Photographing a Golf Tourney?

Welp, now I've done it - been recruited to shoot he company golf gang in their last-of-the-season company golf outing.

I've never photographed a golf game before. Don't even follow the game. (Played mini golf a few times, and was likely drinking - does this count?)

On the bright side, expectation is low, and pay not an issue since I'm already on the clock.

On the downside, I'm not sure how to approach and would rather not wholly humiliate myself.

I'm thinking a lot of fast shutter/slow shutter mixes with teles (70-200/300mm) wide open, Aperture Priority, monopod. Plan on bringing a picnic blanket to get low-to-the-ground for some drama, too.

Any advice?

Strobes will screw 'em up, too, right? Avoid?

THANKS!

--
-Chris

Check out the images at http://www.daveblackphotography.com - one exceptional Nikon-user and sports photographer, though there is not much golf on the site at the moment.

Not much action to shoot in golf. Take pictures of every foursome with the beer cart girl. Most will love it.

Scott

I'd go for shutter priority, rather than aperture.

Glof clubs swing pretty fast ... it's hard to catch a ball being hit. And burst mode doesn't help much -- my olympus E1 at a 3FPS usually catches the beginning and end of a stroke, but 1/3 sec is too long to catch intermediate positions.

So it's mainly a matter of luck!

In short, just play about and get a whole bunch.

The most interesting position is probably 45 degrees ahead of the golfer.

That's OK for pro golfers -- but for amateurs you're too likely to be in the 'slice' zone, even with a telephoto. But if your camera has a wireless remote you could probably set it on a low tripod at that position.

Taking a shot directly from behind is safe ... and then you can often catch the ball and/or cloud of dirt in mid-flight.

Putting is safe ... and you can try weird angles - low to the ground etc.

As previously posted, the group shot (or individual) on the tee or with the beer girl is always safe. And your strobe would be fine for this. A golf club in hand as a prop is suggested. Good luck with hats.



As AlanF pointed out above, 45 degrees is a great shot angle, but a bit dangerous depending on the skill level (and beer intake level) of your group. I try to stay back a bit, but still slightly ahead of the golfer. These were taken with my Nikon CP8800 at 5fps. You'll have to play with the timing based on your equipment, but if I start firing as soon as he starts his movement I usually get 3-4 frames, but often its the "after the shot" frame that turns out the best.

coming down:



just after impact:



follow through:



"posing" after the shot:



Also as Alan pointed out, putting is usually a good opportunity, too. Not much fast action and you can get a variety of angles without disturbing the golfers too much.







I always try to stay back a bit and use some zoom to get the shots. Assuming you're dealing with (very) amateur golfers here, most will get nervous at the sight of your camera. The more you can blend in, the better it will be. If you have the opportunity, try to get each golfer/group more than once during their day. After the first time they'll get more relaxed at your presence.

None of these photos are great quality, but just some I quickly put together to give some ideas.

Dennis

thought of a couple other things......

The first thing I would do is ask the organizer (boss?) if he has particular type of shots he/she wants. Some events go strictly for the group/team photos and don't care for any "action" shots. If all they want is the group/team photos you can set up at one spot, usually a tee box, and just shoot each group as it comes through. If they want action shots you'll need to have a cart and make your way around the course.

If you're in a cart going around the course for action shots, I'd suggest working backwards. In other words, start at the 18th green and work back toward the 18th tee, then 17th green, 17th tee, etc. This will be the quickest way to catch all of the groups.

Ask in the pro shop if they have a signature hole, or know of a spot that would make a great photo backdrop. Nobody knows their course better than they do, and many can tell you where the "prettiest" places on the course are. You'll have to figure out lighting on your own, but at least you'll have some ideas.

Is the event pretty much straight golf, or do they have any "specialty" shots or games involved? Since the Golf Channel has run their "Big Break" series I see more and more events that include some kind of special, or "trick" shot for the contestants. If they include one it would probably provide a good source of shots. Nothing better than a shot of the sales manager trying to hit a shot around a tree, huh? Ask the pro shop or organizer if there is anything special going on.

If they want more than the posed team pix, the post-round beer and lies is always a great chance for candids. Golfers love to replay every shot of their round, usually with a fair amount of ribbing from their partners. Lots of beer, cigars, and smiles!

Good luck!

You'll probably want a good dose of fill-flash to get under caps and hats.

Golfers are weird ... they tend to wear caps with the peak pointing FORWARD! (Who would have thunk it).

(nice shots, Dennis).

The backs of golfers are rather uninteresting ... except maybe at the end of the swing, as they wrap the club around their neck.

But if you're set up to shoot the front of a right-handed golfer you'll be looking at the back of a left-hander.

Here's a chamber of commerce tournament I shot last year ...
http://www.farfoto.com/050804_COFC_GOLF_060529/index.htm

(That's me standing in #36)

This was a 'hawaiian theme' event, with (some) dressed up golf carts. We had a little 'beach party' setup at one hole, but that gave me a rather limited view of the course as a whole. Most of the interesting 'golf' shots were on the rounds.

One of the few 'caught a ball' shots





Putting:



Me at back

Shot these at Wachovia Open in Charlotte, NC earlier this year during a practice round. Sand trap shots are always high on the pro's/photojournalist's list. Driving off the tee is another with slower shutter speeds to accentuate the club head and the striking of the ball at impact. Putting is the other time to photograph, but need to release shutter after ball is struck. The whirring of a motor drive can be distracting to even amateur golfers so take heed to not be the center of attention. Find out ahead of time when it would be ok to shoot, and maybe where they will allow you to stand. A zoom lens up to 300mm will be needed to get tight shots from a distance from the golfers. Hope some of these gives you some ideas of what to look "FOUR", and watch out if you hear that shouted..robby

a few years ago I got myself a one week pass to a SPGA tournament and took some great, some very interesting pictures for the first few practicing days. The camera was banned on the real tournament but I got to mingle with a PGA photographer and an AP Sports photographer and watch how they shot, and ask questions. Here's what I learned from them:

• They carried a 400mm prime on a monopod, 6 fps camera, shot jpg, aperture priority for sharpness and blurred background.
• They also have a 70-200mm hanging on their neck for any shots close;
• They camped out at a spot where 2 tee-off and 2 greens are all adjacent, to make sure all players are covered,
• They carried a tee schedule to make sure everyone is covered;
• For tee-off they usually shoot from front right of the golfer, one single shot as they swing half way down (golfer facing down), immediately 4-5 shots after they hit the ball (golfer facing forward), and one final shot as the club fully swinged behind their back staring at the ball;
• For left handers the last shot is the same best shot;
• They shot landscape with upper body only, from chest up, very tight;
• For green shots they shot the golfer crouching down measuring the path, putting right after ball contact;
• Hitting out of the bunker with sand all over and white ball in the middle is usually a great shot;
• After the ball is hit, focus on the golfer, there may be a victory or great facial expression there.

For amateur tournament, I tried to shoot behind a tree or more from the side to avoid been hit by the ball. One time I was shoot from another green and almost got hit by a tee-shot I was shooting. Be carefull.

That's for golf magazine. For party event, others have provided you many good samples.

Hope it helps.

I've done a local golf outing for the last 12 years and I have a lot of fun doing it. The first thing I would do is ask the person hiring you if they had any specific shots they were looking for.

If they do not give you any direction, here are some things I find that they typically want. I would shoot either an individual or group photo of each player or group before they tee off. You can use a fill flash for these and because of shadows from hats probably will have to. Flash cannot be used at any other time. Whether you take groups or individuals depends on the nature of the outing...if they are groups of friends or if it's a scramble then take groups.

The sound of the camera shutter will be your biggest problem.This is really important and even moreso when they are putting. For this reason you will need to distance yourself from the players when shooting. I use a 300mm or 170 500 zoom to get that distance. You will need to use a fast enough shutter speed to slow down the swing but still need a smaller f stop to get enough depth of field. Golfers, especially amateurs, move when they swing and will go out of focus without enough depth of field. The best solution is a high ISO, high enough to let you shoot at 1/250th-1/500th of a second and still be at f5.6-f8.

I use my 20d at 5fps for tee shots from each individual. I find that it captures between 3 and 8 shots from takeaway to follow through depending on how fast the person swings. It is impossible to get a precise moment unless you have 8fps and a slow swinger. I think 45 degree in front of the golfer is a great angle but again a long distance is required to avoid disturbing the golfer and to be safe from slices from less accomplished golfers. The reason for this angle is that it is one of only a few in which you will capture part of their face during the swing. The other is directly behind which usually disturbs the golfer unless you are waaaaaaay behind them, and directly in front which is no good for obvious reasons.

The other big issue you will have is golf etiquette as a non golfer. I would talk to someone from the course to see if they will allow you to have a cart to get a few shots while the groups are on the course. If they allow you to do so, I would take someone with me that knows golf to make sure you go only where appropriate and to make sure that you don't do anything to disturb play. If you have to walk you'lll nevet catch up to the players and I would recommend finding a hole that you can get a good angle from at a safe distance and shoot the groups as they come to you...again being very carefull to not disturb play.

I hope this helps. I was worried the first time I did one( and I'm a golfer) but now I look forward to doing them every summer as a break from weddings and portraits.

--
JAG
http://www.photosbyjag.com

Thnks SO much for all of the sound, solid, and experience-learned advice, folks!
--
-Chris

JAG51 said:

The sound of the camera shutter will be your biggest problem.
I use my 20d at 5fps for tee shots from each individual.

Click to expand...

Ha! Ha! Ha! I don't have that problem with my Olympus E1 !!!!

they were shot with 30D and 70-200 2.8 IS, make sure your shutter is fast enough to stop the club

http://www.kenmott.com/images/albersgolfweb/index.html

AlanF said:

AlanF said:

The sound of the camera shutter will be your biggest problem.
I use my 20d at 5fps for tee shots from each individual.

Click to expand...

Ha! Ha! Ha! I don't have that problem with my Olympus E1 !!!!

Click to expand...

It's not what equipment, it's not an equipment issue...

sound of the camera shutter could disturd the players/break their concentration, that's the problem.

Got it just right> > >

These are the DONTs. Would you buy your picture without your face?

Don't shoot without their faces. At least a side profile. Shoot tight. Get the eyes sharp. Watch the shade of their visor covering their eyes. If you can zoom in to their face, use spot metering mode. you'll get better shots even under the direct sun.

It's a joke, man ..... but since you asked:

E1 then 10D : http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/OlympusE1/Samples/e1x12-10dx9.mp3

10D :



20D :



http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/cameras/20d-location.shtml

I was less happy with the sound of the 20D's shutter. It has a harsher pitch than that of the 10D and its predecessors, and thus can be more audible in undesired situations. While I don't expect the stealth shutter sound of an M Leica, or better yet the total silence of a digicam, I found it to be subjectively one of the acoustically noisier cameras that I've recently used. The above photograph was taken before dawn on a Sunday morning, and in the narrow confines of a quiet Parisian street the shutter sounded like a loud clap, immediately attracting the attention of at least two of the three people I was photographing. (The third one wouldn't have heard the trumpet of the angel of death if it had been blowing in his ear.)

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/cameras/olympus-e1.shtml

The sound of the release and the mirror mechanism is muted. Buttery smooth, to coin a phrase.