# Comments needed on sports photography.



## Coasty (Feb 5, 2014)

I normally dont do sports photography, so I dont know if Im doing it right or not. What can I do to improve?


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## The_Traveler (Feb 5, 2014)

Any of the three pix of the player with the ball would be fine, depending on what your intent is,  although I think they are a tiny bit underexposed and could do with moving the center point in a levels layer.

The 4th one doesn't appeal at all.

L


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## MitchStrp (Feb 5, 2014)

Get lowwwer, the players look tiny. Make them look larger by getting low and changing your perspective.


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## runnah (Feb 5, 2014)

Lower, more exposure and I'd pick the second shot out of the group. Least awkward looking.


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## Coasty (Feb 5, 2014)

Thanks Lew, the forth one was just a fluke catching the Wilson logo.

Thanks Mitch and runnah. So getting lower, I was standing on a step stool at the time, so now I can ditch the extra weight.


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## vintagesnaps (Feb 5, 2014)

I agree it looks like you'll need to make sure you're getting a proper exposure, and think about the aperture and depth of field (and of course you'll want a fairly fast shutter speed). 

I usually frame horizontally if I'm getting an action shot and more often vertically to get an individual shot - you probably don't need that much foreground and might want to include the other players who are part of the scene so they're not cut off so much. 

You might try different vantage points and see where you get the best pictures; I tend to move around but have my favorite 'corners' at our local ice rinks. If you can move around some you might be better able to work around other photographers or anyone else who's at field level.

The one of the football may not work so well because it's along the tree line and there's more background than football, but that seems to show you're being observant and sometimes you can get interesting shots of other happenings during a game.


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## BillM (Feb 5, 2014)

What body and lens are you using ? And another vote for lower. Good job keeping the sun at your back and freezing the action. Looks like you could have dropped the shutter one stop to get a little more light. I'm not a fan of portrait for a running back on the move, give him some frame to run into. It's fine for a QB throwing or WR catching but for me I'm just not a big fan of it for RB's. But that is all personal opinion on my part. Overall I think you did great :thumbup:


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## Light Guru (Feb 5, 2014)

The exposure is about 1/2 a stop off and the white balance is off. 


Your third photo that shows basically the whole body of another photographer on the sidelines tells me you were not even on the sideline to take these photos. If you were on the sideline you would not have captured that much of him in the photo. Like others have said you should get lower, your hight and distance from the side line tells me you were in the stand.  That is NOT the place to be if you want to be photographing football.


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## Coasty (Feb 5, 2014)

Thanks Sharon and BillM,
I was shooting horizontally most of the day, but I was trying to get a portrait shot of the QB throwing the ball, and they just handed it off instead, and I had no time to switch orientation. The play worked though, because they scored.
BillM, I was using a D7000 with the 70-300 f4.5-5.6 VRII.  Shutter speed 1/1600, f5.6, ISO400, auto white balance.

Thanks Light Guru,
White balance was auto, the sun was setting and conditions were changing every few minutes.  I wasnt in the stands; I was on the track about 12 feet from the sideline close to the15 yard line on a two foot step stool. The other photographer in shot there was another mom or dad with a camera on the sidelines. I normally dont shoot sports and showed up because my daughter wanted some shots of her cheerleading.  After the game got going, all the parents had staked out their turf so I opted to go above them on the stool.


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## BillM (Feb 5, 2014)

If the light conditions were changing fast you could try Auto ISO and with football 1/1000 is typically enough to freeze the action. At night under bad lights I've had to go as slow as 1/320 and ISO up to 3200 but have still gotten some usable shots.

And I hate when I get into position thinking I know what play is coming and they run something else lol


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## Rags (Feb 5, 2014)

Good suggestions here.

My knock is - it looks like paisley.

Subject separation is nil

Wait for the opportunity of isolation (1 to 4 players), then snap or pass.

Lower is a good suggestion and you probably won't get subject separation with bokeh (too far away)

Your work flow will temper your shot volume

Rags


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## Derrel (Feb 5, 2014)

I took the second shot, cropped a tiny bit off the bottom. Other crops do not work well, due to the background players. I tried to make the light look more "late afternoonish". I cooled off the white balance a small amount, to make the whites look more white. I also added a bit of clarity, and a bit of saturation, to make the oranges look a bit more orange.


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## Coasty (Feb 5, 2014)

Rags said:


> Good suggestions here.
> 
> My knock is - it looks like paisley.
> 
> ...




Thanks Rags, subject isolation is something I was not thinking about.


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## Coasty (Feb 5, 2014)

Derrel said:


> I took the second shot, cropped a tiny bit off the bottom. Other crops do not work well, due to the background players. I tried to make the light look more "late afternoonish". I cooled off the white balance a small amount, to make the whites look more white. I also added a bit of clarity, and a bit of saturation, to make the oranges look a bit more orange.
> 
> View attachment 66082



Derrel,
I learned basic photography in High School a long time ago with film, and didn&#8217;t do much with it for the next twenty years. Now, thirty years later, a lot has changed. I have not yet mastered the art of correcting photos. I do have Elements 11, but white balance and the Kelvin scale is flying over my almost hairless head. Thanks for the corrections, I&#8217;m trying to replicate it in elements. 
 Too bad the RAW file is so darn large or I would let you have a go with it, I know working with JPEG there is not a lot you can do.


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## BillM (Feb 5, 2014)

Dropbox makes sharing RAW files easy and having hair is seriously overrated. I have tons of hair, just happens none of it is on top of my head :mrgreen:


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## Coasty (Feb 5, 2014)

I resemble that remark. :mrgreen:


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## apaflo (Feb 5, 2014)

The RAW file would be interesting.  Here's a different variation, primarily intended to enhance separation.  Note that the crop removes distracting players, and positions the subject better in relation to the entire frame.


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## randyphotoforum (Feb 6, 2014)

f/5.6 is not gonna work for sports, 2.8 is almost mandatory......you gotta do something about the backgrounds, they are over the top distracting, get a 2.8 lens or change where you shoot from


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## randyphotoforum (Feb 6, 2014)

pick your spots, stay on f/2.8 and get an fx camera if you can

separation:


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## Rags (Feb 6, 2014)

randyphotoforum said:


> f/5.6 is not gonna work for sports, 2.8 is almost mandatory......you gotta do something about the backgrounds, they are over the top distracting, get a 2.8 lens or change where you shoot from



Well maybe... A lot depends upon the photogs choice of subject before shooting.... sometimes you want to get the group in focus (f4.5)






Another example would be getting a group of moto racers (3-4) coming around an apex (I use 5.6)

Sometimes subject separation is impossible in cam regardless of fstop

I shoot bullriding once a year. I tried using 2.8 (70/200) and I could nver separate the spectators from the bull

I was too far away and the spectators too close. After all the bull/rider are released and within 7 seconds most riders are tossed. The bull can't get that far away from the spectators






I found picking background at the shooting site before shooting helps a lot. You might miss some opps but you have less aggravation when doing PP and cleaner shots are easier to work with

Rags


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## DBA (Feb 10, 2014)

Coasty said:


> So getting lower, I was standing on a step stool at the time, so now I can ditch the extra weight.


I'd say lose the step stool and get down on one knee.


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## Rags (Feb 10, 2014)

elbows work......


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## Tony S (Feb 11, 2014)

I'm another one that wants to see these down at field level or down on your knees.   These almost look like mom or dad took them from the stands.  I try to be up field when shooting offense to get the action coming at me, even with or slightly behind the running backs to get the defensive players coming in on a play. At those positions you will be able to see into the eyes and faces better for great expressions. Either spot also allows angles across the field through gaps in players to get action as it comes through the line, and if you are up field it also puts you in a better position for nailing that reception or pass deflection. Vertical orientation for in close individual shots or contact shots and horizontal to show more than two players.


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