# Take two!  field hockey photos



## SquarePeg (Sep 7, 2018)

Shot with the 50-230 - some serious cropping and sharpening in Snapseed.

I don’t know the game or rules (yet) so this was difficult.  Also trying to keep a low profile and shoot from well back of the sidelines to avoid being a distraction.  The spectator side of the field is wide open and not a lot of fans can get to these 4pm games so no cover.   Focus was hit or miss due to fast action and lack of good anticipation on my part.  I want to improve on that and maybe get lower for more interesting angles.  

Fuji Xt2 shooters - I shot these with custom af #3 accelerating/decelerating subjects, I think I need to try a different af setting next time.  Maybe #5?  Erratically moving subjects? 

Also, I’m struggling with zone af choosing the wrong subjects.  This is never an issue with Softball.  Those who shoot football, soccer etc., how do you get the af zone to choose the subject you want when the field is crowded?  I feel like the darker uni’s for the other team pulled the focus in just about every shot.


Here are some of the better ones




 

 

 

And a few near misses with af



 



 



 


Thanks in advance for feedback and suggestions.


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## tirediron (Sep 7, 2018)

Not bad for a first go; I've never shot field hockey and I can barely spell Fuji, so I won't comment on the brand-specific questions.  This seems to me that it would be very similar to shooting ice hockey (except warmer, and with better light).  For that, I use continuous AF with a single AF point (the center) locked in and shoot wide.  My technique is to simply track the puck/ball with a medium DoF; usually around f5.6ish.  I think your shutter speed could be bumped up a bit; I see some motion blur in the arms and legs... (and this is purely personal preference) I like to shoot fast enough to freeze the players, but generally have a bit of motion blur on the puck/ball and stick.


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## SquarePeg (Sep 7, 2018)

tirediron said:


> Not bad for a first go; I've never shot field hockey and I can barely spell Fuji, so I won't comment on the brand-specific questions.  This seems to me that it would be very similar to shooting ice hockey (except warmer, and with better light).  For that, I use continuous AF with a single AF point (the center) locked in and shoot wide.  My technique is to simply track the puck/ball with a medium DoF; usually around f5.6ish.  I think your shutter speed could be bumped up a bit; I see some motion blur in the arms and legs... (and this is purely personal preference) I like to shoot fast enough to freeze the players, but generally have a bit of motion blur on the puck/ball and stick.



Shutter speed on these was 1/1000 - 1/2000


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## Gary A. (Sep 7, 2018)

I started with the first generation mirrorless interchangeable lens digital cameras.  Those first generation had no capability or capacity to follow focus.  I learned to use a single focus point, recital size is in the middle, then continuously pump the focus button.  I use back button focus as not to inadvertently release the shutter and for ease of quickly recomposing the image. I am still using that methodology ... because it works for me.  (I've tried continuous AF, but haven't put enough time into it to be proficient.)


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## jcdeboever (Sep 7, 2018)

These are pretty good. I could never figure out the tracking crap on my XT2 and end up with a bunch of missed shots. So I kind of gave up and started to pump the shutter (no tracking), much better results, so that goes to show you that the AF is fast and it's a setting I am ignorant about. However, I would be hesitant on a sport I didn't know. So in that case, I would just continuous low, single point AF, set 1 multi purpose as a start. That setting is like an advanced SLR AF film camera and I've had decent results. If I'm not hitting it, then move to zone or wide AF tracking with the set 1 multi purpose. That is about the time I'm looking for the exit. I surmise it is an algorithm thing and requires a great deal of trial and error to dial it in. I have read up on it, intently, and I gotta say what I've been reading is dead wrong, almost as if people have to making that **** up, seriously. I've tried a lot of different things, maybe the AF tracking is crap, not sure. I talked to a real Fuji pro about this and he kinda laughed. He said, "the more you make the camera your decision maker, the more your keeper rate will go down, this has always been the case with digital".  He asked me, "what do you do to fix it ? I said, "pump the shutter". He said, "you took the camera into your own hands and made it do what you wanted". He never said I shouldn't use that mode or tried to get me to try something different. He simply told me what I already know, the camera often makes the wrong decisions. He said the difference between a good photog and a bad one is that the good one knows how to get out of trouble on the fly. Single point AF, CL or H, no tracking, pumping the shutter works great for me. I will say that I put the focus square around the head height and make sure it auto orientates when switching from landscape to portrait.

I'm shooting a soccer game tomorrow and I'm going to manual focus it, the whole game. I have really got into it using film and it really boils down to DOF. So I'll shoot it digital MF, I'm comfortable with it.  We work our butts off on all this tech, which is good tech, but no one knows how to communicate it's use. All the time I spent reading up on the Fuji AF and what not was a waste of time. A big waste of time. I would have been better off using that time in my camera and figuring it out on my own. I did, pump the shutter. I am not even going to pump a shutter tomorrow, just zone it, pick 3+ spots and let them fall into it.


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## tirediron (Sep 7, 2018)

SquarePeg said:


> tirediron said:
> 
> 
> > Not bad for a first go; I've never shot field hockey and I can barely spell Fuji, so I won't comment on the brand-specific questions.  This seems to me that it would be very similar to shooting ice hockey (except warmer, and with better light).  For that, I use continuous AF with a single AF point (the center) locked in and shoot wide.  My technique is to simply track the puck/ball with a medium DoF; usually around f5.6ish.  I think your shutter speed could be bumped up a bit; I see some motion blur in the arms and legs... (and this is purely personal preference) I like to shoot fast enough to freeze the players, but generally have a bit of motion blur on the puck/ball and stick.
> ...


Huh... well then, that's probably not motion blur I'm seeing...


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## CherylL (Sep 7, 2018)

Thanks for posting the photos.  They look good to me   I hope you post back at the end of the season on what worked and what didn't for you.  I would like to get schnauzer running photos.  What does "pumping the shutter" mean?


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## Gary A. (Sep 7, 2018)

PS- On your images, not taking into account any modifiers like: don't know the sport, camera is new to me, et cetera ... meh (honestly). You're not shooting tight enough, unless it shows some fantastic athletic/visual display - you gotta have the ball, puck, shuttlecock, et al in every shot, too much distracting background detail, not enough faces/facial expressions. You have 230mm, shoot at 230mm. Fill the frame. It will be harder.  You'll have less keepers.  But the keepers will be significantly better.  Shoot from the sidelines.  Remember what Robert Capa said, "If your pictures aren't good enough, you aren't close enough."


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## jcdeboever (Sep 7, 2018)

Gary A. said:


> PS- On your images, not taking into account any modifiers like: don't know the sport, camera is new to me, et cetera ... meh (honestly). You're not shooting tight enough, unless it shows some fantastic athletic/visual display - you gotta have the ball, puck, shuttlecock, et al in every shot, too much distracting background detail, not enough faces/facial expressions. You have 230mm, shoot at 230mm. Fill the frame. It will be harder.  You'll have less keepers.  But the keepers will be significantly better.  Shoot from the sidelines.  Remember what Robert Capa said, "If your pictures aren't good enough, you aren't close enough."



Word. I am so guilty of that because I'm a painter. Always trying to fill the canvas. Not good in photography.


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## Gary A. (Sep 7, 2018)

PPS- The XT2 has lighting fast focus ... try pumping the AF button, it works well.


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## Gary A. (Sep 7, 2018)

jcdeboever said:


> Gary A. said:
> 
> 
> > PS- On your images, not taking into account any modifiers like: don't know the sport, camera is new to me, et cetera ... meh (honestly). You're not shooting tight enough, unless it shows some fantastic athletic/visual display - you gotta have the ball, puck, shuttlecock, et al in every shot, too much distracting background detail, not enough faces/facial expressions. You have 230mm, shoot at 230mm. Fill the frame. It will be harder.  You'll have less keepers.  But the keepers will be significantly better.  Shoot from the sidelines.  Remember what Robert Capa said, "If your pictures aren't good enough, you aren't close enough."
> ...


Why not?


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## jcdeboever (Sep 7, 2018)

CherylL said:


> Thanks for posting the photos.  They look good to me   I hope you post back at the end of the season on what worked and what didn't for you.  I would like to get schnauzer running photos.  What does "pumping the shutter" mean?



Pumping the shutter. It mean's to hold down the shutter half way to focus, then at the perfect time (hopefully), depress and capture the subject successfully as intended. It takes a rhythmic feel, and cadence to get it off. It is a wonderful experience. Pump it till it happens


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## jcdeboever (Sep 7, 2018)

Gary A. said:


> jcdeboever said:
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> > Gary A. said:
> ...



Why not what?


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## waday (Sep 7, 2018)

jcdeboever said:


> CherylL said:
> 
> 
> > Thanks for posting the photos.  They look good to me   I hope you post back at the end of the season on what worked and what didn't for you.  I would like to get schnauzer running photos.  What does "pumping the shutter" mean?
> ...


No no no.

It all has to do with how the face is punched...


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## jcdeboever (Sep 7, 2018)

Filling the canvas with a small subject in the middle is a no no. You can get by in some aspects of painting


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## SquarePeg (Sep 7, 2018)

Gary A. said:


> PS- On your images, not taking into account any modifiers like: don't know the sport, camera is new to me, et cetera ... meh (honestly). You're not shooting tight enough, unless it shows some fantastic athletic/visual display - you gotta have the ball, puck, shuttlecock, et al in every shot, too much distracting background detail, not enough faces/facial expressions. You have 230mm, shoot at 230mm. Fill the frame. It will be harder.  You'll have less keepers.  But the keepers will be significantly better.  Shoot from the sidelines.  Remember what Robert Capa said, "If your pictures aren't good enough, you aren't close enough."



 I do agree with you here. Those shots that I liked and that the focus was better were the ones where I was at 200 to 230 mm. The problem is that I don’t know the sport yet so I can’t predict which way they’re moving, where they’re going to end up, what they’re going to do. Really hard to keep the action in the frame at 230 mm when I’m not a good judge of which way they’re going to go.


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## Gary A. (Sep 7, 2018)

jcdeboever said:


> CherylL said:
> 
> 
> > Thanks for posting the photos.  They look good to me   I hope you post back at the end of the season on what worked and what didn't for you.  I would like to get schnauzer running photos.  What does "pumping the shutter" mean?
> ...


For me, it is to repeatedly depress the AF button, as the subject races across the field (in this case), follow the subject and repeatedly pump the AF button to reacquire focus.  At a certain point (hopefully) some action worth capturing happens and then you depress the shutter release button.


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## jcdeboever (Sep 7, 2018)

SquarePeg said:


> Gary A. said:
> 
> 
> > PS- On your images, not taking into account any modifiers like: don't know the sport, camera is new to me, et cetera ... meh (honestly). You're not shooting tight enough, unless it shows some fantastic athletic/visual display - you gotta have the ball, puck, shuttlecock, et al in every shot, too much distracting background detail, not enough faces/facial expressions. You have 230mm, shoot at 230mm. Fill the frame. It will be harder.  You'll have less keepers.  But the keepers will be significantly better.  Shoot from the sidelines.  Remember what Robert Capa said, "If your pictures aren't good enough, you aren't close enough."
> ...



Put your focus square where you want it, be patient.


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## Gary A. (Sep 7, 2018)

jcdeboever said:


> Filling the canvas with a small subject in the middle is a no no. You can get by in some aspects of painting


To me filling the frame means that if you have a small object, you get close enough to fill the frame with that object.


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## SquarePeg (Sep 7, 2018)

jcdeboever said:


> SquarePeg said:
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> 
> > Gary A. said:
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I’m not sure I’m understanding you here. Am I to pick a spot on the field and focus on that and wait for somebody to run into it? I am definitely misunderstanding you.   

 Maybe time to give back button focus a try


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## Gary A. (Sep 7, 2018)

SquarePeg said:


> Gary A. said:
> 
> 
> > PS- On your images, not taking into account any modifiers like: don't know the sport, camera is new to me, et cetera ... meh (honestly). You're not shooting tight enough, unless it shows some fantastic athletic/visual display - you gotta have the ball, puck, shuttlecock, et al in every shot, too much distracting background detail, not enough faces/facial expressions. You have 230mm, shoot at 230mm. Fill the frame. It will be harder.  You'll have less keepers.  But the keepers will be significantly better.  Shoot from the sidelines.  Remember what Robert Capa said, "If your pictures aren't good enough, you aren't close enough."
> ...


If you just follow the ball and adjust the zoom to accommodate the players involved in the play, you should be okay.


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## jcdeboever (Sep 7, 2018)




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## tirediron (Sep 7, 2018)

Gary A. said:


> SquarePeg said:
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> > Gary A. said:
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To be really good at this, you need to be able to use each eye independently.  Your dominant eye is glued to the viewfinder, and follows the action, your other eye is open, watching the field and guesstimating where things will go next.


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## jcdeboever (Sep 7, 2018)

SquarePeg said:


> jcdeboever said:
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> > SquarePeg said:
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The focus square is the zone, when their face gets in it, push it (shutter) you should be pumping, anticipating her arrival.


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## jcdeboever (Sep 7, 2018)

I pump the shutter pert near this beat...


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## ac12 (Sep 7, 2018)

Good job on your first shoot.

In a "mixing" sport like field hockey, soccer, basketball, football, where the players from both team mix it up, I do NOT use zone focusing.  I generally use single point AF, so that I (not the camera) selects the subject.  *   The reason is, in a mixing sport, with all the other players mixing it up right next to each other, the AF just cannot track your subject.   The way zone/area or intelligent AF works is different for each mfg, so you must RTFM, to know how it work in YOUR camera, then use it as appropriate for the sport/event you are shooting.

Nikon's intelligent AF uses color to track the subject, but the uniform of the team is all the same color.   

Canon zone/area focus uses closest subject logic, which in many/most cases is NOT your subject.
This then puts the burden on YOU to track the subject, and not rely on the camera to track the subject.

BTW, I generally do NOT use any of the intelligent or zone focusing, as it often chooses the WRONG subject to focus on.  Then I loose the shot because I have to figure out how to get the focus on MY subject.  Again, use the appropriate focusing method for the game/event/subject you are shooting.  What works for one game/subject may not work for another.

When I shoot action sports, I do not zoom in TIGHT on the subject.  I find it difficult to track a moving subject, as they move erratically, if I zoom in tight.   Leaving room around the subject makes it easier for ME to track an erratically/fast moving subject.  Also a tight zoom makes it harder for me to keep track of a rapidly moving ball.
I will crop as necessary in post.

The more you shoot and practice tracking, the easier it gets.  So hang in there.

Tip to practice tracking:

Go to a large park next to a road.
Stand a few hundred feet from the road.
Track the moving car.
As you are able to maintain track of the car, move closer to the road.
The apparent speed of the car will increase as you get closer to the road.

The car is a subject moving in a straight line at a constant speed, but it is a good way to get your body used to tracking.

*  On the Nikon, I use Dynamic 9 point AF (D9).  It primarily uses the selected AF point, but will use the other 8 points immediately around the primary AF point, if the subject moves and I am not able to maintain tracking.

Note:  Field Hockey is like lacrosse.  You MUST keep track of that ball.  And if it is headed your way, you NEED to get out of the way of the ball.  If it connects, it could HURT or injure you.   If I loose track of the ball, I lower the camera, look around to regain the ball and the play, then set up to shoot again.


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## SquarePeg (Sep 7, 2018)

ac12 said:


> Good job on your first shoot.
> 
> In a "mixing" sport like field hockey, soccer, basketball, football, where the players from both team mix it up, I do NOT use zone focusing.  I generally use single point AF, so that I (not the camera) selects the subject.  *   The reason is, in a mixing sport, with all the other players mixing it up right next to each other, the AF just cannot track your subject.   The way zone/area or intelligent AF works is different for each mfg, so you must RTFM, to know how it work in YOUR camera, then use it as appropriate for the sport/event you are shooting.
> 
> ...



Thanks for the very detailed response, much appreciated.  I’m assuming RTFM = Read The Fuji Manual?  

I’m going to mix it up tomorrow and try a few different methods and see if I can find something that works.  I’ve had great luck with the continuous zone tracking for Softball but it’s a much more predictable sport.  

I never quite got the hang  Of the tracking AF modes when I had my Nikon, and it was very frustrating.  

Of course I have a softball game to shoot in the morning then field hockey after.  The good news is I’m not playing or coaching in either!  Just a photographer for our website for one and a parent paparazzi for the other.


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## ac12 (Sep 7, 2018)

SP
Take notes of what you do and the results.  It makes figuring things out later a lot easier.  As I get older, I cannot rely on memory as much as I used to.
The problem is that there are soooo many combinations of the different configurations, that it is easy to get confused.

As for SB, I was near the left field foul line on the far side of 3rd shooting towards 1st, when a runner from 2nd to 3rd crossed in front of me.  The camera changed focus onto the runner, and I lost the shot at 1st


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## grrr8scott (Sep 8, 2018)

When I shoot my granddaughters’ soccer games, I sit at or near the end of the field so the action is coming toward me. The players are often bunched together, which can make getting good shots of players difficult, but the players are facing in my direction more than if I were in the middle of the field.  Of course, I have to switch ends at halftime, and I may be fighting shadows or difficult lighting half of the game.


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## SquarePeg (Sep 8, 2018)

At today’s game  I tried a couple of things differently.  First of all, after reading the special Fuji AF page again:  NEW AF SYSTEM SPECIAL SITE | FUJIFILM

1-I changed my AF mode to Wide Tracking and I changed the custom AF setting to #5 - Erratically moving subjects

Then, based on advice here, 

2-BBF I assigned the rear command dial as AF (press not turn) and decoupled the shutter from AF when using AF-C. 

I probably should have done one or the other but what the hey!  In for a penny... I had more missed focus with these changes, mostly due to my never using bbf before.  BUT... the shots that were in focus were much sharper.  Here are a few using the new set up.  Again these are pretty heavily cropped.  Other than that I sharpened in Snapseed.  




 



 



 

I think I’m going to try the settings from the Fuji AF site with the shutter focus and see how that works.  Bbf was not my favorite way to shoot.


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## Gary A. (Sep 8, 2018)

BBF is not a natural action, as a first time user. It really takes some time to adjust to BBF.


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## SquarePeg (Sep 8, 2018)

Gary A. said:


> BBF is not a natural action, as a first time user. It really takes some time to adjust to BBF.



Which button did you assign it to?


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## Derrel (Sep 9, 2018)

No comments on camera setup or focusing modes, but this second batch has better background control, and a more close-up feel. The first day's shoot had a lot of background stuff that was distracting, whereas these in the second batch have less-distracting backdrops. I think the most-important aspect of field sports is positioning yourself so that the action you can frame up is in front of either a good background, or so that the light is attractive on the players, or so that the players are seen in front of a dark background. In most cases, the field and the prevailing light will make one side of the field, or one goal line, more productive as a shooting spot. In September, some days have absolutely gorgeous late-afternoon light.


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## SquarePeg (Sep 9, 2018)

Derrel said:


> No comments on camera setup or focusing modes, but this second batch has better background control, and a more close-up feel. The first day's shoot had a lot of background stuff that was distracting, whereas these in the second batch have less-distracting backdrops. I think the most-important aspect of field sports is positioning yourself so that the action you can frame up is in front of either a good background, or so that the light is attractive on the players, or so that the players are seen in front of a dark background. In most cases, the field and the prevailing light will make one side of the field, or one goal line, more productive as a shooting spot. In September, some days have absolutely gorgeous late-afternoon light.



Thanks for your comments.  I made a point to frame these tighter thanks to some advice from Gary A.  I agree that the backgrounds on these are better but can’t really take credit for that.  It was an away game so a different field than the other game.  This field was behind the opponent’s school with a line of trees across from the stands.  Nice and quiet on a Saturday and no streets or parking were visible from the field. The team’s  home field is on the outside corner of a very large park with parking lots in between all the fields.  The chances of getting any photos without a busy background are pretty slim but I’m going to pay attention to that at the next game and see if I can come up with some better angles.  Thanks again.


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