High School Basketball - A different angle

[jschoenr]

I got access to the 'crows nest' above one of the rims for one game. These were shot basically straight down through the metal grate that you stand on. I was shooting blind because it was difficult to keep my eye on the viewfinder and follow the action, so I missed a bunch. Any tips on how to better follow action from this type of angle? Any other C&C more than welcome as well.

All shot with Canon 50D, 70-200mm f/2.8. ISO 2500-3200, f/2.8, 1/400-1/500. I eventually switched to manual focus and picked the bottom of the net as my focus point - seemed to get better results that way..

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[bluesman graham]

Interesting shots, with #1 being the best for me!, colour balance looks way off though?, where the lights circulating?. Kind regards Graham

[JohnG]

Nice to see something different. Yes, I could imagine that would be almost impossible for the camera to get good AF - especially if you're shooting blind and can't get the focus point on a player. My initial thought is you want to get as much DOF as possible. Also seems like a great opportunity to try a bounced flash. You could use f5.6 then and you're closer to the ceiling so less distance for the light to travel on a bounce. Might be worth a try - see if you can go to a practice and give it a try during the practice to see if it works.

[jelpee]

Very unique perspectives that have captured the action well! Only suggestion would be to adjust the white balance accordingly to achieve a more natural color scheme. Perhaps shoot in RAW and adjust in post processing.