It's been a while since I've used flash units while shooting basketball. But, I get a lot of questions from photographers about how I lit some of the basketball images from grammar school gymnasiums.

Usually, I use either two or three small Nikon flash units to light the action:

1. One unit (SB-900) is placed on the camera and bounced into the ceiling. It is used as the Master unit and triggers the other remote unit(s). I usually set the flash on Manual at about 1/4 power and set the flash head at a 50mm zoom. Sometimes, I use the much smaller and lighter SU-800 to trigger the other strobes in the gym. The SU-800 also then frees up my SB-900 flash unit to be used off-camera.
2. A second unit (SB-800) is placed on the left side of the court just off the baseline. It is also set at 1/4 power and bounced into the ceiling at a 50mm zoom.
3. Sometimes, I'll also use a third unit (SB-600). It is placed on the right side of the court just off the baseline. The power is set at 1/8th and positioned to feather the light across the court. The idea behind this third flash is to add a little more depth and pop to the shots as otherwise they may appear to be a little flat with just bounced light.

Obviously, two or three pocket sized flash units will not provide sufficient power to light an entire gymnasium. So, I use the ambient light to the extent possible and let the flash units supplement the existing light. My first step is to set a manual exposure in the camera that will underexpose the scene by approximately two stops. So, if a good exposure without any flash requires ISO 3200 at 1/250th at f/2.8, I will adjust the ISO setting down to 800--which effectively underexposes the image by two stops. Then, I add flash. I adjust the flash power manually until it properly exposes the subject. Typically, this requires a power setting of 1/4. Sometimes, it requires more power (1/2); sometimes, it requires less power (1/8). With digital, just check the LCD panel and histogram on the back of the camera and adjust accordingly.

A typical exposure with flash ends up being 1/250th at f/2.8 at ISO 800. Without the flash units, the ISO would have been 3200 with the same shutter speed and aperture. More importantly, without flash, it takes a faster shutter speed (probably more like 1/1000th) to freeze the action. Please CLICK HERE to read my earlier blog entry about how flash can be helpful in freezing action at very slow shutter speeds.

White balance can be a challenge in such venues. I usually use a WhiBal card and take some readings at various locations around the court. Regardless, the cycling lights can cause the white balance to constantly change. Again, flash provides a huge benefit in dealing with this issue. By using flash, which emits light with a color temperature approximately like daylight, you mitigate most of the white balance issues that exist by relying solely on the cycling tungsten or florescent lighting in the gyms.

The Nikon system makes it relatively easy to trigger remote flash units. I use one of three approaches to accomplish this:

• Position the SB-900 flash unit on camera and program it to act as the Commander to control the remote units
• Position the SU-800 on camera and use it to control and trigger all of the remote flash units
• Place a Radiopopper transmitter on the camera and Radiopopper receivers on the remote flash units. These radio transmitters will trigger the flash units reliably from great distances and do not rely on line of sight.

Here is a diagram of how the flash units are positioned:

And, here are some photos of how the flash units are clamped (Bogen Super Clamps) above the floor in the gym:

Here are a few pictures from some very dark grammar school gymnasiums using this approach:

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