Middle School Volleyball

Gringriff

I never tried volleyball photography but my son joined the middle school team and I got to go, so of course I took the camera. The boys played good but lost to a better team. They will improve.

I used Noiseware (and sharpening) on all of these because the ISO was between 2500 and 6400 with shutter speeds 1/500 or 1/640. I know these are not great but with the higher ISO I am sure I would not have gotten even this good with the XSi. I am really enjoying the 50D.

Thanks for looking, any comments are welcomed.

Andy

1. Concentrating on the serve


2. A good effort


3. A little close for comfort


4. My son trying to get the technique

rainbow

Good start to your volleyball shooting.

Not sure which lens you are using. From your list, the 85 f/1.8 may be best because of the extra stop over the zoom and the AF system and reach over the 50. I often use this lens at f/2.2 (from reading that it is sharp from here on, not from testing). Shoot lots to be able to choose from the best as often the keeper rate in these lighting conditions is low.

Have a fun season! Thanks for sharing.

Gringriff

rainbow wrote:

Good start to your volleyball shooting.

Not sure which lens you are using. From your list, the 85 f/1.8 may be best because of the extra stop over the zoom and the AF system and reach over the 50. I often use this lens at f/2.2 (from reading that it is sharp from here on, not from testing). Shoot lots to be able to choose from the best as often the keeper rate in these lighting conditions is low.

Have a fun season! Thanks for sharing.

Thanks rainbow. These shots were all taken with the 70-200 which resulted in very little cropping. I did use the 85 prime during the last game. I wanted to try the zoom to reach both ends as much as possible. But as it turns out, trying to catch a baseline player was tough as the front guys kept getting in the way. Next time I may try more with 85 and just crop a little extra.

Andy

JeffCanon

the white balance seem a little yellowish and IMO try to stay away from that 6400 iso even it you end shooting under a stop

Gringriff

JeffCanon wrote:

the white balance seem a little yellowish and IMO try to stay away from that 6400 iso even it you end shooting under a stop

Thanks Jeff. I really struggle with white balance. I went back and adjusted several of the photos again.

Thanks,
Andy

rainbow

Not sure if you are shooting JPeg or RAW. RAW allows for best white balance in post processing. Use the DPP software and use the eyedropper to click on something white or gray until it looks good OR use a gray card and take a few frames before shooting the event. Takes more time, but much better results.

Gringriff

rainbow wrote:

Not sure if you are shooting JPeg or RAW. RAW allows for best white balance in post processing. Use the DPP software and use the eyedropper to click on something white or gray until it looks good OR use a gray card and take a few frames before shooting the event. Takes more time, but much better results.

Yes I did shoot these in RAW because I knew they would need extra work due to the lighting. I have a gray card and use it most of the time but I have been told not to use it for white balance. This time I found something white and shot it for the Custom White Balance (the white basketball backboard) and still made extra adjustments at the computer.

I use the dropper tool (Bridge) which seems easy enough but I will look at several different spots on the image to try and get it right but I find that I get it set and then later realize it is too yellow, or green, or whatever and then have to adjust the colors again.

Thanks,
Andy

Gringriff

Okay. I did shoot RAW but those are already deleted. So I made some adjustments to the JPG versions. Here are the updates for a couple (#1 and #3 from above) that I thought may need it most.

Let me know if these are any better or if I am still way off.

Thanks again,
Andy

1. REVISED


3. REVISED

rainbow

pics not showing on my PC

Gringriff

rainbow wrote:

pics not showing on my PC

Oh. Should work now, I think?

rainbow

Pics now visible. First one looks good. Second one I am seeing green on his left arm. Try the eyedropper on the ball. I just processed some HS vb and that worked pretty well in a fluorescent lit gym.

Gringriff

rainbow wrote:

Pics now visible. First one looks good. Second one I am seeing green on his left arm. Try the eyedropper on the ball. I just processed some HS vb and that worked pretty well in a fluorescent lit gym.

I agree and think the legs are even a little green. I will keep trying and will use the ball some more (have tried that some already too). They have another home match on Monday. Hopefully, those will turn out a little better. I may stick more with the 85 prime instead of the zoom this time.

Thanks for your help.

MT Stringer

Andy you ought to be happy with the light you had. This past Tue. I had to shoot 1/400 sec, f/2.2 - 2.5 with a 1D and 100mm f/2.0 lens. I also shoot in RAW so the white balance can be adjusted, and possible adjust the exposure.

It takes a lot longer to process the RAW files (convert to jpg), but I think it is worth it, even if I had 1200 pics (three matches - fresh, jv and varsity).

Keep up the good work.
Mike