Indoor action shooting

[Bowhica]

Troop,

The oldest boy is a swimmer and I would love to get some good action shots of him swimming. I am setup with a canon T3 DSLR with a 2 lenses. 18-55 and the 75-300. I haven't shot any indoors action shot with this camera as I got it for Christmas and the swim season stopped just before.

Most indoor meets I went to have very dim flourescent lights or sky lights that are UV damaged to the point they aren't clear or white, but yellow giving a hue of yellow.I am stuck in the stands so zoom is key. But with the low light, a flash is required. But with the distance the photos come out dark and grainy.

Can you recommend the best camera settings to play with and lenses to capture the best lower light. Also, is there a flash that would focus the light better in long distance circumstances?

Sorry to go on and on, but swim starts in August and I'd like to practice with your recommendations a little bit.

Darrel
Katy, Tx

[Cottonwood]

Darrel is there a way that you can go to the indoor pool, and practice with different settings prior to your son's swim meet.

[WyoBull]

Shoot wide open (f2.8 as an example), shoot at a higher ISO (1600 +), shoot at 1/1000 of a second, and custom set your white balance based on the pool lighting.
This is where I would start given your situation.

[Bowhica]

Darrel is there a way that you can go to the indoor pool, and practice with different settings prior to your son's swim meet.

I'd have to check and see. That is a good point to check into.

Shoot wide open (f2.8 as an example), shoot at a higher ISO (1600 +), shoot at 1/1000 of a second, and custom set your white balance based on the pool lighting.
This is where I would start given your situation.

Good deal. I'll set that up!