My Day Shooting Tiger
On Tuesday I got lucky enough to spend the day shooting Tiger Woods and some of the best golfers in the world at the Tavistock Cup in Orlando, Florida. My buddy, and top-notch sports shooter Mike Olivella, (who was covering the event for AP), was able to score me an “inside the ropes” all-access media pass to shoot the event, and as you might expect, I had a blast!
Although I planned to follow Tiger and his parings for the entire 18-hole round, I had to leave after only four holes because of a family emergency, but I got to shoot Tiger during his warm-ups on the range, and during those four holes (about an hour), so I still had a few opportunities to capture Tiger now that he’s back. (Note: I chose to include the shot above because even though you can’t see his face, you instantly know exactly who it is. Plus, I thought it was kind of cute the way the Nike logo on the ball in his hand happened to be facing directly at my camera position).
This was my first time shooting a golf tournament (talk about being thrown into the deep end of the pool for your first tournament shoot), but Mike (link) was incredibly gracious and gave me lots of tips and pointers the entire time.
I only used one camera body for the event–my Nikon D300 (I chose it because I just felt like shooting with it that day), and I used two lenses: a Nikon 200-400mm f/4 and a 70-200mm f/2.8 VR. I shot wide open the entire day. I used a Think Tank belt system and it once again reminded of how awesome their gear is—-I wouldn’t want to shoot a sporting event without it (Mike had a set, too).
Here are a few shots from those four holes on Tuesday.
After an 8-month layoff due to his season-ending knee injury, Tiger’s back to form.
Ian Poulter plays out of a fairway bunker.
Tiger studies a putt during Tuesday’s round.
A fully clothed Henrik Stenson tees off.
Kicking up some grass!
Waiting on the green.
Here’s a photo of me taken during warm-ups at the range (photo by Mike Olivella taken with my iPhone).
Anyway, despite the fact that I only finished four holes, it was still a day I’ll never forget! Many thanks Mike, and to the folks at Tavistock who gave me the opportunity of a lifetime.
Nice. You always have the connections man. You could do a video podcast on building connection and relationships
Gav
You got that right Gavin. Scott Connection Kelby! Awesome images Scott. You are a man of many talents my friend.
Crash
Terrific pictures, Scott! What a great opportunity! I hope all is well with your family.
David
Scott…. you weren’t wearing black!
Just kidding… looks like you had a good time. I would have jumped at the chance too.
Hi Sam:
They required everybody, gallery included, to wear either a solid blue or solid red shirt. The tournament is hosted by two different golf courses in Orlando, and there are 20 golfers; 10 to a team, so you wear the color based on which golf course you’re supporting. Since I only had a dark blue shirt in my closet, that’s the one I wore (and I’m just as surprised as you are that there was a shirt in my closet that wasn’t black, and didn’t have a logo on it!).
I thought this would be a wildlife article or maybe a Mac OSX one!!! Great stuff Scott.
you certainly have friends in high places – hope the fam is doing alright!!
Scott,
Nice shots. I hope that all is well with the family. I have a question about the Think Tank belt for you. When not using the 200-400 (mine is going to arrive today from B & H), do you have a case for it that goes on the belt? Thanks
Joe
Hey Scott,
Hope your family is doing well. I hope that it turned out to be nothing and that everyone is ok.
That said, I can feel the jealousy coursing through my veins. Great post, have a good one.
-Mike
Scott,
I will be in Augusta next month for the Masters and plan to shoot the practice rounds. What lens do you recommend? I have a D300 and a 70-200 VR but I think I might need a little more reach so I was thinking about either renting a lens or buying a TC. If I bought a TC should it be the 1.4 or 1.7? If I rent a lens is the 200-400 autofocus fast enough for sports?
Thanks and I enjoyed seeing you finally shooting golf!!!
Hi, Kevin. I read your question after checking to see what nasty things Scott wrote about me after the Tavistock event.
Be very careful what you take to Augusta as a spectator as they are very strict about what they allow spectators to take onto the grounds. When you arrive, you will have to go through a security checkpoint. You are allowed to take a small bag that is limited to a specific size (check the website to get the dimensions before you go) and if your bag doesn’t fit inside their version of a “size wise” (Delta Airlines) box, you will not be allowed to take the bag in.
In 2007, I went as a “spectator” to a practice round. My plan was to shoot a day at the event from the perspective of a spectator who happens to double as a somewhat serious amateur photographer) and took the smallest camera bag I have (a Lowepro Nova 3) with 2 Nikon bodies, a 35-70mm lens and an 80-400mm lens. The stuff barely fit in the bag and the bag would not fit in the container. I was able to get in only because the head of security knew who I was, but if he had not been there, I would have been forced to take the bag to the car. In retrospect, I could have made do with one camera body and I could have fit everything into a smaller camera bag that would have been within the size limitations.
With those two lenses, I was able to get many of the shots I ordinarily would get inside the ropes (this is not a plug, but if you want to see what I was able to get for reference, go to http://www.baselineshots.com/2007mastersalbum/index.html – my slide show of “A Day at the 2007 Masters”. P.S. – there’s only one exception – the photo of Jim Furyk teeing off on 18 was taken from atop the CBS TV camera tower behind the 18th tee box (off limits to spectators). The point is that with a lens that will reach out to 400mm and a camera body that has a DX sensor (like my D200, which I happened to have at the time – it gave me 1.5X due to the sensor), you will be able to shoot almost anything you want. A fast lens such as my typical f2.8 400mm, 300mm, etc. is not critical, so you can get away with slower lenses such as the 80-400mm f4.5-5.6. As for autofocus speed, the 80-400 is much slower than any of my other lenses but it was more than adequate for the situation.
The only other thing I would tell you is not to get too caught up in thinking that the only way to get cool images at Augusta is with long lenses….some of the best Augusta images I have gotten were taken with wide angle lenses.
See you at Augusta this year!
Hey Scott,
Love the Tiger shots. You are looking mighty fit and trim. Must be all that heavy Nikon glass you’re carrying….
I can’t think of a luckier man on the face of this planet than Scott Kelby. Once again another great gig.
Pretty darn good shots for the first time shooting golf. Hope you weren’t firing that shutter in the middle of Tiger’s back swing. Never know what Stevie Williams will do with all your Nikon gear.
See ya next week!
-Bob
(Boston)
I’m just not a golf guy, but very cool shots!
As an amateur who can’t get inside the ropes (or bring my camera on tournament days, for that matter), I want to emphasize an earlier point from Kevin. Almost every tournament has practice rounds, and some have Pro-Ams. The best part about those pre-tournament days is the fact that you can bring cameras. It is possible to get some great shots (even though they are from outside the ropes), and it is a great opportunity to practice shooting. And, no connections required – just a ticket
I think Tiger has been working out (with weights other than on his knee) while he was off…he looks pretty ripped! Look forward to seeing some more good stuff from you this weekend!
Thanks for sharing Scott. Hey, if you had heckled Tiger during his backswing I bet you could have gotten a great shot of the “Tiger Glare” right before they threw you out. Okay, so you probably made the right choice.
Hope the family emergency worked itself out.
Cheers,
Greg
Man, I’m so jealous! That’s really a great opportunity — being able to shoot Tiger. Great shots!
Love the shot of IAN coming out of the bunker! Nice shot Scott!
Scott,
Being the owner of a D300, could you please share a few settings used on this shoot?
Specifically, I’l like to know:
1) What metering mode you used most?
2) What AF Area Mode you used most?
3) What Exposure mode you used most?
Thanks, man!
Cheers,
-Ade
Ade, Scott may not be able to get to your question right away so if I may, I’ll tell you what I do and perhaps he can give you his input when he can.
1) What metering mode you used most? For golf, I use the center weighted setting and the exposures will more often than not be fine. That’s not to say they will all be perfect, but since I take so many images during a round, I eventually get enough properly exposed images for each golfer that I don’t worry about it. There are always going to be images that are impossible to perfectly expose due to the lighting. That’s an unfortunate reality of outdoor photography and having a million things to think about while you’re shooting – who is hitting next, am I positioned to get the player’s face, am I far enough away (or close enough) to get the shot I want, am I out of the golfers’ way, yadda yadda. You’re walking 8-10 miles in a day lugging 30-50 pounds of gear. Trust the camera, get the shot and clean it up later in photoshop as best you can.
2) What AF Area Mode you used most? Dynamic Area AF and continuous autofocus (C). I like being able to compose the image by focusing on the golfer and then having the freedom to move the camera to one side or the other for composition without the camera focusing on something else. Nikon’s system is great as far as locking in on a predetermined object and staying with it. I focus on the golfer’s face, as that is what I want the sharpest regardless of his or her movement. Just don’t squeeze the shutter button so hard that it goes off at the wrong time!
3) What Exposure mode you used most? Aperture Priority. I want the photo to be recorded at f2.8, unless I want depth of field. F2.8 makes the golfer look sharp and everything in front or behind to be blurred as much as possible. You want as little distraction in the image as possible from the primary object – the golfer.
Hope this helps.
Mike,
Thanks, and yes, this was certainly helpful.
Cheers,
-Ade
What a great opportunity! Looks like you made the best of the short time you had at the event. Some really great photos.
I too love the Think Tank system. I have the Speed Freak bag with the integrated belt. I wasn’t sure I wanted the integrated belt but a friend who is a sports photographer convinced me I would like it when the bag is fully loaded. He was right. This is my favorite bag. When I go on location with any of my other bags I really miss this bag.
Scott you gotta start giving some tips about how to get media passes. Or have some 1 come on Photoshopuser tv. I really want to start shooting events & could use some pointers.
Great Shots & hope the fam is fine.
Of all the shoots you’ve blogged here, Bucs, Bears, etc., I can honestly say I’ve never been envious… until now. I’ve always thought “Wow, Scott’s a lucky guy” but now you’ve crossed the line into just plain rubbing my nose in it. You’ve managed to hit my two favorite activities at once and since the golfers are pretty loose at the Tavistock, you don’t have to worry quite as much about Steve Williams trying to kill you with your own camera.
All that aside, thanks for sharing!
Love the first shot! Wish the golf ball was a touch brighter.
Best to your family.
Have fun in Boston!
~randy on Maui
Scott,
Great images!!! I am wondering if Nike pays him to to have the ball facing like with with the logo on the back of the hat; and if you look at the putter close to his arm pit it looks like another swoosh Nike tick.
I really wish I could have been there… never met Tiger but I will set a game up to play against him when he comes to Bahamas..haha the scores of that game should be interesting.
Hope everything is okay with the family tell everyone I said hello.
Dwayne D.C. Tucker II
Nassau, Bahamas
Scott. Was looking at the EXIF data – sez Copyright 2007, you might want to fix that.
nice……
wow !!! I could just imagine the rush you must have been feeling just being on the course while trying to keep your camera from shaking out of your hands : ) ….
I do have a few insight questions for you in regards to your choice of composition on some of your shots when you have time….
Scott, I also had the chance to shoot Tiger and a number of others at last years Accenture in Tucson, AZ. I have put a link up to some of my shots on flickr. One thing I do not know if you noticed was that Tiger’s practice swing has the same range of motion as his full swing except not has fast. I believe Aaron Baddley does the same thing. All the other guys do not. In any event it was a kick for me and I know it was a kick for you to be behind the ropes. Regards, Herb
http://www.flickr.com/photos/herbcover/sets/
Scott, the burning question no-one wants to ask…did you Photoshop in the Nike logo on the ball? No? Oh sorry…that would have been what I would have done
Something great coming tomorrow? Better than a day with Tiger (or, as they say in my country, “Dude! Le Tigre”)? They being Americans pourly (sic) trained in French…
Are you guys getting this? Nikon D400..is this for real?
check it out:
http://nikonrumors.com/2009/03/19/nikon-d400-is-here.aspx
John Beyer
Awesome shots – Another thought from today — I’m thinking its about time Kelby Training developed an iPhone app that would stream their videos (to logged on members) like the youtube app does. I sure could use something like that! (What? you guys aren’t constantly busy, are you?)
I had a golf shooting day(outside the ropes, I need to find me a Mike Olivella)…wasnt really prepared like i should have been.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kevcal/2215079355/in/set-72157603786663567/
my only really decent Tiger shot :S
Great shots….family always knows when to interupt a day with Tiger.
Scott,
Tx for showing your photo’s. A family emergency important enough to have you leave a photoshoot like that must have been a big deal! Hope everyone and everything is OK!
Great post!
I have a question though; did you have to stay far down range to take the shots?
I know it’s a real touchy area to take shots during the swing, I have even seen Tiger and other golfers throw people out of the Tournaments because of taking pictures during their swings.
So is there a rule or a certain educate for shooting Golf Tournaments?
Thanks,
Dave
A question. I may have the opportunity to shoot a PGA event, this Summer. I play golf….so I get the game. I also know how golfers flip-out if the hear a shutter during their swing. Does anyone know how far away I must before I can take shots through the ENTIRE swing. I’m thining of using a 400 2.8 with the single extender…maybe the 2x extender. Is it always forbidden to shoot through the swing or is just a matter of being far enough away to not be heard. I’m hoping someone who has shot big-time golf will read this. Thanks!
hey brian
i know the picture is small this was taking with a 70-200 @200mm on a par three
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kevcal/2241993591/in/set-72157603786663567/ i think i was 170yds away(it was at torrey pines hole 15 or 16 i cant remember) notice the golfer is at the top of his backswing i also had to make sure no one was around near me that was about to swing.
Interesting. from 170 away…he certainly could not have heard your shutter! With a 400MM and an extender, you could have been right in his face! Thanks for the perspective at the distance and focal length.
Brian, I’ll take a stab at your question. If you are far enough away, you can shoot through the whole swing. Bear in mind that wind carries sound and if the wind is blowing in the direction of the golfer, you need to be further away. With my old D2X set to full speed crop mode (giving me 2X due to the sensor/crop), I have fired away with a 400mm f2.8 and filled the frame with the golfer and his club. With my D300, if I wanted to do what you want, I would probably use my 1.4X teleconverter on the 400mm and not worry about it. I would not want to try what you want with my D3, even with a 1.4X teleconverter. I’m assuming, of course, that you want to fill the frame.
Just remember to err on the side of caution and be as far away as you possibly can. Trust me when I tell you that you do not want to be the guy whose shutter is heard by a pro golfer during a swing. To be safe, your best bet is to do something like what you want when they’re on the range hitting balls. Even then, don’t let them hear your shutter. They’re not on the range to hit balls nilly willy – they’re focused on a particular thing and will not put up with shutters going off during a swing.
Thanks Mike! Good stuff. I have the 1DM3 so I think I’ll be able to get what I want (fill the frame) without being heard. Yes, I don’t want to be ‘that guy’!
b.
I enjoyed the post Scott. Incidentally, I recently purchased the Gitzo monopod…6 series…that the NAPP folks said that you use. I am using it with an Acratech Long Lens head.
Scott, great golf shot of Ian P. Love the ball in the air…awesome!
Gina (Mochachina)
thx a lot..
Hi Scott, GREAT site – love Tiger shoot
) You Photoshop guys are really awesome with your free knowledge sharing. I was wondering if with your association with Adobe, if we’ll ever see the Nik’s software technology of Viveza installed into Photoshop? It would be liberating to say the least. Thanks again for sharing your knowledge and talent with us all – you and the Photoshop/Layers guys are so very gracious. Joseph 
)
I’m in the market for a tripod or camera stand camera/laptop duel mount like you use.
Are you using Manfrotto stuff? It looks like it but I can’t find your combo at B&H. Can you provide part numbers?
Thanks Scott.
Jim
I’m in the market for a tripod or camera stand camera/laptop duel mount like you use.
Are you using Manfrotto stuff? It looks like it but I can’t find your combo at B&H. Can you provide part numbers? Please, if you have the time drop me an email.
Thanks Scott.
Jim
Usually I do not post on posts, but I would like to say that this site really forced me to do it! Thanks, very good post.
We need men who can dream of things that never were.