DeadSpace

David Evertsen

I gotten a large amount of help on these forums with my picture taking abilities. That said I am no good at cropping or really worried about how much or little to crop. Are there any places on these forums or online that provide a good idea of how to get rid of that deadspace that appeared in all of the critiques of my pictures?? Any and all help would be greatly appreciated, the post processing is something that I am working on as well to help my pictures..

Thanks,
David Evertsen
www.phabulousphotos.com

johng

David,

The best advice is to have as little dead space in the photos to begin with. To achieve that you need to frame as tightly as possible in-camera. That usually means 2 things:
1. Getting over the mental block we all have when we start - being afraid of clipping limbs and so forth.
2. Being patient. At first you want to shoot everything that's going on. Be patient and wait until the action is close enough where you can fill a good portion of the frame with it.

My recommendations are - if it's people sports (i.e. not motorsports) - if you're shooting portrait orientation you want to fill at least 2/3 of the camera frame with the subject. If it's landscape you want to fill 90% of the vertical frame with your subject.

When you crop you're then cropping only a very small portion away. Where people get into trouble is starting with an image that only fills 20% of the frame and they try to crop down to that. Usually there isn't enough detail and/or because the subject was so small the focus is off.

Now, assuming you start with a good tight image you want to crop as much as possible while still being able to meet your objective. If a possible objective is prints make sure you leave enough room to convert the image into an 8x10 print.

Another rule of thumb is if a subject is running or looking toward one side position them toward the back of the frame with some open space for them to "move" or "look" into. Obviously if they're moving toward you that isn't relevant (and if they're moving away it's not likely to be a great shot).

Just some general tips - certainly not an all-encompassing list.

David Evertsen

johng wrote:

David,

The best advice is to have as little dead space in the photos to begin with. To achieve that you need to frame as tightly as possible in-camera. That usually means 2 things:
1. Getting over the mental block we all have when we start - being afraid of clipping limbs and so forth.
2. Being patient. At first you want to shoot everything that's going on. Be patient and wait until the action is close enough where you can fill a good portion of the frame with it.

My recommendations are - if it's people sports (i.e. not motorsports) - if you're shooting portrait orientation you want to fill at least 2/3 of the camera frame with the subject. If it's landscape you want to fill 90% of the vertical frame with your subject.

When you crop you're then cropping only a very small portion away. Where people get into trouble is starting with an image that only fills 20% of the frame and they try to crop down to that. Usually there isn't enough detail and/or because the subject was so small the focus is off.

Now, assuming you start with a good tight image you want to crop as much as possible while still being able to meet your objective. If a possible objective is prints make sure you leave enough room to convert the image into an 8x10 print.

Another rule of thumb is if a subject is running or looking toward one side position them toward the back of the frame with some open space for them to "move" or "look" into. Obviously if they're moving toward you that isn't relevant (and if they're moving away it's not likely to be a great shot).

Just some general tips - certainly not an all-encompassing list.

Thank you very much,

It makes so much sense you really don't have to worry about the small stuff if you start with the correct framing and subject. You are making it so much fun to try these new things out when I get to take some more football next week.

David Evertsen
www.phaboulousphotos.com

johng

Glad to help.

Here's another thought for your next game. A challenge when framing tightly is you can't really see everything develop like you do when you watch the game as a fan. When shooting offense, with the exception of receivers, I'm going to suggest - follow the ball carryer. Frame tightly on the QB until he hands off then switch to the RB. If you stay tightly framed on the ball carryer you don't have to worry about following the big picture.

Now - this advice falls apart on passes and pitches. On passes I'm going to suggest you make a choice - either shoot the QB or the receiver. Don't try to shoot both on the same play. Shooting the QB - advice is the same as above. Shooting the receiver,it's a bit different:
What I suggest is during the pass play lower the camera a tiny bit so it's just below your eye. Keep framing loose and pivot the camera down field. But watch the QB. Most HS QBs are not very good at looking off the defense. You'll know pretty early which receiver he's going for. Acquire that receiver in the viewfinder. If it's a short pass route lock and track the receiver and fire when the ball enters the frame (i.e. stop watching the QB and start watching receiver through the lens). If it's a long route you can keep pivoting the lens on the receiver while waiting for QB to throw. Then acquire receiver, zoom in and track - again firing when the ball enters the frame). Do NOT try to follow the ball through the air with your lens. That's how you watch as a fan.

But the whole mindset I try to employ is my camera is focused on ONE player - NOT on the play. Football is easy in that regard because ball movement is so much more predictable.

Good luck!

David Evertsen

johng wrote:

Glad to help.

Here's another thought for your next game. A challenge when framing tightly is you can't really see everything develop like you do when you watch the game as a fan. When shooting offense, with the exception of receivers, I'm going to suggest - follow the ball carryer. Frame tightly on the QB until he hands off then switch to the RB. If you stay tightly framed on the ball carryer you don't have to worry about following the big picture.

Now - this advice falls apart on passes and pitches. On passes I'm going to suggest you make a choice - either shoot the QB or the receiver. Don't try to shoot both on the same play. Shooting the QB - advice is the same as above. Shooting the receiver,it's a bit different:
What I suggest is during the pass play lower the camera a tiny bit so it's just below your eye. Keep framing loose and pivot the camera down field. But watch the QB. Most HS QBs are not very good at looking off the defense. You'll know pretty early which receiver he's going for. Acquire that receiver in the viewfinder. If it's a short pass route lock and track the receiver and fire when the ball enters the frame (i.e. stop watching the QB and start watching receiver through the lens). If it's a long route you can keep pivoting the lens on the receiver while waiting for QB to throw. Then acquire receiver, zoom in and track - again firing when the ball enters the frame). Do NOT try to follow the ball through the air with your lens. That's how you watch as a fan.

But the whole mindset I try to employ is my camera is focused on ONE player - NOT on the play. Football is easy in that regard because ball movement is so much more predictable.

Good luck!

Wow... This make so much sense, really appreciate the help. The HS QB's I watch definately have one person in mind most of the time. If they don't end up on their back... Thanks so much..

David