From my last Karate competition shot

[ctitanic]

Using the R6 and the EF70-200 L f2.8.

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[ctitanic]

This is one of the latest picture from a recent Karate Competition I shot.

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What I love about this picture is his face—he looks determined to win!

 

[AntonLargiader]

Wow, ISO 25k looks great! Did you have to do much to get the colors so nice in those last two? When I shoot at ISOs like that I regret it, but to be fair this always happens with bad light, not just dim light.

Consider getting lower. Kneel, squat, sit down, whatever works. The second pic especially looks like it's taken from typical adult standing height, like 99% of all photos ever. If the PoV was the height of his shoulders it would be much more powerful. I remember years ago I palmed my camera and shot from thigh level as I walked around at a kid's party. It was really cool... like being in their world.

 

[ctitanic]

Wow, ISO 25k looks great! Did you have to do much to get the colors so nice in those last two? When I shoot at ISOs like that I regret it, but to be fair this always happens with bad light, not just dim light.

Hi Anton, the short answer would be Yes, I spend time in post editing. I do not release pictures right out of the camera. The Canon R6 does a good job in low light conditions. But good colors are depending a lot on your white balance. Most of the time I use a fixed WB in my camera and later in Post I correct if needed using the white color of the uniforms as reference.

Consider getting lower. Kneel, squat, sit down, whatever works. The second pic especially looks like it's taken from typical adult standing height, like 99% of all photos ever. If the PoV was the height of his shoulders it would be much more powerful. I remember years ago I palmed my camera and shot from thigh level as I walked around at a kid's party. It was really cool... like being in their world.

You are totally right. A lower PoV would give better pictures. Unfortunately, there are many facts starting from my age and mobility issues and ending with the chaotic of these events organization with 8 rings to run around trying to capture pictures of a whole team with different ages and competing in oposite sides of a huge room.

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When I'm shooting football or soccer, I carry a small retractable stool that put me at their eyes level. Karate is a different beast because of the way this company organize these events.

The most difficult thing for me is light. These events in many cases are done in Hotel Conference rooms with poor light. I'm shooting at 1/1600 to freeze the action and that ends with super high ISOs. I pass all RAW pictures through DXO PureRaw before exporting to LrC. That gives me good results. For other pictures like the two above, I switch to Aperture Priority with a minimum shutter speed of 1/500 (sometimes 1/200) and Auto ISO. If the light is good that give me ISO from 1/1600 to 1/3200 if I'm lucky enough.

One thing is for sure, I'm having a lot of fun shooting these Karate Events!