Friday Night Football

jbakerphoto

Alright so last week I shot some 6 man football for my local paper and did ok. The editor was pleased that I could produce quality work and said that my shot was one of the better shots from all of the photographers and asked me to do another game. As yall saw from the photos I posted on here I definitly had some struggles. I was using my canon rebel xt with my 70-200 f4 L and 580 EX Flash in Ettl for most of the game and then changed over to 1/4 power which was a little better. The results in general though were rather inconsistant.

So this week I decided to try to figure out how I want to shoot and make the shots more consistant...Not sure we are there yet. I shot 2 different ways and I will show results for both.

1st way I returned to the 70-200 F4 L with 580 EX at 1/4 power. 2nd with a 50 mm 1.8 and no flash. So here are the results.

with the 70-200F4 L

1.) Very Hot!!! Would of been a nice shot otherwise.....



2.) The guy with the ball doesnt seem right. might be a focus problem but seems more like a stop the motion problem.



3.) OOOuuuFFF



4.) Ok so I like this one.....



With the 50 MM at 1.8 --- Pretty consistant results but I had to wait for them to come to me...(i almost got ran over like 3 times.. LOL)

5.)



6.)



7.)




So now I am thinking about trading in my kit for something else with fast glass and higher iso. The only problem is that I will need to do it without spending extra money...as I have none at the moment.

Well so what do yall think? Any Ideas?

johng

OK, here is the honest feedback:
shots 1-3 are completely ruined IMO - flash burned, motion blur and not sharp.

Shot 4 is probably the best of the bunch. Still overexposed and it's crooked. A lot of things are tough about shooting nighttime football - but straitening photos in post processing is easy enough. Shots 5 & 6 have way too much dead space. You need tighter framing. And, unfortunately it has to be FRAMED tighter. You're not going to crop down tight at high ISOs and retain quality. They are also both crooked.

7 - nice timing. But a perfect illustration of why, with short lenses (i.e. less than 300mm) it's better to shoot in portrait orientation. 90% of shots - especially at HS level are just going to be better framed in portrait orientation UNLESS you're extremely tight. It's tough to be that tight with only 200mm. So shoot portrait orientation. If you were shooting portrait you'd have the legs in the frame and it would be a better shot. Even so, you've got a tremendous amount of dead space in the shot. Need to frame tighter on the action.

Bottom line? Ditch the 50mm experiment. It's almost impossible to get tight enough framing. And you need tight framing for quality high ISO sports shots. It's DETAIL that makes a good sports shot. Faces, expressions, and action that's in-your-face that makes you feel like it's a foot from your face.

Keep practicing. You'll get better each time out. Don't get too down either - it's not easy work and it will take a while before the quality is there. But if you keep at it and keep seeking advice you'll get there.

jjvfx

Your shots are getting better. I would agree shoot portrait and eliminate the dead space.

Are you shooting on a monopod?

Jordan

GP Images

Most of your shots are tilted clockwise. Sounds like you have the determination to get better and that's the most important thing!

SDJames

Tighter framing and a level shot is always good, especially with faces. I don't care for the wide angle shots, it's too much of what everyone else sees. It's a challenge to get tight, face shots of the action. Sometimes I get a shot and the grill is totally blocking the eyes...bugs me, but I keep trying. Keep it up!