OT Who Else Is "camera Crazy"?

[5-6-7-8]

I have a Canon T1i, but now they are up to the T3i. Those are the top "amateur" cameras I found. To really capture the stop action, you need a good lens. I have fixed 85mm f1.8 that I use and it works awesome. Especially in poorly lit high school gyms. I know lots of guys that have the f2.8 lens and those are great if the lighting is semi-decent. anything less than a 2.8 and it'll be "iffy" at best.

The 85mm is a great lens!! I sometimes will rent the 2.8 70-300 for competitions. Great for getting close to the action. I would definitely advise spending more on the glass if you have to prioritize. I definitely love the challenge of photographing cheer!

 

[Paparazzi]

The 85mm is a great lens!! I sometimes will rent the 2.8 70-300 for competitions. Great for getting close to the action. I would definitely advise spending more on the glass if you have to prioritize. I definitely love the challenge of photographing cheer!

But no matter how good your camera and how good your lens, you MUST anticipate the shot! If you see it in the lens, you missed the picture. The most challenging thing about photographing cheer is NOT knowing the routine and where the action will be before it happens.

 

[5-6-7-8]

Definitely! It's hard enough when I know the routine.

 

[Paparazzi]

5800 pictures from Cheersport Grand in Atlanta on sunday. My new 1 day record.

 

[aggie1983]

This one girl on my teams mom is camera crazy... after four years of it I've learned to run and hide when I see her, lmao.

I didn't know you were on my daughter's team.

 

[Paparazzi]

I didn't know you were on my daughter's team.

Its funny to watch the reactions of the people when they see the camera pointed at them. Some are like "oh hey, Paparazzi is getting my picture" and pose for the shot. Others hide their face or turn away like "ew, i look horrible dont take my picture". But the best ones are when the cheerleaders are like "Hey its Paparazzi! Get my picture!" and the parents are like "who's the guy taking pictures of my kid!" The kids usually start explaining before I even get a chance. All those pictures at Cheersport and the only parents to raise an eyebrow and question why I was taking pictures of their kids were from MY HOME GYM! Really?

 

[aggie1983]

^^^^^^

I probably am driving the girls on my cp's team crazy this year, it's her last year cheering so I've got to document lots of memories for her (and me) .

 

[armycheermom]

I need help from you camera crazy folks!
CP is camera crazy and is wanting a "better" camera, but reading those reviews confuse me! She is a Nikon person and is looking for a amateur professional camera. She is still pretty young, so I don't want to go into debt buying the best camera out there, plus she is tiny! She's 4'11 and 100lbs soaking wet, so I need something that she can handle pretty easily.
Any help would be greatly appreciated!