I recently got the chance to do photography for my love pro wrestling company and loved it!
i have a very basic Nikon DSLR and 50-300mm lens. I think i did pretty well for my first time photographing this sort of thing, and the first time picking up my camera in 10 years.
I was just wondering if anyone had any experience or tips on how to produce better images for the performers i am photographing.
Cheers
If push comes to shove i always say would you rather have a noisy photo or a blurry photo? Then if you say noisy, would you rather have a noisy photo, or no photo at all? Dont be afraid to crank the iso when needed.
If lightings that bad, see about getting some wireless flashes you can put around on stands.
A full frame camera that’s made for sports would really help you.
Have you been to the venue before and checked out the lighting? If it’s got enough lighting from different angles it’d help you to get better and cleaner shots! If you don’t feel the lightings are enough perhaps tell the organizer to see if they could set up more lights.
On the lens 50-300 it’d be too tight if you’re at the ring side. If you are at the ringside you could borrow/rent out a 24-70 lens and you’ll be able to get some good close tight shots and a slightly wider shots.
If you can only bring 50-300 then obviously you’d need to locate yourself a bit further away from the ring and make sure theres no object blocking your views when you take the shots. Enjoy it!
Lighting at venues will always be tough. That’s always the fun part.
Ringside I like 24-70 2.8 and you can toss in a 70-200 as well if needed. If you have a slower lens, always bump up the iso. I’d rather have a frozen shot with noise than a cleaner shot with motion blur.
The point of impact is not usually the best shot. When I shoot sports thats what I am going for, but with wrestling, its usually right after. The facial expression, the hair going everywhere.
Any specific questions, feel free to ask away.
OP, if there’s one person to listen to, it’s Ryan and this comment.
I would add: make sure you’re using back-button focus, so your poor AF isn’t searching in low light every time you want to shoot
Unfortunately most, if not all, wrestling shows are just fucking horrible for lighting lol
I’ve shot a lot of wrestling around Chicago (Warrior Wrestling, GCW, Freelance) and I’m never under ISO 6,400. I honestly recommend sitting at 1/640 and just spraying shots to get one that’s frozen, usually at the apex of the move.
If you definitely love it, I fully recommend grabbing a used Sony a6400 and a 24-70 or 70-200 and have some fun! Most everyone is using mirrorless in pro wrestling nowadays and it’s due to the horrible lighting.
You need a lens with a wide aperture (minimum 2.8), Servo-AF, M-mode set to largest aperture and high speed, Auto-ISO.
Go to a training and do some tests to avoid ruining your first session.
f8 and be there.
Others have already said this, but shoot in manual with widest aperture and a shutter speed high enough to freeze the action, and the key is auto iso without limit. Then use software to remove noise, which is very effective these days. Check out this video, it explains in detail. I had been photographing for a while and this video is what made it click for me Simon d’Entremont: how to get sharp photos
Show us your shots!