I’m gonna be photographing an ice hockey match in a couple of weeks for my local team and i’d like to get some tips if anyone has any.
This is the first time photographing any sports but I have good amount of experience behind camera in other fields.
I have the Canon EOS R camera and 50mm f/1.8 + sigma 150-600mm lenses.
I shot many games at a local AHL affiliate team. I looked through my notes and found this: hockey 1/1000, f/3.2, ISO 2000. This arena was nice as they had installed new LED lights. The entirety of the ice was well lit.
Older arenas with non-LEDS can have crappy lighting, with a step or two difference between center ice and the corners.
Shooting through the glass has its own issues. The glass is DIRTY. Filled with scuffs, scratches, black marks from the hockey puck, etc. Some rinks have holes in the glass for photogs. The arena I went to had one. I was low enough in the hierarchy to never get to use it.
As other poster stated shooting through the glass you will get reflections from what’s behind you.
The arena I went to has two tiers of seating with a walkway between the two circling the ice. I normally shot from there. I was high enough to shoot over the glass and get about half of the width of the rink clear. I did not set custom white balance ahead of time. I knew the color temp of the LEDs and adjusted on the keepers.
My gear: Canon 1D MkIV, 300mm f/2.8.
If there are other photogs there, def ask them about their settings and any tips or advice.