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Media, Branding & Outreach·Lesson 17 of 29

Mini-Project 1: A Repeatable Match-Day Photo Workflow

Build a checklist-driven photo workflow that produces sharp, well-exposed robot action shots in a dim arena and delivers an edited gallery within hours of the last match.

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FRC arenas are a photographer's nightmare: dim, mixed-color overhead lighting, fast robots, and protective polycarbonate between you and the action. A repeatable workflow beats luck every time.

Step 1 — Dial in manual exposure. Arena lighting is inconsistent and dim, so shoot in Manual or Shutter Priority and accept high ISO. A proven starting recipe for indoor robot action:

  • Shutter speed: 1/800s or faster to freeze a moving robot. Drop to 1/500s only if you need light and the robot is slow.
  • Aperture: as wide as your lens allows (f/2.8 on a fast zoom like a 70-200mm f/2.8; f/4 on a kit lens at the long end).
  • ISO: 1600-6400. A little grain at ISO 3200 is nearly invisible on a phone screen or web gallery and far better than a blurry shot.
  • White balance: shoot RAW so you can correct the arena's color cast in post.
  • Autofocus: continuous AF (AF-C / AI Servo) with a single point or small zone tracking the robot.

Step 2 — Position for light, not just angle. Stand where the field light is brightest and avoid shooting straight up into overhead fixtures that blow out highlights and cast harsh shadows. Shoot through gaps in the field perimeter, not through scuffed polycarbonate when you can avoid it.

Step 3 — Shot list per match (assign before queuing). A 2-3 minute match goes fast. Pre-assign:

  1. Autonomous start (robots leaving the line).
  2. Your robot's primary scoring action.
  3. A defense or alliance interaction.
  4. The endgame (climb/park).
  5. One reaction shot of your drive team or stands.

Step 4 — Cull and edit fast. Import to Lightroom (or free Darktable). Workflow: (a) flag keepers with the 'P' key on a first pass, (b) batch-correct white balance and exposure on the best frame, (c) sync those settings across similar shots, (d) crop to a consistent 4:5 (Instagram) and 16:9 (website/YouTube) set. Export web JPEGs at roughly 2048px on the long edge, sRGB, quality 80.

Step 5 — Deliver and tag. Drop the gallery in a shared Google Drive folder named like 2026-[EventCode]-Photos. Pick your 5 best and hand them to the social media lead. Suggest your top robot photo to The Blue Alliance through their 'add data' / media-suggestion flow so it appears on your team page (TBA shows team photos sourced from these community suggestions).

Worked numbers: A practical action setting on an APS-C body with an f/2.8 zoom in typical regional light is around 1/1000s, f/2.8, ISO 4000 — fast enough to freeze a robot while keeping noise manageable. Crank ISO before you drop shutter speed; motion blur is unrecoverable, noise is not.

Keep this workflow as a printed one-page checklist in the camera bag. The goal is consistency: any trained student should be able to run it.

Key takeaways

  • Use 1/800s+ shutter, the widest aperture available, and ISO 1600-6400 to freeze robots in dim arena light.
  • Shoot RAW and continuous AF so you can fix white balance later and keep moving robots in focus.
  • Pre-assign a 5-shot list per match and deliver an edited, dual-aspect-ratio gallery within hours.
  • Raise ISO before lowering shutter speed: noise is fixable, motion blur is not.

Go deeper

Lesson quiz

Required

Answer all 3 questions correctly to complete this lesson.

1.On match day you're shooting robots sprinting across the field. Which shutter speed is the safest starting point to freeze the action without motion blur?

2.Why is shooting in RAW recommended over JPEG for match-day photos that may be over- or under-exposed under tricky arena lighting?

3.When you raise shutter speed to freeze motion in a dim arena, the frame gets darker. What is the standard way to keep a correct exposure?

Answer every question to submit.