Spot metering in sports shooting, general questions

[twig]

Hello,
I am photographing baseball under lights at night, and have some questions about spot metering on different uniform and skin colors and applying exposure comp, etc.

Generally in the midst of an action sequence, burst I have no time to mess with exposure comp, however when preparing I have time to select a focus point (face or front of jersey) and proably to apply exposure comp---

So I am wondering
1. should I spot meter on the Jersey or face? Probably the face I suppose, but often iti s easier to lock onto the chest of a player as it moves less than their heads.

2. should I be applying compensation (I think I should all the time to some degree one way or another unless the guy has an 18% grey uniform or face), if so are there generaly tips like +! for white uniforms -1.3 for black uniforms, -1 for very dark skin, etc. I would aprpeciate any tips on this.

BEcause at high iso it becomes extremely important to nail exposure with the d2h, I appreciate any help in this regard. Also, anyone who can provide a link to a general "sports/action photography camera settings & discussion" I would appreciate it, I cannot find any links handy to that.

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[eng45ine]

Hey Twig,

Give this a try, even if it isn't exactly what you are looking for right now, it's a great site for future reference because the topic changes each month. www.daveblackphotography.com/workshop

 

[twig]

Thanks Frank,
I have been through most of Dave Black's Ranch Tutorials, I think his photos are fantastic!

 

[Commodorefirst]

I would generally try to find what you think is the best neutral 18% grey color.

when i was shooting some indoor dance recital picks, the metering was the most difficult thing to do. I metered on faces, on medium tone dance costumes, on ultra bright costumes and adjusted ev for that, I also used spot metering and also used some center weighted metering on the brighter scenes that were very well lit.

sorry to say it just depends. I tend to vary my shooting so I can hit upon the right thing, checking histograms, and once in a while checking the image on the LCD.

Shoot raw if you can, it will save a lot of photos.

Wade