What makes a great disc golf photo?

[nstraz]

Say you just played in an event. What types of photos do you like seeing?

I took 1000+ photos at a local event yesterday with my digital SLR. I took a lot of shots during drives and putts. I got quite a few shots while players were lining up shots. There are a few of groups walking and groups hanging out between rounds. Are there any types of shots I'm missing?

 

[DavidSauls]

The only photos that I care for are photos that also display the course, generally in the background. Pictures that capture the course's best features, plus players competing, best capture the spirit of the event.

Disc golf action photos are particularly difficult. Occasionally I see a really good one, but the overwhelming majority look goofy, catching players in follow-throughs or in the awkward mid-pull on a drive. Some of the best are of discs coming right at the camera, on drives or putts. Catching a putt hitting the chains can also be cool.

 

[Stud Muffin]

A really good camera.

 

[FredVegasDGC]

Since this is a totally subjective topic it could be all different types of DG photos. I like good action shots, but a sweet landscape is just as good.

I took this one yesterday at the Loriella Challenge.

THese are a few of my favorites from last year...

 

[JSurmann]

A really good camera.

I hate you for saying this....unless it was sarcasm, then I respect you.

 

[inourdr]

To make ANY good photograph you need uniqueness now-a-days. With the boom in digital cameras, and now smart phones, there are a plethora of pics to chose from. If you want something that sticks out try a unique vantage point. FredVegas's last shot with the fish eye lens and low perspective is spot on and very unique. A fish eye right at the edge of a basket fired with a remote can make some awesome photographs.

As for "regular" actions shots go... the best shots IMO are right when the disc is leaving the hand and the the fingers are almost still touching the disc. Similar t the bat on ball concept in baseball. Very difficult to get but produces some sweet results. Emotion and facial expresses also do a wonderful job of telling a story... which is what a photography should do.

 

[bazillion]

Personally, I like shots that show a single player or a small group, playing against a backdrop of scenery that's large enough in scope to draw me into the scene.

Picture a guy lining up his putt from somewhere around the circle, standing in a meadow against a backdrop of tall pines that cover a hillside that soars dramatically behind him to a crystal-blue sky. Shoot that pic from maybe 100 feet away and you'll have it. That's the kind of pic I like to look at.

 

[FredVegasDGC]

The better the camera the better opportunity you have getting good sports shots. I use a Nikon D2x (it has a good high speed frame rate) and & my favorite field lens in an 80-200 f2.8. I am lucky because I do have access a 400mm f2.8 which lets me keep a good distance from the players and still get in tight.

With any sports photography the more frames you shoot the better your chances of getting the shot. Back in the film days if I shot 10 rolls at a Redskins game that was considered excessive. That's only about 360-375 frames.

With digital I'll shoot 700-800 frames at a DG tourney and edit that down to about 300 keepers with probably 250 I'll post.

The fish eye shot I had been planning for a month. On the #10 tee at Hawk Hollow is on a hilltop with a clean background. I mounted the camera on a 4" tripod and connected a remote trigger. I would ask each player first if the sound would bother them and the ones that said no I would shoot. I had to make sure I was off to the side to stay out of the frame. As soon as the player started his throw I started shooting frames. Probably 15-20 frames per player.

Once you get the timing down of a DG throw it's not that hard to catch them in a good position. I usually shoot 3-4 frames during a standard tee shot.

The angles can be tough especially if you are in thick woods. Because generally to get a clean shot you have to step in to the field of view of the player. So I shoot a lot of frames from behind a tree to try & hide a little. The toughest is the putting shots. To get the basket & the player you need to be in the players view and sometimes they ask me not to shoot them putting. Which is no big deal.

Here's the link for the rest of photos of the Loriella Challenge

 

[inourdr]

The better the camera the better opportunity you have getting good sports shots. I use a Nikon D2x (it has a good high speed frame rate) and & my favorite field lens in an 80-200 f2.8. I am lucky because I do have access a 400mm f2.8 which lets me keep a good distance from the players and still get in tight.

Love my 80-200 f2.8. Fast glass is a must for action shots. Looking at buying a D7000 soon.

 

[ohtobediscing]

Since this is a totally subjective topic it could be all different types of DG photos. I like good action shots, but a sweet landscape is just as good.

Beautiful photo---basket, trees, player all backlit, disc in sun.

 

[nstraz]

I'm using a Nikon D5000 w/ a 70-300mm lens. The camera takes some amazing shots! Looking through the photos I took yesterday I think I have to depend less on the auto-focus. There are a lot of times the focal point is in the wrong spot.

Here are some of the shots I got yesterday at the event.
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.360092797345205.78956.100000334637654&type=3&l=24fc12d432

 

[inourdr]

You should be able to use auto focus to focus on main subject, then hold a button down to "lock in" that focal plane. (I forget the name of this button, but mine is next to the view finder.) From there you can fire away and everything in that focal plane will be in focus. This works well when you don't want to center the subject. You can also change the auto focus spots in your setting mode. Mine has left, right, up down and center. Spot metering also works.

 

[softball29]

That is simply awesome. I don't have a fish-eye lens, though one day in the future I hope to. This really is quite wild. Perfect grab and everything works so well. Nice work!

As for the initial question, as others have said, it's subjective. Thinking outside the box is the way to go when it comes to this sport, I think, People don't always have to be involved, either. A close up of the basket or chains. Great lighting. A sunset behind the basket. A disc in an odd setting.

When doing action shots, go as fast as you can with the camera/lens. Tight crops are nice. Expressions.

Anyone can take the ho-hum shot from behind. Think differently.

I use a Canon 7D but my glass isn't the 2.8 -- I use a 70-200 F4 and a 17-40 F4 when I want wide-angle. Eventually the 2.8 will be mine and I'll be even happier. But when outside shooting sports, the F4 works well for me.

 

[DavidSauls]

Great pictures.

The one of the player throwing with the fields beyond may not be as unique as the fisheye, but I think it captures the event best. It captures the setting better than a picture of an empty course does, and the action as well as a close-up that could have been taken anywhere.

 

[jkdisc]

Nice Fred, those pics make me think that looks like a nice place to go, but the thing is- i have been there a few times!

 

[nstraz]

I should clarify what I'm looking for. I'm not trying to take the artistic shot that everyone on the Internet will think is cool. I'm talking about photos that are most meaningful to the people in them or were at the event. I'm not a professional taking pictures to hang in a gallery. I'm a hobbyist taking pictures at events and sharing them with the players. My payment is in complements and when one of my photos becomes someone's Facebook profile picture.

Expressions, good tip.

 

[nstraz]

You should be able to use auto focus to focus on main subject, then hold a button down to "lock in" that focal plane. (I forget the name of this button, but mine is next to the view finder.) From there you can fire away and everything in that focal plane will be in focus. This works well when you don't want to center the subject. You can also change the auto focus spots in your setting mode. Mine has left, right, up down and center. Spot metering also works.

I know that trick, but it didn't seem to be working for me. I could hear the lens moving around after I pressed half way. I should look at my manual again. Perhaps I changed I setting I shouldn't have. I did start playing around with different focus spots. The D5000 has 11 points I can select using the d-pad on the back.

 

[inourdr]

I know that trick, but it didn't seem to be working for me. I could hear the lens moving around after I pressed half way. I should look at my manual again. Perhaps I changed I setting I shouldn't have. I did start playing around with different focus spots. The D5000 has 11 points I can select using the d-pad on the back.

I don't believe that button has a "half-way down" mode. It locks your focus while holding it. It's also used for locking in exposure. It's money if you ask me... Saved my a$$ more times than I can count. Focus where the action is GOING to be and fire away.

Edit: You might have had it in exposure mode rather than focus mode.

 

[yearofrolling]

Those were some nice shots.
What kind of fisheye was that?

 

[birdman101]

cool shots of people in my opinion would be like their putt hitting the changes with them in the background, Unique angles of them throwing like just after release, there emotion after they hit that long putt or nearly ace a hole. That's the sort of thing I like to see as far as people go, but i do like the scenery and stuff as well.

Man i wish i could afford a nice camera and start taking awesome disc golf photos.