# Hockey Photography Tips



## Maynard9 (Nov 19, 2014)

Hi, 

With the soccer season coming to an end, I decided to speak with the director of my local Adult Hockey League, to see if I could go down there and shoot. He was very excited about it and he even offered to provide me with glass cleaner and the opportunity to shoot from the bench, which was nice of him. My health insurance is pretty lame, so I might pass on the bench, even though it’s very tempting.  I’ll be  shooting with my new 7D Mark ii and a Canon 70-200mm 2.8

This will be my first time shooting hockey, so I’ve been doing as much research as possible, but I would like to hear if anyone has any advice for shooting hockey or shooting sports with the 7D Mark ii. It has lots of AF options, so I plan on experimenting with those.

I’m planning on shooting in manual with the aperture set  to 2.8, shutter  500th or 1000th if possible, then adjusting the iso accordingly. Set custom white balance using the ice.

Thanks for reading. If anyone has any tips I would be extremely grateful.


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## Designer (Nov 19, 2014)

Maynard9 said:


> .. he even offered to provide me with glass cleaner ..


 You might have seen that coming from "hello".





Maynard9 said:


> I’m planning on shooting in manual with the aperture set  to 2.8,


You're going to have a narrow DOF with that aperture.


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## tirediron (Nov 19, 2014)

-Set your custom WB based on a known, calibrated white/grey target.  NOT the ice (it's only approximately white).
-Rather than shooting in manual, shoot in shutter priority at 1/500 or higher; this will allow for changing light conditions without the need for you having to worry about settings at a critical moment.
-Be very aware of your DoF at different distances.
-Set your camera to single point AF (I would suggest the centre point) and ensure that your focusing point is where it should be when you press the button.
-Resist the tempation to 'spray and pray'


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## weepete (Nov 19, 2014)

I'd do it slightly differently going with auto ISO. It makes it pretty simple to set your shutter speed and aperture to make any adjustments. I found I missed focus a lot with shallow depth of fields though I did get better. Pay attention to your metering mode too, CWA works best for me on the basketball court. Single point focus would also be my choice.


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## JoeW (Nov 19, 2014)

Since you haven't shot hockey before, my suggestion is to pick some spots (face-offs for instance) where you KNOW players will congregate, or places where they'll be stationary (the penalty box, the bench, stoppages in play) and be ready for those.  That doesn't mean you aren't going to try shots with people rushing up or back on the ice but if you pick some spots, pre-focus and get set for those, than you'll come out with at least some shots that are in-focus, clear, and you anticipated.  I'm not trying to sound negative here, my point is simply that if you're not used to shooting a specific sport that is very fluid and fast-moving, than  anything you can to do anticipate action or specific shots will help you a lot.


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## BillM (Nov 19, 2014)

I like the blueline looking in at the goalie, then move down to the goal line and shoot at players skating in. I like everything in manual as once you get your exposure down the lighting won't change. Use warm ups to take plenty of test shots. I'd start with f/2.8 1/1000 and ISO 3200 and adjust from there. Depending on the lighting maybe you can shoot at f/4 or ISO 1600. You may even need to drop the shutter to 1/500, but you don't want to go lower than that if you don't absolutely have any other choice. For focus points I usually shoot with Dynamic 9 and aim at the chest. I'm not a pro but this should get you close


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## Gary A. (Nov 19, 2014)

I would shoot in manual. Assuming it is indoors ... shooting an indoor sporting event in an auto mode is tough because usually the background is very dark and the floor/ground is highly reflective. Get there early take a few snaps of the warm-ups, chimp, adjust your final exposure per the chimp. Make sure you chimp on the goal/goalie, in an older arena the lighting may be uneven. Take a pod (mono or tri), may or may not be helpful. Move around for different action views. Shoot into the goal for goalie action, shoot from the goal into the ice for player action. Shoot from the middle/center and try some pans for kicks. Shooting at f/2.8 is good for player isolation, I'd bump the shutter speed as high as my IQ/ISO would take me. (I don't shoot with a 7D but I suspect somewhere around ISO 3200.)

Remember to keep the puck in the shot.


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## Maynard9 (Nov 20, 2014)

Thanks for all your replies. I  had already left before I had the chance to read most of your replies, so ended up trying too hard to capture everything, and missing a lot of shots. On a positive note, I had a great time down there, although a little frustrating at times. I’m going back tonight, so I will take your advice on board. 


The arena was lit really nicely and I was getting shutter speeds of around 1/800 with my ISO at 1600 and aperture at 2.8. I got home late, so I only briefly looked at the photos and from what I saw some looked ok, but I will post some with my settings once I’ve processed them for some C&C.


Overall I was fairly happy with the exposure but I really need to pay more attention to the AF mode.  I had it on single point but I wanted to add some extension points to it, but I don’t think it worked. The camera was delivered on Wednesday, so haven’t really had a chance to go over all the options. I tried to use one of the AF presets, but couldn't figure it out.  

Thanks once again guys


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## curtyoungblood (Nov 20, 2014)

I'm going to give you different advice on the focus mode than everyone else. I've cycled through most of the AF options this football season, and I get far more in focus shots in the one that uses all the points and tracks. I've found that if you start it close to the right spot and acquires and keeps focus pretty well. The biggest improvement I've found is that it is much more accurate when I'm trying to catch quick action (like someone catching a pass).

My advice is based on a 5diii, 70-200 ver 1, and often a 1.4x.

Edit: I forgot 2 things. 1. All the autofocus modes are there for a reason. The absolute best thing to do is play with them all and see what works best for you. Don't forget that there will be different solutions for different sports.

2. I'm assuming you have your camera in AI servo, and not in one shot focus too. If you're using one shot, don't listen to me. (Or change it to servo, which is better for sports)


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## vintagesnaps (Nov 20, 2014)

I've done a lot of hockey. I shoot manual, focus manually, that's how I learned and know how to do but it's a matter of finding what works for you.

Years ago I remember looking up well known hockey photographers (from some of my hockey books); their vantage point was often the blueline which is where I've always had a  tendency to camp out quite a bit. If you look at what some of the pros are doing that might give you some ideas.

I think shooting sports is a matter of knowing the sport and anticipating where the action is likely to go next. Of course sometimes there's a turnover but I wait til it comes back to my end (because Murphy's law is that if you go to the other end that's when the play stays in the end where you just were... lol). I'll usually have the camera set and get ready, focus on the net/goalie and wait for the action to come to me (the end where I'm standing). Then I can reframe/refocus as needed once the action gets to the crease for example.

I learned to go early/stay late; I've always liked to go to warm ups, sometimes that's when I've gotten some nice portrait style shots of individual players. That's more likely when I've used a larger aperture, otherwise a more midrange aperture gets a number of players all in focus.

Some local rinks in my area at least don't exactly have the best lighting so the first time at an arena I hadn't been to I'd try to notice where the lighting seemed better and avoid dark corners.


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## Maynard9 (Nov 20, 2014)

Some more excellent advice, I really appreciate it. I really can't wait to get back down there.The next game is Monday and not tonight like I thought, so I edited a few from last night  I didn't realize just how soft they were, but I think there's some positives to take from my first attempt. I know there's a LOT of room for improvement, so I would love to hear your thoughts. Don't hold back


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## imagemaker46 (Nov 21, 2014)

For a first attempt at hockey these images don't look too bad, a little dark. Make sure you try and straighten the background up, ice is flat, so no hills. This can be tough at some angles , if you shoot into a corner with the net in the picture, then you should try and use the goal post as your straight line.  Judging by the boards, I would expect the glass at the ends is probably pretty scuffed up with puck marks.  Shooting from the ends and corners are the best points with that lens, longer lenses allow you to shoot higher from centre ice, you can cover both nets from there.  While the puck is important around the net, it's not always necessary for good hockey images.

Try shooting some horizontals, or cropping up loose horizontals into verticals, it helps to eliminate some of the backgrounds. Anticipate where the next pass is going.  I've attached some shots from last Sunday, all shot with a 300 2.8 through the glass. Trying to keep your lens straight on the glass will help eliminate any distortion(depends on the quality of the glass) As the light will remain the same, other than if it's pulse, in which case you have no choice. I shoot around 1000th-2.8-4.5 and the iso to get those numbers, 3200-4000, I just use auto white balance. This rink I shot in is really well lit.

Hope this helps.


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## BillM (Nov 21, 2014)

So what settings were you using for the first game ? As someone mentioned earlier the focus mode is extremely important, I believe it is AI Servo in Canon.


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## imagemaker46 (Nov 21, 2014)

Always AI Servo when shooting sports. Take advantage of what the camera has to offer, but pick the shots, and not blast away.  I find blasting you lose some concentration on what you are looking at.


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## Maynard9 (Nov 21, 2014)

That helps a lot, thank you. Awesome photos BillM and imagemaker46!

My biggest problem was trying to follow the action instead of anticipating it, so next week I'll shoot from a different position for each period and focus on a smaller area.

I had my camera set to Al Servo and high continuous. I'm going to read the AF manual over the weekend and use one of the presets that are specifically for fast moving sports.

I need to look at Exif data again but I'm pretty sure the settings for these were slightly different than what I originally posted. ISO was 2000, aperture was f3.2 and shutter was 1/640. I can double check tonight.

Never thought I'd say this on a Friday but Roll on Monday!

I've put this weeks photos below. I used 1/1000, 2.8, ISO 6400 for all shots.I think they're slightly better than last weeks. I need to take something to sit on so I can sit opposite the seats to get a better background. I sit on a step but unfortunately it's opposite the lovely catering tables and cleaning supplies.


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## Maynard9 (Nov 25, 2014)




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