2nd attempt, indoor Cheerleading, hopefully better

Rocketman766

Ok, here is my second attempt at shooting indoor competitive cheerleading. I used a 70-200mm f2.8L IS USM, I shot more "wide" shots because after asking the parents, they liked seeing more of the girls in the shots since it meant seeing more shots of their girls more often, but I did try to get some tighter shots too. Please feel free to C & C here, thats the best way for me to learn... thanks for looking.

Here is my first attempt if anyone wants to compare:
http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=119561

Ok, second attempts to follow:

clcoronios

OH yeah!! A big improvement - those look very nice. You'll be able to crop tighter if YOU want, yet they're composed well to show all the girls. Of course, you'll want to crop out the body parts on the far right in the last one.

Good job.

Carol

Rocketman766

Thanks for looking and the comments ...oops, yes I did miss the last one. Still alot to learn here. I have another competition to shoot this weekend, but a little nervous about this one. I highly doubt the lighting will be as good at the one this weekend. Also, I won't have the 70-200 f2.8 with me..only my 100mm f2 USM. I will have my 55-250mm, but not anticipating great shots in the lighting provided.

clcoronios

Rocketman - is there NO WAY you can beg/borrow/rent/steal a 2.8?

C

Rocketman766

I am considering running down to the only camera shop in the area and buying the Sigma 70-200 f2.8.... no one rents locally.... i don't think fed ex delivers on saturday...event is on Sunday.

darkdragon

Rocketman766 wrote:

I am considering running down to the only camera shop in the area and buying the Sigma 70-200 f2.8.... no one rents locally.... i don't think fed ex delivers on saturday...event is on Sunday.

FedEx has saturday delivery, but it will usually double the shipping cost. Might be best to give the Sigma a go if it is available locally.

I really like the second shot here.

SoonerShawn

These look really good, especially for the lenses you are restricted by. I shot an ACA event in Ft. Worth, TX for a friend who had a daughter cheering. You have to be ready, the action happens as quick as any other sport I've ever shot.

b08rsa

Rocketman766 wrote:

I am considering running down to the only camera shop in the area and buying the Sigma 70-200 f2.8.... no one rents locally.... i don't think fed ex delivers on saturday...event is on Sunday.

Rocketman766... I will be shooting 1790 Cincinnati (Professional Indoor Soccer League) tonight. I am excited to use my Sigma 70-200. If I get some good shots, I will post them.
:ivar

sportsshooter06

sir,

cheerleading is difficult at it's best.

i shoot cheer occasionally for editorial and really do not like it.

shooting tight is ok for isolation of your daughter or someone else, but the easiest way to shoot cheer, is wide and with something like a 24-70 2.8. wide looks better, is easier to compose and resolve.

you say your using a canon camera, i would get a good zoom in the medium range, not a 70-200. it also depends on where you sit

but cheer is better wide, jmho

Qarik

I think I remember your previous shots. 1st of all imo these are an marked improvement in terms of exposure.

The 1st shot does not do it for me. All you get are the backs of bodies and heads and some awkward looking poses in the air.

the 2nd and 3rd shots are good though they appear a touch soft.

The 4th shot I like the best. It could use crop though.

The last shot would have been better if you could have isolated the subject better I think.

As far as the parents go? I suppose you need the group shots like to 2 and 3 to capture the great posing. But for me..#4 is you best shot becasue you can see the face, the emotions, etc clearly. I would mix in a lot more very tight shots

Rocketman766

SoonerShawn wrote:

These look really good, especially for the lenses you are restricted by. I shot an ACA event in Ft. Worth, TX for a friend who had a daughter cheering. You have to be ready, the action happens as quick as any other sport I've ever shot.

Thanks for looking.. I like shooting my daughters teams since I know the routines, but when shooting other teams...thats another story, your right, everything happens fast.

b08rsa wrote:

I will be shooting 1790 Cincinnati (Professional Indoor Soccer League) tonight. I am excited to use my Sigma 70-200. If I get some good shots, I will post them.

Looking forward to checking them out. I am learning alot from seeing others shots and hearing from them here on the forum.

sportsshooter06 wrote:

shooting tight is ok for isolation of your daughter or someone else, but the easiest way to shoot cheer, is wide and with something like a 24-70 2.8. wide looks better, is easier to compose and resolve.

you say your using a canon camera, i would get a good zoom in the medium range, not a 70-200. it also depends on where you sit

but cheer is better wide, jmho

I will give this a try. I am adding a medium range zoom to my "want to buy list". I do like having more to work with when shooting wide. Thanks for the input.

Qarik wrote:

I think I remember your previous shots. 1st of all imo these are an marked improvement in terms of exposure.

The 1st shot does not do it for me. All you get are the backs of bodies and heads and some awkward looking poses in the air.

the 2nd and 3rd shots are good though they appear a touch soft.

The 4th shot I like the best. It could use crop though.

The last shot would have been better if you could have isolated the subject better I think.

As far as the parents go? I suppose you need the group shots like to 2 and 3 to capture the great posing. But for me..#4 is you best shot becasue you can see the face, the emotions, etc clearly. I would mix in a lot more very tight shots

This is why I post to learn...I did not even realize the first shot was backs and heads...thanks for pointing this out, I will try to eliminate these in the future.
For the 4th shot, I left a bit of space so it could be cropped for printing... should I do all this prior to posting?
I agree about the last shot too, figure I can crop that one to get just her..(my daughter in that one so I have already cropped and printed it for my wife..)

Thanks to all for the input, I am always accepting input to continue learning.