Composition Question in Track Photo

SoonerShawn

This is a shot of my daughter at a track meet this week. I'm curious to hear what some of you think about the composition for a long jump shot. Should I have allowed more room at the bottom for the pit? Or do you like this as is? I've gone back and forth on this. Very drab, overcast day unfortunately.



Nikon D3
Shot in manual mode
Nikkor 70-200 f2.8 lens
ISO 500
f3.5 @ 1/2000

johng

From a composition standpoint I like the shot as-is. You've got just enough of the pit to give context - I don't think having more pit in the frame would add to the shot. The challenge would be printing from this version - you'd be too tight after bleed - and then if it were framed you'd lose even more. So, as long as the image below is visibile in whatever medium you use I think the framing works well.

On a side note - skintone is a bit bright so you may want to tone that down a bit. Otherwise, very nice shot.

SoonerShawn

johng wrote:

From a composition standpoint I like the shot as-is. You've got just enough of the pit to give context - I don't think having more pit in the frame would add to the shot. The challenge would be printing from this version - you'd be too tight after bleed - and then if it were framed you'd lose even more. So, as long as the image below is visibile in whatever medium you use I think the framing works well.

On a side note - skintone is a bit bright so you may want to tone that down a bit. Otherwise, very nice shot.

Thank you John.

Dbl

Its not working to well for me. The classic long jump shot is normally legs out in front, a bit later than what you have here, the takeoff (a bit earlier) or just landing in the pit. This is one of those in-between shots where you don't get a sense of movement. I had to really look and see what she was doing. I would like to see you tell the story with more visual impact. JMHO. Technically it is well done.

cmkultradome

I love the shot and agree with John concerning the composition. I was a long/triple jumper in HS & college and can really relate to the photo. Depending on the jumper's technique a lot of times their legs don't come thru and in front of them until the very last second (my technique), while others "bicycle" the jump so you see their legs in front of them much earlier. I really like this picture in that you capture her face so well, usually towards the end of the jump their face is pointed down so its nice to be able to see it clearly in this photo. Great job!

Stephanie

SoonerShawn

cmkultradome wrote:

I love the shot and agree with John concerning the composition. I was a long/triple jumper in HS & college and can really relate to the photo. Depending on the jumper's technique a lot of times their legs don't come thru and in front of them until the very last second (my technique), while others "bicycle" the jump so you see their legs in front of them much earlier. I really like this picture in that you capture her face so well, usually towards the end of the jump their face is pointed down so its nice to be able to see it clearly in this photo. Great job!

Stephanie

Thanks Stephanie,
She is a 7th grader, and this is the technique her coach is teaching. I think they call this the hang position. I have other shots of the takeoff, landing, etc. but I've seen those positions done over and over, just thought this was neat because it caught her at the peak of the jump. This was her first track meet to compete in the long jump, so of course I was pretty proud to see that she did more than just run down the approach and jump like most kids that age would do. I was really surprised.

clemensphoto's

Very nice shot. I really like that you were lower than your daughter when you took this shot. I gives the shot a different feel in comparision to other shots that I usually see in sports.