Friday Night 6 Man Football

jbakerphoto

Well I decided to give sports photography a try again....I got signed on with the local newspaper as a freelancer and this is my first paid gig....:D.. (Doesnt pay much but it is a start) I took some of the critique from the soccer game in May and applied it here. Well What do yall think.....

C & C requested.....



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5. (Ouch!)

sportsshooter06

fire the sports editor

i_worship_the_King

I think you did a decent job the first time out. I'm no expert on night photography/sports, but I would think keeping the ISO as low as possible via a solid flash and a FAST lens (I'm thinking 300mm f/2.8 range) is your only prayer. The colors in several of your shots are completely washed out - which may be more of a equipment problem than a technique problem. However there are some gems in here - I like #2, great look/saturation/colors. 4&5 also have good color, but there's a bit of motion blur in there.

There's also a tutorial around here somewhere about attaching a flash to a hot shoe right on your monopod. I can't remember who did it but it was the guy who has the cowboy hat on in his avatar.

Great work, and congrats on getting PAID. Something I haven't figured out how to do yet

jonh68

With practice, you are going to get better. If you tell us your setup, we can better help determine areas to get better at.

Number two is your best photo. The others I would not have submitted to the paper. If your equipment is limited, you may be better off trying to get shots like this instead of action. Shooting a night football game is can be difficult with the best equipment.

Can you tell us your shutterspeed, ISO settings, camera and lens combo? From there we can give you better ideas on how to freeze the action better.

Be mindful of the bus in the background when using flash. You can't help but get it some pics as the action dictates, but unless it's a crucial play, those are not good to submit to the paper either.Also, did you sign a waiver about not using any pics you submit for personal use? In my case, I can't post pictures I send to the paper, but I am free to do whatever I want with the the others.

ian408

sportsshooter06 wrote:

fire the sports editor

What does this have to do with helping improve the shots?

jbakerphoto

John68 and I worship the King thanks for replying and LEAVING CONSTRUCTIVE FEEDBACK.....

I was using a canon rebel xt with a 70-200 F4 L and 580 EX flash......

I did figure a little bit of what went wrong though. I think most of the game I had ETTL set on my flash.
I finally figured out it was firing at full power most of the time and loosing shots due to no flash right before the end of the game and right before I took #2 (Which was right before the end of the game) was when I changed it to manual at 1/4 or 1/8 power. (This was posted in another thread here but for some reason I forgot about that part when i got to the game) I was shooting ISO 1600 and maybe 800 (Which didnt work) and AV mode F4. None of these photos made it atleast to the papers website..(But I did have photos make it though..:D )..I havent signed any thing yet. I am suppose to go talk to them tonight about the details and what they want.....

I was sitting in the grass for most of the plays to try to fill the frame. So didnt see much use of a monopod. Would randy's set up with the monopod work sitting down?

Wish I could afford fast long glass but not right now.....Am I on the right track if i make sure the flash is set up right next time?

jjvfx

I think you should try to get some fast glass. With the type of lighting you're dealing with you need F2.8 and a camera with ISO 3200. I would also try to focus my shots around the 30 yard lines, this is where most poor lit high school fields are the brightest. Since this is a paying gig I would rent a higher end camera that focuses faster and can go to ISO 3200 along with a 2.8 lens. I would lose the flash all together. Your shots aren't bad for a first time out, but I do feel they are unacceptable even for a local paper.

If you have to absolutely use the equipment you have I would focus on getting shots of the huddle and at the line of scrimmage before the snap. That way you could shoot at 200mm 1/50 sec from a monopod.

Jordan

jbakerphoto

jjvfx wrote:

I think you should try to get some fast glass. With the type of lighting you're dealing with you need F2.8 and a camera with ISO 3200. I would also try to focus my shots around the 30 yard lines, this is where most poor lit high school fields are the brightest. Since this is a paying gig I would rent a higher end camera that focuses faster and can go to ISO 3200 along with a 2.8 lens. I would lose the flash all together. Your shots aren't bad for a first time out, but I do feel they are unacceptable even for a local paper.

If you have to absolutely use the equipment you have I would focus on getting shots of the huddle and at the line of scrimmage before the snap. That way you could shoot at 200mm 1/50 sec from a monopod.

Jordan

I like your punch but I just cant drink it right now. It wouldnt be a financially sound decision based on the pay per assingment. I definitly see your point. It was suppose to start when it was light out but they started late so i lost about 20 min of shooting in light. The editor did say to make sure I get the "Safe" Shots as well.....

jonh68

unclejon wrote:

I like your punch but I just cant drink it right now. It wouldnt be a financially sound decision based on the pay per assingment. I definitly see your point. It was suppose to start when it was light out but they started late so i lost about 20 min of shooting in light. The editor did say to make sure I get the "Safe" Shots as well.....

Since you are stuck with your current setup, experiment big time with your flash before the game during warmups. Try all kinds of settings.

A cheap alternative would be to get a used 85 1.8 or 50 1.8, both can be had for $300 and $100. I was in a similar situation last year at this time and I bought a 85 1.8 for volleyball and football. The 1.8 is only useful from maybe the hashmarks and the sidelines, but it got the job done.

If you want to go further in this field, you need to consider your name is going to be under the picture. The quality may be OK for local newspapers, but you are building your portfolio and exposure everytime a picture is published. I highly recommend getting some sort of lens in the 2.8 or below range because it will pay off down the road.

jbakerphoto

jonh68 wrote:

Since you are stuck with your current setup, expereiment big time with your flash before the game during warmups. Try all kinds of settings.

A cheap alternative would be to get a used 85 1.8 or 50 1.8, bit can be had for $300 and $100. I was in a similar situation last year at this time and I bought a 85 1.8 for volleyball and football. The 1.8 is only useful from maybe the hashmarks and the sidelines, but it got the job done.

If you want to go further in this field, you need to consider your name is going to be under the picture. The quality may be OK for local newspapers, but you are building your portfolio and exposure everytime a picture is published. I highly recommend getting a some sort of lens in the 2.8 or belowe range because it will pay off down the road.

Thanks Jonh68 The last paragraph definitly hits home....

I am going to try different things tonight. Hopefully I will get my newspaper shot when it is daylight. I am hopeing to borrow a 30D from a friend here soon to see if iso 3200 will help any..and maybe figure out a way to sell my xt as a combo to raise enough for a 30D....Which might leave me with only one lense....: (...I know I need the combo of fast lens and body but 1 step at a time.... I do already have Nifty fifty. I will try that at some point tonight.

The sports editor did say that the shot the made the paper was one of the better ones from all the photographers. It did show faces /ball during a tackle. I got asked to do another game as well....

I will post pictures from tonight tommorrow and will go from there....

Obviously I need to figure out how I want to shoot and need to get my results more consistant but should I be handing business cards or flyers to the coaches and say something like hey could you put this on one of your bb so the players can find my pictures? It wouldnt of worked last week as one of the moms takes pictures on the sideline with her xt and 135 L and then gives them to the parents....OWELL.....Maybe that could generate some extra income to upgrade to some sort of 2.8 or prime....