weird crops and amputations that aren't useable.  But, when everything lines up right, the focus hits, and the crop is good, I'm able to get a really unique image that I don't think a lot of other people are going for.  

For some technical details, when I'm trying to shoot really tight during fast action, I'm going to use continuous autofocus (sorry this will all be Nikon language), and actually limit it to only 9 points.  On the D5 there are something like 51 focus points you can use, but I actually like to limit it.  As the action moves and the camera hunts for focus, if you limit the active points, you can actually track faster.  Of course, I'm using back button focusing the whole time -- read about that here if you're unfamiliar.  Something else to help get focus, I might actual close down my aperture just a bit.  With a 2.8 lens, I might actually shoot at 3.2 or 3.5.  There will be a very minor difference in the out of focus areas (especially because I'm shooting with a lot of zoom to help get compression), but I'm able to get a little more of the athlete in focus especially if they shift forward or back.  And because I'm getting a little less light, I'll just bump up the ISO more, which won't really be noticeable on pro bodies like the Nikon D4-5 / Canon 1dx mk1/2.  

Jacob Heppner - 2016 CrossFit Games - Sigma 120-300 - Copyright CrossFit Inc, 2016, all rights reserved

For example, in 2016, I was shooting from the West finish line where athletes advanced during double DT.  I'll zoom all the way into the athlete's head and put my focus point on the eye.  From there, I'll hold down the back button, and grab frames during those decisive moments of peak exertion.  I will also try to frame up the shot in camera, but to get this in focus, I may select a focus point off to the left, right, top, or bottom so that focus point lines up best with the athlete's head and I'm able to fill the frame as much as possible. Another option is to use that middle focus point to get the subject in focus and then recompose the shoot.  You have to be careful doing this though, because if the athlete moves forward or back during the time you're recomposing, the shot will be out of focus.  The shot above of Jacob Heppner was snapped with the Sigma 120-300, at more than 200mm.  He was relatively close to me and it was an adventure to get everything framed up right and in focus.  Below is another shot, still useable, but includes a bit of a crop on Mat Fraser's hand which I'm not happy about.

Mat Fraser - 2016 CrossFit Games - Sigma 120-300 - Copyright CrossFit Inc, 2016, all rights reserved

The best part of the last two images - in my opinion is the out of focus areas.  They are just buttery mush.  It helps separate out the athlete and create what I think are really great images.  By zooming in so hard and leaving so little to need to be cropped, the background fades out into just colors.

Another type of shot I've grabbed the last three years from the same finish line is the "finish" shot.  After an athlete's done, I'll keep the lens zoomed in on them and keep clicking hoping for a great reaction.  Yes, shooting with a 24-70 is going to be much easier to make sure I don't miss anything or crop the shot in a weird way, but shooting with a 70-200 when you nail it is so worth it.  Here are a couple examples.  The first is shot very close with a 70-200 and the other is with the 120-300 handheld.  Yes, I try that shot a lot, and I have a ton of misses, but that zoomed in image, to me, is so much stronger than a boring wide shot.

Scott Panchik's finish double DT at the 2016 CrossFit Games - Nikon 70-200 - Copyright CrossFit Inc, 2016, all rights reserved

CLB at the 2015 CrossFit Games - Sigma 120-300 - Copyright CrossFit Inc, 2016, all rights reserved

For some takeaways - I'd always recommend trying to shoot much tighter than you normally would.  Wide shots, while useful, are really easy to get and easy to duplicate.  To get your images to stand out in a stack of other images from the same event, try taking the harder shots - zoomed tight and into the action.  You're going to miss a whole bunch, but the hits are much better.  In my next piece of the Games, I'll talk about shooting from float positions in the Tennis Stadium and working to get the best shots in those scenarios.

If you like what you've read, please share.  Feel free to post some content suggestions below so I know what you're looking for in my next post.  For bookings email shaun@superclearyphoto.com.  And as always, follow @supercleary on instagram and SuperClearyPhoto on Facebook.

Prime Lenses for Lowlight Elite Fitness Photography (PhotoFit #11)

Read the previous #photofit columns here

Shooting in any kind of gym environment - from CrossFit to MMA - you're normally stuck in dimly lit, dark boxes that have lackluster windows and worse fluorescent lighting.  At a certain point, unless you're going to add lights (we'll talk about that later), you can't push your ISO anymore or slow your shutter further.  There is simply no way to get a bright enough exposure with standard zoom lens, lenses that for the most part can't shoot faster than f2.8.  The only place to go from there is Prime.

Nikon D4, Sigma 35 1.4, 1/500th, F1.8, ISO 3200

Just as a refresher on the exposure triangle, you control light with three settings - shutter speed, aperture, and ISO.  To generally get "sharp" photos of action, you're going to need to shoot around 1/500th of a second.  So in a dark setting, you're going to shoot wide open - as close to f2.8 as your lens allows - and then start cranking up your ISO as high as your camera allows.  If all these parameters are maxed out and you still have an underexposed image, there's not much you can do with your current setup.  That's where prime lenses come in.  A prime lens does not zoom, but the trade-off is your aperture can open wider than f2.8 - usually f1.8 on cheaper primes and f1.4 on more expensive variants.  Because of this, you now have another option to get the right exposure - going from f2.8 to wider apertures - f2.2, f2.0, f1.8, f1.6, and f1.4 - and letting more light in.  Each of these allow more light into the camera, hopefully getting you close to that perfect exposure.

Jared Stevens, Nikon D4, Sigma 35 1.4, 1/500th, f1.8, ISO 3200

Working with Primes

Handling prime lenses adds a couple of challenges, namely getting your shots in focus, and understanding how to zoom with your feet.  

Focus:  As you go to wider apertures, the plane of focus gets more and more narrow as you get that increase in light.  What that means in practice is if at f2.8 you focus on an athletes chest, his eyes/face will still be in focus.  At f1.4, if you focus on the exact same point, you will very likely get a tack sharp chest, but an eyeball that is completely out of focus.  And to be clear, if the eye is not in focus on the subject, the image is out of focus and useless.  Don't give me this "artsy/focusish" crap.  If your subjects eyeballs are out of focus, the shot isn't really useable.  So you've solved your first problem, the exposure is now right because you're letting in more light, but now your focus sucks.

There are a lot of ways to deal with this.  First off, just because your fancy prime lens goes to f1/4 doesn't mean you should actually shoot at that.  There are a lot of stops between that and f 2.8, and even shooting at f1.6 or f1.8 will give you a great deal more light, but still give you some wiggle room in your focus.

Nikon D4, Sigma 35 1.4, 1/500th, f1.8, ISO 3200

Secondly, I can't emphasize how important back button focus is when working with primes.  (If you have no idea what that is, follow the link here).  To nail focus I want to make sure that focus point is locked onto the subject's head.  Again, because I'm all fancy and using my back button to grab focus, if the movement is say a snatch or a clean, during the setup I'm going to grab focus, and then during the lift I'm not going to refocus as long as the lifter doesn't move closer or farther away from me.  If I used an "autofocus" mode and held down the focus the whole time, what would likely happen is the focus would grab onto the chest/bar/shoulder of the athlete and because of depth of field is so shallow, the end result image will be out of focus.  Sticking with a back button technique and pre-focusing on where my subject will be should lead to more in-focus images at the end of the day.

Zoom/Composition: The other big challenge when working with a Prime is that you no longer have the ability to zoom in or out.  But really, you still have that ability, it is just with your feet.  So clearly a limitation exists when using primes at events.  During big competition style events, you're not going to be able to go anywhere you want or zoom with your feet as close as you may need.  That would then mean in the largest event settings you need to know where you will be and where your action will be and bring the appropriate lens.

Nikon D4, Sigma 35 1.4, 1/250th, f1.8, ISO 800

In most applications though, you're going to be able to go wherever you need and that's where primes like a 35mm or 50mm will really shine.  Again, because you can't zoom, you need to anticipate how an athlete will move through the frame while you're taking the shot.  If you frame up the shot perfectly during the setup to a lift, the lifter will very likely have their head or feet cutoff if you keep shooting without reframing.  Because of that, I want to think about what shot I am really looking for, because I very likely can't do both during the same lift.  As a rule of thumb, give yourself a little breathing room in your frame so that you don't cut any limbs off and then crop in post.

Nikon D4, Sigma 35 1.4, 1/640th, f1.8, ISO 2500

So after all that it may seem like more challenges than it's worth, but primes have a lot of benefits beyond just letting more light in.  Primes are incredibly sharp.  Across the board, nearly all primes are sharper than a comparable zoom lens like a 24-70 f2.8.  When you nail focus with a prime, the image quality is truly remarkable when compared to their zoom counterparts.

Now the magic really lives in the bokeh (out of focus areas).  As that depth of field gets shallower, the out of focus areas turn into mush and help draw the eye into the subject.  If you go wild and shoot at f1.4, you will get some really unique results when you nail focus.

Nikon D4, Sigma 35 1.4, 1/640th, f1.8, ISO 2500

My Setup

My go-to lens for most shoots is a prime actually, the Sigma 35 1.4 art series  I find that the 35mm is perfect for most situations to capture subjects head to toe, while still allowing me to get tighter if I just take a couple steps forward.  Even in relatively dark gyms, I'll shoot at ISO 1600, 1/500th, f1.8.  This starting point allows me plenty of leeway to crank up the ISO if I need to.  Only once my ISO is maxed out around 6400-8000, will I move to f1.6 or f1.4.  Only in the most desire situations will I play around at those super wide apertures.  Unless you have a lot of time to setup and a lot of chances to nail the shot, those apertures are extremely difficult to work with on run and gun scenarios.  My thought process would have me moving my ISO up several stops before I consider going to those super wide open apertures.

Nikon D4, Sigma 35 1.4, 1/500th, f1.8, ISO 3200

I've also been having so much fun with this setup over the last two years that I picked up the Sigma 50mm 1.4 art lens recently.  I've really enjoyed the results and the different focal length coming from shooting with a 35mm so much.  I think for most CrossFit-style shoots in the gyms, the 50mm is a little more restrictive and leads to a few more amputations than I like.  But, when everything lines up right, the results are fantastic.

And primes don't have to be expensive.  Nikon and Canon both make a 50mm 1.8 that you can pick up used for around $100.  I've used my Nikon 50mm f1.8 for years in professional work and no one has ever asked me, or realized that the lens is in the bargain bin at most stores.  If you have the cash though, I can't praise the Sigma art series enough.  There 35 has been a backbone of my camera bag for over two years, and the 50 has quickly found a place in my regular rotation of lenses.  They are also about half the cost of their Nikon/Canon equivalents, while also delivering better or comparable results in head to head testing.

Brooke Wells, Nikon D4, Sigma 35 1.4, 1/500th, f1.8, ISO 3200

So there you have it, the secret to shooting in extremely dark rooms:  prime lenses.  They come with a few challenges, but as long as you understand how to work around that, you can go from a shoot that would be a disaster to one that you can deliver great results.  

If you like what you've read, please share.  Feel free to post some content suggestions below so I know what you're looking for in my next post.  For bookings email shaun@superclearyphoto.com.  And as always, follow @supercleary on instagram and SuperClearyPhoto on Facebook.

Kaitlyn Fitzgerald, Nikon D4, Sigma 35 1.4, 1/500th, f1.8, ISO 3200

Keith Van Wickler, Nikon D4, Sigma 35 1.4, 1/500th, f1.8, ISO 3200

Nikon D4, Sigma 35 1.4, 1/500th, f2.0, ISO 3200

Rob Moloney, Nikon D4, Sigma 35 1.4, 1/500th, f1.8, ISO 3200

PhotoFit #4 (How I learned to Love Back Button Focus)

In most of my previous PhotoFit columns I've been hitting on techniques to get the best exposures for your images - basically making sure your image is sharp.  I've been throwing around the term "sharp" a lot, but what that really means is "in focus." Getting your images in focus is the name of the game.  I can't reiterate more how critical focus is for an image.  No matter how special of a moment that you catch, if it is out of focus, it's worthless.  This column will focus on focus, and the secret way to get it: The almighty back button.

All DSLRs share many of the same hi-end focus systems - the most basic being full auto focus.  That basically means the camera does the thinking and when you half-press the shutter, it guesses what should be focus and then it takes the image.  Turn that off immediately.  

Next up is Single Point (apologies, I speak Nikon, but Canon has all the same systems named slightly different).  Single point gives you great focus on your center point (or whatever point you select), but it will not adjust if your subject moves forward or back before you hit the shutter.  Not useful for fitness.

Nikon D600, Nikon 70-200, 1/500th, F2.8, ISO 6400

Now, let's talk about Continuous Focus.  This is where your camera should live.  Depending on the body you have, there will be a range of options from D-9 all the way to D-51 which refers to how many active focus points will be used to acquire focus.  Quick tip, using less focus points actually helps the camera grab focus faster in most cases, so usually just pick something in the middle of the focus points your camera has.

So now here's the real inception mind-twisting moment.  All cameras you've ever used have focus and shutter release connected.  What if I told you they didn't have to be?  Here's the magic of the back button.  Right around where your right thumb naturally goes on the camera is a button named either "AF-ON" or "AF/AE-L" or something along those lines.  Activating this button will de-link the shutter from focus.  What does this mean?  If you hit the shutter button the focus will not change and the picture will be taken whether it is in focus or not.  The "back-button" now controls focus.  Anytime you hit that button, your active focus point will try to grab focus.  Whenever you stop hitting that button, the focus will remain locked on the camera.  When you hit the shutter button, this image is taken.

Nikon D4, Sigma 35 1.4, 1/500th, F1.8, ISO 3200

What does all this mean and why is this incredible?  Because you can finally keep a focus in focus during a snatch.  You can grab perfect focus on a subject's head while they are doing pull-ups.  You can nail focus over and over with predictable results that aren't skewed by your cameras overthinking focus computer.

To activate AF-ON each camera is a bit different but the basic steps (on a Nikon camera) are as follows.  Go the Custom Settings Menu, select Autofocus.  Go to Assign AF-ON button (or assign AE/AF-L) and select AF-ON.  Also, you'll have to take a second step on most cameras and go to the AF Activation Menu and select "AF-ON" only.  What that does is fully sever the connection between the shutter and the back button.

Back Button focus in action

So first off, using this will lead to a ton of out of focus pictures.... at first.  There is a serious learning curve to understanding that cameras now have more than one button.  The shutter button just takes images now.  And it will do it whether you're in focus or not.  You'll need to learn when to hit the back button and when not.  You also need to feel out your lenses and know when they are in focus and not.  Here's a great example: a kipping pull-up.  Let's say we're lined up to the side of the pull up rig.  I'm trying to get the subject's head perfectly in focus over the top of the bar.  I don't want their hands to be in focus.  Using a traditionally autofocus system linked to the shutter button, the camera would grab focus on the hand in front of the head, but not the subject's head (usually).  With the back button active, I'm going to stay still and wait for the subject's head to get to the apex of the movement and hit the back button.  I'm not going to take the photo though.  I'm going to wait for the subject to hit the second pull-up and then hit the button.  I'll repeat this process a few times.  Over the course of a few reps I'll continue to lock the focus tighter and grab a few more shots. The image wouldn't ever come out in focus before (or would be total luck to get it).

Nikon D4, Tamron 24-70, 1/400th, F2.8, ISO 6400

Another great example -- the snatch.  With an autofocus system, it will generally grab whatever is closest to the camera at any point in time.  That will generally lead to focus on the hands, the barbell or anything else that jumps out.  With the back button, I'll grab focus on the head during the setup position.  Once the lift begins, I'll not hit the back button again and this will usually get me an awesome series of in focus images.  Note though, if the head comes closer to me or farther away, there's the possibility depending on your aperture, the subject could slide out of the focus plane.  In that case you'll need to hit that back button again and recompose.

Here's another great use of the back button: focus and recompose.  So composition is always critical in an image.  But generally you're working with the center focus point.  With the back button - and if the subject is not moving farther from the camera or closer to it - I can set my focus, let go, and then recompose however I'd like and then hit the shutter.  This might sound trivial, but when you realize how quickly you can get shots in camera with the composition and focus you want, your mind will soon be blown.

Nikon D600, Sigma 15 2.8, 1/500th, F2.8, ISO 3200

Cautions

Realize that you're now in control of the focus.  If you don't hit the back button, the image will definitely be out of focus.  But also, if a subject moves closer to the camera or farther away from the camera during a sequence, your perfectly in focus setup will lead to an out of focus catch position.  This is where the real art comes in of knowing when to hit that magic button and when not to.

This takes a lot of practice to get the hang of, but gives you full control of your camera in an incredible way.  Give it a try, learn it, love it.  Comment below if you already use the back button or if you're trying it out now.

Make sure to tune into superclearyphoto.com for our holiday sale - 20% off all images with code 'xmas20'.  Please feel free to post some content suggestions below so I know what you're looking for.  And as always, follow @supercleary on instagram and SuperClearyPhoto on Facebook.

PhotoFit #3 (Wide vs. Tight)

Today we're going to be talking all about composition - specifically wide vs. tight.  My basic go-to lens for all things functional fitness - and pretty much everything else - is my trusty Tamron 24-70 2.8 VC.  With this lens, I can get a great head-to-toe shot of a single athlete or back up a little and get the whole scene - the athlete lifting, the crowd cheering, etc.  But, I can just as easily zoom all the way to 70mm and get that tight detail shot, or the facial expression when someone nails the perfect lift, or get the war face on the way up from the bottom of a squat.

What we're really talking about here is composition and thinking about what you're framing when you take a photo.  In my experience, a basic head-to-toe semi-wide shot is just boring.  You have two options really:  either pull out farther and get the athlete, plus the crowd around, or go tight, zoom in and really capture the details, up-close and personal.  You need to separate yourself from the dozens of iPhones and point-and-shoots that will inevitably be in the crowd.

First off - talking about the benefits of the wide shot and some ways to set yourself up for that in an event situation. You need to do more than just make sure you're settings are dialed in, you need to be aware of what's going on in the room.  What athlete is about to lift?  Is there a crowd around them?  Is a friend, loved one, coach, or judge screaming at them?  If so, where should you be to capture that in one frame?  Are you on the same side as the crowd?  You're going to need to position yourself in such a way that you'll be able to capture the movement, but most importantly also capture the crowd in frame.  This is a balancing act, because you'll need to make sure your focus is set on your subject, but often must reframe the shot to then include the crowd or other people in the action.

Nikon D4, Tamron 24-70 2.8, 1/400th, F 2.8, ISO 6400

Here was a great opportunity for me to back up a bit and take in the whole scene: three athletes doing high level gymnastics (and a giant American flag).  Capturing the full scene like this helps highlight how awesome an event was and what the scene was like.

Often times though, these ideal dramatic moments don't happen.  Shooting wide (let's saying anything between 14-35mm) constantly gets dull.  When you look at the images, your eye often doesn't know what to look at.  The viewer isn't forced to a foreground or a specific subject in the image and that leads to a dull photo.

Nikon D4, Tamron 24-70 2.8, 1/320, f 2.8, ISO 12,800

So then, let's take this the other way.... start zooming in.  With a 24-70 (or any other mid-range zoom) zooming into 70mm will do two things: isolate the subject you're shooting, and also compress your background.  Isolating your subject can be extremely useful.  Let's say you're shooting in a crowded room, one of the toughest scenarios can be finding a way to separate out your subject (which should generally be your goal) from other athletes or the athlete from the crowd.  If I zoom in I can now begin to pull my subject out of the background.  Next step, I can now recompose my shot - perhaps focusing on the head, upper body, and barbell, or even tighter to than that.  

A few things to be careful of here:  once you start zooming you need to understand that you will be cutting off limbs.  There is a right way to do this and a wrong way.  For example, if you cut off a hand in the middle, it will look bizarre and awkward, but if you get the whole hand in, or no hand, it will look less "weird."  There are guides online with some suggested places to "amputate' your subjects, but it should always be something to pay attention to on the edges of your composition.  

Nikon D4, Nikon 70-200 VRII, 1/400th, f 2.8, iso 10,000

The other concern is cropping the photo so tight that you don't have any context as to what's going on.  If you crop out a barbell or a weight, now you're just left with a sweaty dude/dudette and no explanation of what's happening: is the bar going up or down?  How heavy is it?  If you took a photo of me deadlifting but zoomed in so tight that it was just my hands on the barbell with the weights cropped out, you wouldn't be able to have any context as to whether I'm lifting 500lbs (unlikely) or 135lbs (more likely).  It's not to say you can't do this, but these are things that always need to be in the back of your head as your setting your frame.

The other benefit of zooming in is compression.  Once you zoom in, the background of your image will "compress," additionally putting it out of focus and having your subject separate out from the background.  On a wide angle shot (14mm, 24mm, 35mm), there is very little, if any out of focus areas (even at f.28) so your subject may not stand out, especially in even lighting.  Zoom in tight onto that same subject and ta-da, compressed background and out of focus areas all over, your subject sharp and in the forefront.   This effect gets exponentially better the longer the lens you use (I still have dreams about the 200-400 at the 2014 CrossFit Games).

Nikon D4, Tamron 24-70, 1/400, f 2.8, iso 6400 

To recap - that head-to-toe shot of a person, while nothing is necessarily "wrong" with it, is boring more times than not.  It is a stock shot, something that should be used as a basic coverage image, i.e. 'this happened here."  But, the far more dramatic shot that is the difference between ordinary and unique, is to zoom in.  

My basic workflow on trying to compose a scene will have me take two images.  The first will be a wide shot with the athlete head to toe, noticing if anyone in particular is standing out in the crowd or is on the floor and should be included in the composition.  If that's not working, I'll zoom into the subjects head and wait for that moment of exertion and effort: I call it the war face, and that's the moment I'm really looking to capture.

Have at it!  Post your experiences and questions to the comments below.

Make sure to tune into superclearyphoto.com for our holiday sale - 20% off all images with code 'xmas20'.  Please feel free to post some content suggestions below so I know what you're looking for.  And as always, follow @supercleary on instagram and SuperClearyPhoto on Facebook.