High School Boys Soccer

T. BombadilT. Bombadil Registered Users Posts: 286 Major grins
edited September 30, 2014 in Sports
My favorite time of year.

Some recent shots below. Hope you like them. I'm just an interested parent, so would love to hear constructive feedback.

Thanks for looking.

1.
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2
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3
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4
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5
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6
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Bruce

Chooka chooka hoo la ley
Looka looka koo la ley

Comments

  • AceCo55AceCo55 Registered Users Posts: 950 Major grins
    edited September 22, 2014
    Nice timing ... great sense of "competition"/effort/struggle.
    Good sense of movement with ball in air or players off the ground.
    Cropping is good and focusses on the action.
    #1: I would have straightened up the horizon. You may have deliberately sloped it to the right.
    Very crisp/clean images. Nice work.
    My opinion does not necessarily make it true. What you do with my opinion is entirely up to you.
    www.acecootephotography.com
  • T. BombadilT. Bombadil Registered Users Posts: 286 Major grins
    edited September 22, 2014
    AceCo55 wrote: »
    Nice timing ... great sense of "competition"/effort/struggle.
    Good sense of movement with ball in air or players off the ground.
    Cropping is good and focusses on the action.
    #1: I would have straightened up the horizon. You may have deliberately sloped it to the right.
    Very crisp/clean images. Nice work.

    Thank you for your comments. I didn't straighten the horizon on #1 because I didn't think I had enough room (thought I would lose part of the ball, or hand/arm at right).

    After your comment, I tried it leveled - and like it better level. Thanks!
    Bruce

    Chooka chooka hoo la ley
    Looka looka koo la ley
  • SeefutlungSeefutlung Registered Users Posts: 2,781 Major grins
    edited September 22, 2014
    I like these ... but they almost look staged. I don't see any sweat, or grass stains or dirt or even misplaced hair and no distracting shadows. (I guess the shirt is untucked in a couple of shots, lol.) Did you fill in the shadows with flash?

    Keep up the good work,
    Gary
    My snaps can be found here:
    Unsharp at any Speed
  • jmphotocraftjmphotocraft Registered Users Posts: 2,987 Major grins
    edited September 22, 2014
    Great shots. It took me 3 looks before I saw the ball in #1, so I probably wouldn't hang on to that shot if I had taken it. The rest are great examples of the FACT rule of sports photography, which I learned about from someone here. Face, Action, Contact/Conflict, Toy (the toy being the ball in this case). It also looks like you were shooting from a sitting or kneeling height, which is a best practice as it makes the players look like pros. I would say #3 is nicely composed, the rest could be cropped tighter. Good choice to shoot with the lens wide open.
    -Jack

    An "accurate" reproduction of a scene and a good photograph are often two different things.
  • T. BombadilT. Bombadil Registered Users Posts: 286 Major grins
    edited September 22, 2014
    Seefutlung wrote: »
    I like these ... but they almost look staged. I don't see any sweat, or grass stains or dirt or even misplaced hair and no distracting shadows. (I guess the shirt is untucked in a couple of shots, lol.) Did you fill in the shadows with flash?

    Keep up the good work,
    Gary

    Thanks!

    Now that you mention it, these do look a bit sterile. I'll attribute that to being so far north that it isn't all that hot when they play.

    No flash in use.

    I have noticed lots more flying "dirt" when they play on turf (lots of tiny pieces of black rubber in the air at their feet).
    Bruce

    Chooka chooka hoo la ley
    Looka looka koo la ley
  • T. BombadilT. Bombadil Registered Users Posts: 286 Major grins
    edited September 22, 2014
    Great shots. It took me 3 looks before I saw the ball in #1, so I probably wouldn't hang on to that shot if I had taken it. The rest are great examples of the FACT rule of sports photography, which I learned about from someone here. Face, Action, Contact/Conflict, Toy (the toy being the ball in this case). It also looks like you were shooting from a sitting or kneeling height, which is a best practice as it makes the players look like pros. I would say #3 is nicely composed, the rest could be cropped tighter. Good choice to shoot with the lens wide open.

    Thank you! I hadn't heard it called "FACT" until someone on dgrin mentioned it, but I do attempt to adhere to it (though I tend to share too many that fail the rule with parents, because i think they want to see their child no matter what).

    Appreciate the comment about cropping.
    Bruce

    Chooka chooka hoo la ley
    Looka looka koo la ley
  • jmphotocraftjmphotocraft Registered Users Posts: 2,987 Major grins
    edited September 22, 2014
    Personally I avoid sharing too many photos with parents, I think it dilutes how special the real keepers are. But I value good sports photos more than most people. And hi, looks like we're almost neighbors.
    -Jack

    An "accurate" reproduction of a scene and a good photograph are often two different things.
  • T. BombadilT. Bombadil Registered Users Posts: 286 Major grins
    edited September 22, 2014
    Personally I avoid sharing too many photos with parents, I think it dilutes how special the real keepers are. . .

    Good instinct. I need to be better at that.

    And hi, looks like we're almost neighbors.

    We are neighbors! I'm a bit further north (but not much). Wish we had a game today. Beautiful weather.
    Bruce

    Chooka chooka hoo la ley
    Looka looka koo la ley
  • wmstummewmstumme Registered Users Posts: 466 Major grins
    edited September 22, 2014
    Nice work! Seems like everyone else already included all the comments I would have: crop tighter and straighten horizons.

    I agree with Jack in that I also tend to only share those photos I feel are worthy--but that acknowledge that it a subjective scale and that I'm often looking for different things than the parents.
    Regards

    Will
    ________________________
    www.willspix.smugmug.com
  • SeefutlungSeefutlung Registered Users Posts: 2,781 Major grins
    edited September 23, 2014
    Personally I avoid sharing too many photos with parents, I think it dilutes how special the real keepers are. But I value good sports photos more than most people. And hi, looks like we're almost neighbors.

    Good suggestion. I post way too much mediocre stuff just for the parents and the kids. I guess I'm an ol' softy knowing that while the image doesn't speak well for my photography skills ... the kids, their family and friends will like them. I guess at this stage in my life I haven't anything to prove, so I overpost and dilute the good stuff for the kids.

    Gary
    My snaps can be found here:
    Unsharp at any Speed
  • T. BombadilT. Bombadil Registered Users Posts: 286 Major grins
    edited September 23, 2014
    wmstumme wrote: »
    Nice work! Seems like everyone else already included all the comments I would have: crop tighter and straighten horizons.

    I agree with Jack in that I also tend to only share those photos I feel are worthy--but that acknowledge that it a subjective scale and that I'm often looking for different things than the parents.

    Thanks for commenting. Sharing with parents is tricky (even though in my case it is the reason I have a Smugmug site). I used to put a lot of pressure on myself to get some images of every player. That leads to keeping subpar images - and those tend to stay in the gallery even if higher-quality images are captured at a later date (because who wants to explain why you deleted their son's photo).

    This year I'm taking a more laid back approach. I photograph what I can, and if there are players with many images or players with few images, that's life. That is allowing me to be more selective in what I share.
    Bruce

    Chooka chooka hoo la ley
    Looka looka koo la ley
  • JimKarczewskiJimKarczewski Registered Users Posts: 969 Major grins
    edited September 25, 2014
    #1 is the one that drives me nuts.

    Horizons that aren't horizontal. Just like people shooting water that isn't a nice horizontal image. With Lightroom/PS/etc. It's such an easy thing to fix...
  • T. BombadilT. Bombadil Registered Users Posts: 286 Major grins
    edited September 25, 2014
    #1 is the one that drives me nuts.

    Horizons that aren't horizontal. Just like people shooting water that isn't a nice horizontal image. With Lightroom/PS/etc. It's such an easy thing to fix...

    Interesting to hear you say that. In a photo of a sporting event, I always (intend to) straighten a nearly level horizon. When they are further from level I sometimes leave them or adjust them to a non-level orientation. I think it (sometimes) makes an image more dynamic. In fact, I sometimes shoot with my camera at approx midway between portrait and landscape orientation - looking for images that will be non-level when finished.
    Bruce

    Chooka chooka hoo la ley
    Looka looka koo la ley
  • wmstummewmstumme Registered Users Posts: 466 Major grins
    edited September 25, 2014
    Interesting to hear you say that. In a photo of a sporting event, I always (intend to) straighten a nearly level horizon. When they are further from level I sometimes leave them or adjust them to a non-level orientation. I think it (sometimes) makes an image more dynamic. In fact, I sometimes shoot with my camera at approx midway between portrait and landscape orientation - looking for images that will be non-level when finished.

    I think if you're deliberately going for an angled image, that's one thing. However, unless it's done well, it can just look like an oversight.
    Regards

    Will
    ________________________
    www.willspix.smugmug.com
  • T. BombadilT. Bombadil Registered Users Posts: 286 Major grins
    edited September 25, 2014
    wmstumme wrote: »
    I think if you're deliberately going for an angled image, that's one thing. However, unless it's done well, it can just look like an oversight.

    In the case of #1, I wasn't planning for a tilted horizon at the time of capture, but intentionally left it tilted rather than crowd the ball and/or the right-most player's back hand.

    It does look better leveled.
    Bruce

    Chooka chooka hoo la ley
    Looka looka koo la ley
  • jmphotocraftjmphotocraft Registered Users Posts: 2,987 Major grins
    edited September 25, 2014
    I think it can work if it's obviously intentional, but even then it's not for everybody.

    lots4tots_43-X2.jpg
    -Jack

    An "accurate" reproduction of a scene and a good photograph are often two different things.
  • T. BombadilT. Bombadil Registered Users Posts: 286 Major grins
    edited September 25, 2014
    I think it can work if it's obviously intentional, but even then it's not for everybody.

    In your example, I really like it.
    Bruce

    Chooka chooka hoo la ley
    Looka looka koo la ley
  • JimKarczewskiJimKarczewski Registered Users Posts: 969 Major grins
    edited September 30, 2014
    OK, then I present my 2nd issue with the image. No ball = no context. But that's me...
  • jmphotocraftjmphotocraft Registered Users Posts: 2,987 Major grins
    edited September 30, 2014
    OK, then I present my 2nd issue with the image. No ball = no context. But that's me...

    The ball is there. I know, I had to look 3 times to find it!
    -Jack

    An "accurate" reproduction of a scene and a good photograph are often two different things.
  • T. BombadilT. Bombadil Registered Users Posts: 286 Major grins
    edited September 30, 2014
    OK, then I present my 2nd issue with the image. No ball = no context. But that's me...

    Ya, the ball is really lost in that messy background with the guy in white, etc.

    Here is the image with level horizon and the background cleared a bit (very roughly done, for discussion purposes only)

    i-ZpD6ChW-M.jpg
    Bruce

    Chooka chooka hoo la ley
    Looka looka koo la ley
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