dark bright ground shoot into which?

[KIPAX]

So you have one of those half dark half light grounds..you know.. big stand casts a shadow right down middle...

IF given the choice..do you sit in bright area and shoot into dark or sit in dark and shoot into bright?

 

[Tobers]

Shoot into the dark so you've got a dark background. Trickier to expose (let the camera sort it) but the rim lighting on the subject plus the dark background makes the subject stand out much better.

 

[snapzz]

Nightmare places. Sit in the wrong place and everything is blown out. Careful of any angle shooting into the sunlight as faces can be really underexposed. So really it depends on the stadium and were the light is coming from. Coventry City is a nightmare when the sun is shining as one end is like a checkerboard. Sheff United is another as it can come through one corner and the KC stadium on the east side has its moments. My preference is to try and position myself so the shade is all down one side which means you have no backlight. Problem is when the shade cuts accross the penalty area!

 

[Bluesman graham]

Galpharm's a prime example, 1st half usually shadowed final quarter of pitch (Home team generally play this way 99% of the time), second half, low sun directly at you:shake:. As I'm there to shoot the Home team I have to put up with both!!. Graham.

 

[Tobers]

I had a nightmare yesterday at Reading - it started out really cloudy so position wasn't really an issue, but halfway through the first half the sun came out really bright and I had players in shadow and a light stand behind. As a result I got a load of rubbish. I moved in the second half to get the shaded stands in the background with much better results.

 

[manc]

Again Nightmare at Sat at Fulham, started Grey so I was alright, shot manual but then 2nd half the sun came out. You have to sit on the darkside of the pitch so straight in front towards the managers is all dark, then if you shooting anything toward the opposite goal and centre circle the background is all lit up by the sun, horrible. I found it really messed with the AF as the bright contrasty background kept getting the focus and not the dull lit players. They if you do expose the players in the shade the background is blown. I tried playing with various settings but didn't really come out with a definative solution. #

So to answer the question, I'll shoot into the dark given the option.

 

[Photodiva]

I'm glad someone raised this issue. My home team's pitch has the sun setting over one corner of the stadium. In high summer the shadow is just to the touch-line, but now its along about 1/4 the width of the pitch. First half, home team (having won the toss) play with their backs to the sun, so I end up shooting contra-jours (major pain!) I've tried sitting on the side in the shade, but you get the linesman running up and down and the extra players warming up in front of you.
Second half is easier, with sun on them the colours are strong and looks good. Usually I just hope for an overcast afternoon! What I hate most is when the sun goes in and out like a fiddlers elbow. I tend to set the ss in TV mode, stick it in Auto ISO and hope for a reasonable exposure. Some advice more technical might be very useful!