advice for boxing shots

addicknchips

addicknchips

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Jonathan
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hi,

am hoping to spend an evening at a boxing night and have been told i can have access to ringside for the shots.

i'll be using nikon d90 and 50m f1.4 nikon lens. any advice? i guess bumping up the iso all the way to the top?

thanks
 
Sometimes you can use flash if you ask. Best advice is to watch the ropes and dont get too close when the corner men are slashing water about!
 
No, don't use a flash- it's distracting and potentially dangerous to the fighters.

A wide aperture lens- which you have- is a good start. Don't be afraid to crank up that ISO- you can fix a grainy shot, but you can't fix blur.

You're not going to get stellar shots your first few times out, but you'll have a great learning opportunity. And once you start getting good at action in ambient light, you'll find that you'll be a better photographer all around.
 
I prefer noise than clean flash shots for boxing.. more gritty... luck will get you fist on chin first few rounds/fights while you get used to it... move around the ring and test where lighting is best coming from ... be prepared for back ache as your going to be in some funny positions :)
 
You will probably need to stop down well, as they will be moving to quickly for you to get them in focus at F1.4
 
The first boxing match I did not using flash wasnt an option as the lighting was so bad even with a MK2 and f2.8 lens. Managed a few arty B&W but colour shots were crap!
 
I have done a few boxing matches now and also have three booked in for October,

The senior referees do not allow flash with any ABA boxing during the fight. However, in between rounds they let you use flash.

They dont like you walking around the ring during the rounds, I was told to pick a corner and stick to it...That basically left me with either of the neutral corners during the action, but I also had freedom to move to the working corners in between rounds.

Another issue I found was that if you are in the same place all the time the punters dont take too kindly to you poopping up and down at the time of the big hits..lol

It pays to find out who the senior referee is and pay respect to this guy as he ultimately owns the event.

I have used three different lenses with varying degrees of success.
50mm f/1.2 , 85mm f/1.2 and a 135mm f/2.0, all three have their own plusses and negatives.

If you have the space and access to create a 4ft platform, this will get you above the ropes. We did this at the British junior ABA's at the Metrodome in Barnsley with some fantastic results. We had a lot of space and also there were angles where we were not obstructing any of the paying customers view.

I found when I was shooting that I was like the defending boxer,,,watching the attacker for the big hit...instead of defending it, I wanted to shoot it.

Another point to make is the DOF ...if its too shallow you will only get one of the boxers in focus....Pray the lighting is fair to good. Expect only a 35-55% usable images....

The audience is also a great area for action images...The referees and timekeepers all offer great oportunities for images too...

Good luck

Tug
 
Whats the venue Jonathan....?? barracks??
There is a tog on the south coast that does quite a bit for the mob.
 
thanks all for the advice.

the venue is in southend. im not expecting it to be very well lit, so im thinking the graining b&w shots may work.
 
try down the local boxing club....possibly sparring nights to get your eye in ...
 
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