Ruggers - fill me in :)

phil8139

phil8139

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Right then boys - I've just been and pitched myself for a rugby club.

What I know about sports you could write on the front of a stamp without touching the Queen :p

So I will be trawling through your sites to get a glimpse of the shots you get, but my question is ...... can you give some starter tips of where to plant myself to capture something please. It's Union (I think :geek:) so not sure if that's the man's game or not :suspect:

Anyhow.... hit me hard and tell me im a fool - but im going to give it a go anyway :thumbs:

Phil.
 
My first question is what glass do you have? You are going to require longer than you've been using for your basketball shots. 300mm would be a minimum but having 400mm is much better. When I was living abroad I did use my 70-200mm f2.8 and 1.4x TC which was just about OK but still restrictive.
 
Hi Mark, I'd be using a 70-300 on a crop body. I know it's poor quality and not fast enough and I'll struggle to get anything worth keeping, but i'm good so I'll get something better than what they have at the moment :D which is nothing - so not that hard to improve on ;)

Just looking for pointers on what to look for and where's best to sit. Im not looking at taking over the world (just yet) :lol:
 
i'm no expert by any stretch of the imagination.but have shot a few football and rugby matches alongside the club photographers,and generally i would say to position yourself behind the posts if you can,as you then capture the action as it approaches you.if you mostly want to capture the side you are shooting for,stay in their oppositions half and capture them as they attack,swapping ends at half time.

Also,shoot in continuous AF and continuous shooting mode,as you will have a better chance of getting the shot you want..:thumbs:
 
Thanks Stan, I'm not a novice at shooting sports, just at understanding them :D Im ok at using my camera to get the shots but don't follow any sports so not familiar with rules and game plays etc.

So it would be better to camp at one end and capture the fight coming towards me then? Switch ends at half time? Do they have a half time.....? I better find my friend Google and look at the rules :lol:
 
Hi Phil

I tend to shoot Rugby League and Union exclusivley, i reckon im fair to middling at this lark so take a peek at my website to see the sort of stuff you might be looking to reproduce.
 
Cheers Stan ;) im liking the yes bit too :lol:

Gary, thanks.... I intend too me old fruit cake, Im going to wait till the blood alcohol levels stabilise to an even keel first ;)
 
Gary Coyle said:
Hi Phil

I tend to shoot Rugby League and Union exclusivley, i reckon im fair to middling at this lark so take a peek at my website to see the sort of stuff you might be looking to reproduce.
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And once you've done that Phil, we'll see your gear in the classifieds. :lol:
 
Also look in the photo sharing section as the better photographers give us other guys n gals good critique on our efforts.
 
haha Martin, just had a quick peek over there and now hoping my local rugger boys have chipped in for some cheerleaders of the same calibre :love:

As for the shots.... well they're ok...... only kidding Gary!!! I think you undervalue yourself pal :clap::clap:

Cheers Rob, got to see if I get the gig first, then I'll put them up for the onslaught, at least these guys will be fair and critical:suspect:, and that will help me improve above my current knowledge :thumbs:
 
phil8139 said:
haha Martin, just had a quick peek over there and now hoping my local rugger boys have chipped in for some cheerleaders of the same calibre :love:

As for the shots.... well they're ok...... only kidding Gary!!! I think you undervalue yourself pal :clap::clap:

Cheers Rob, got to see if I get the gig first, then I'll put them up for the onslaught, at least these guys will be fair and critical:suspect:, and that will help me improve above my current knowledge :thumbs:
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Shot quite a few rugby matches but just for fun and to be sociable I normally set up on the halfway line (where my friends/family stand... and it's close to the bar :lol:)

You can get a few decent running shots from that area but then as others have said, by moving around and standing behind the posts you stand a better chance of seeing some scoring shots.

As for the rules..... I'm still no expert but after a few matches it becomes a little easier to guess where the ball's going. When there's a scrum, keep an eye on the "stand off", he'll usually hang around the side/back of the scrum and then pick up the ball from the scrum to distribute to the rest of the team.

Here are some of my rugby attempts:

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=312539

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=294311
 
I have been following the Loughborough Students' National League Div 2 North side for a couple of seasons now. Here are the tips I can offer:

End of the pitch: I favour standing just past the try line corner flag. I will usually spend some time between the posts, but in general I have had more success from the corner as I prefer the angle both for runs and tries.

Roaming the sideline: If you are able to, I would suggest spending some time following the action up and down the sideline. For me, the best passing images are captured when you are behind the action.

Line-outs: I like to shoot these from directly behind the thrower whenever possible. Also, if you can get yourself in this position and also elevate yourself (up in the stands, clubhouse balcony, etc) you will get a really nice angle that I find works really well. Line-outs from across the width of the pitch can also be nice too if you have the reach.

General: When I am in a static position I always like to adopt the "worm's eye view" and sit with the camera as low as possible. This really helps to get better shots of players' faces in sports like hockey and football where the ball os on the ground, but I find it to give pleasing results in just about every sport. Also, be sure to spend some time each match on non-action shots. Coach/bench reactions, players warming up, crowd reactions, team talks, etc. The list is only restrained by your imagination!

I hope that provides some food for thought!

Cheers,

Dave
 
Thanks for the good tips folks :thumbs: I'll certainly post up if I get the gig :nuts:

and Martin, I've always fancied storming the castle and unseating a king..... all we need to do now is find one :p
 
Phil - I started with that kit and was published from my very first match.

I sit on the 5m line on the side touchline for one half and behind the posts on the 15m line behind the posts for the other. On the 5m line, scrums can be very intense and great to shoot, and by picking a wing you get the great hurtling down the wing shots (thank you Chris Ashton). End on you have a chance of the scoring a try shot, lots of action in midfield and the great defence shots.

And in some grounds you won't get the choice where to sit so just enjoy where you are:)
 
Well folks, expect some hits on your websites, just had a reply back from the rugby club, need to finalise a couple of points but looking like im going to photographing men with odd shaped balls ;)

Thanks for the hints and tips along the way, im sure there will be questions again :D
 
For what its worth Phil, I haven't got a website (mate let me down) but my photo's are on the Southend RFC website - link in my sig - and they are the ones by Dixon.

Anyway good luck for next season and will look forward to seeing some of your handywork. :thumbs:
 
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:lol: I've been taking pictures of men with odd shaped balls for a few years at my local rugby club, there's some on my flickr account. I tend to roam rather than stay at one end of the pitch only for the fact that as soon as I stand by the posts, they seem to stay down the other end. But I'm lucky as we only have a handful of spectators at our level so can pretty much go where I want. I use a 70-200mm f2.8 and do okay with that. Again, because I'm right on the sidelines (sometimes too close, I did end up under about 3 props once!)

I'm on my mobile so can't see where you're based. Which club is it and do you know what level they play at? As this can make a difference
 
Hi Kelly, Im based in Stockport, the club is Burnage im not sure what level they play at. It's gone quiet again anyway - I'll send them a prompt soonish to see where we're upto ;)
 
Hi,

I've got about 6 months worth of photography experience so i can't really help you out there but i've got about 20 years playing experience. So from that viewpoint i'd say that roaming around is better than camping out at the end of the pitch. Don't get me wrong, if the team you're shooting are romping it then stay down that end of the pitch but quite a lot of the play tends to happen in the middle thrd of the pitch if both sides are evenly matched. If it is union (the mans game) then you can get some good lineout shots from the touchlines. Feel free to google what a lineout is :thumbs:

If you have sky then there's games on tv most weekends to help get you acquainted with the rules and general flow of a game.

Also if you do get the job then go along to some of the training sessions too, again that should help get you better acquainted with both the sport, the people and the bar ;)
 
phil8139 said:
Hi Kelly, Im based in Stockport, the club is Burnage im not sure what level they play at. It's gone quiet again anyway - I'll send them a prompt soonish to see where we're upto ;)
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OOo, National 3. Slightly better than my club then - Kent 1!

Good luck, hope you hear from them soon
 
Cheers Neil, nice of you to say.

Phil, you've come to the right place for tips and inspiration rugby-wise, plenty of regular snappers on here.

I've you've got a 300 or 400mm I'd suggest setting up at either end of the pitch behind the posts, towards the corners. You'll get some quality pics of players running towards you which more often than not work best. Then if play slows down towards you and there are setpieces like lineouts and five metre scrums, have a wander around the corner to the sidelines (assuming you have a second body with a 70-200 for instance on) and get some shots there, before returning behind the posts. Just a suggestion. Once you're accomplished at capturing the action you can look around and try for more atmospheric shots. Rugby (union at least) is full of variety with plenty of interesting aspects to shoot and I'm sure you'll love it.

One last bit of simple advice, get down low, you shouldn't be standing for the vast majority of shots.
 
Barks said:
Hi,

I've got about 6 months worth of photography experience so i can't really help you out there but i've got about 20 years playing experience. So from that viewpoint i'd say that roaming around is better than camping out at the end of the pitch. Don't get me wrong, if the team you're shooting are romping it then stay down that end of the pitch but quite a lot of the play tends to happen in the middle thrd of the pitch if both sides are evenly matched. If it is union (the tarts game) then you can get some good lineout shots from the touchlines. Feel free to google what a lineout is :thumbs:
;)
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Dont ever chase the game, stay at one end and if you do decide to move up the side then dont stray more than 10 metres, dont forget that this is the kick and clap version so if you "run" the sidelines you'll be up and down like a fiddlers elbow. :thumbs:
 
football.rugby or many other field sports one of the first lessons to learn is never chase the game...
 
:lol: I like my roaming though. I don't chase the game though just roam around to get different shots. I'm quite lucky in that my team do tend to play a running rather than kicking game.
 
The fact that your team play a running game is even more reason not to chase the game. As others have suggested, wait for play to come to you, rather than go looking for play. I tend to wander around the corner two or three times at most in a match to get some different shots, but that's about it.
 
Which is also why I said I don't chase the game. I roam but only round the pitch to get different angles

I said I was lucky as then I get more action shots of running with the ball and tackling rather than constant kicking all the time
 
I started shooting rugby last September when my little lad joined the minis. We went along to one of the senior games for both my boys to watch and i decided to take the camera to give it a try and have done it every week since. The lads love the pics and im always asked after the match if i got any good ones or when will they be ready :) I use a 70-300mm.

I can only say what others have already said above since this is where i got most my info from. I tend to roam up and down the sideline slightly as our lads like it rough with lots of ball in hand rather than kicking it about :lol: Yep we are finding out our club has a bit of a name for itself :bat: :lol:

If you can read the game its really gonna help you. In the last year rugby really has taken over our lives and we have made some fab friends at the same time!! Plus they want my pics printed to put up in the club house :D

Enjoy it, it really is a fab game once you get into it!
 
Hi Phil, i follow my team from the touchline & throuhout each half i cover the game from both sides of the pitch 22 meter line to the try line and from behind the tryline. Then in the second half do the same thing again.
 
Thanks all, still had no contact, I think they wanted some pre-season shots but im away in the 2 weeks prior to the start of the season. Im also busy with house diy stuff so im pretty tied up at the mo.

Phil.
 
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