hey everyone, thought i'd post some pics of a local mma event. the event was called War Gods and the main event featured ken shamrock against some fat dude. lmk what you guys think of the pics.

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Dude!

I think you need to get the hell out of the ring when there are fights going on!!

Great access, and some of those are really cool.

 

thanks for the comment. i was fortunate enough to have over the ring access this time around. had to wipe my camera down inbetween rounds from blood and sweat.

 

What were your settings? Most seem out of focus or soft to me. And to having to wipe your camera down

 

i was shooting mostly in Av, wide open with my ISO at 3200. forgot to put my camera's focus on AI servo so that may be a big reason why my pics are OOF and soft. lens used was my 24-105 f/4. i hope to at least rent the 24-70 & 70-200 and get another body for next time. i've also been only doing this (photography) for a couple of years so CC is highly appreciated.

i did this shoot as a favor for a friend of mine whose usual photographer couldn't attend at the last minute because his wife was having a baby.

 

Really cool. MMA is some gnarly shit. I would love to have that kind of access one time.

 

I like that shot with the standing arm bar attempt, also the one right above it. I think you have some really good shots timing wise, landing blows especially.

 

On some of your shots your framing is off. Obviously sports shooting is very dynamic, so you might lose a critical shot if you zoom in too close. However, the tension is really apparent when you are close in; an effect that is lost in a wider shot.

Also, were you using the center focus point? Because a lot of your pictures have too much head space and cuts off at the knees.

 

Some nice coverage man =P
were you scared to get hit or too close of them being thrown around.

 

i'm a huge MMA fan so when this opportunity arose, i was stoked. i had done another shoot last year and had "shoot through the fence" access. it was a little more complicated since i had the fence to shoot through. it was fine if the fighters were on the other side of the cage but when they were up close it's more difficult not to show the fence in the pics.

thanks for the comments. i must have took over 1,000 exposures that event. it takes a little to get used to timing shots at the right moment. i had my camera set at high burst which helped me out a lot. the guy w/ the arm bar attempt lost the fight by UD. he actually had him in multiple submission attempts throughout the fight, but could never secure it.

i completely see what you're saying and i really appreciate it. it's a rookie mistake on my part. it's a little intense shooting over the cage and i also had a video camera guy on my left and another photog on my right. i was definitely in tight quarters. my focus point was not centered but it sure looks like it looking at the pics. the action is high paced most of the time and i just try to follow it and snapping away, not paying attention on the framing. i shoot most of the time w/ both eyes open and that is probably why i don't pay attention to my framing. i enjoy the action in the cage that i sometimes forget i'm there to take pics of the action.

i had some close encounters when the action was underneath me. i was standing on a milk crate and sometimes the milk crate would move around as the fight was close to the cage. i got nervous they would kick the crate from under me but it was a great experience. thanks for compliments.