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Dome Shot
This is from the Anaheim Duck's practice. Hiller took one to the dome from Saku Koivu. What can be done to improve? This was taken with a 50D & 70-200 f2.8L IS at f2.8 1/800 iso 3200. I have some more pictures from the practice that I will post later. Thanks for the help.
DON
DON
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Personally, I think this image is just a snapshot (and there is nothing wrong with a snapshot).
My biggest issue is that you missed the focus and the image is very soft and maybe even over-cropped. You seemed to have lost detail and increased the saturation too much in the post; the jersey blends into the pants and one may think that the puck is somewhere there based on the position of the players. As for the composition, it's okay. I think a better angle for this shot is on the side, but that's just a personal opinion and nothing more. I generally want to see puck, face (eyes if possible) and stick in these types of composition. For the title (headline), i don't think it's strong enough and there isn't enough clues in the image for the viewer to realize that the shot hit the helmet instead of the body.
Is there a reason why you were shooting 1/800 at ISO3200? Do you understand why you were at these settings? I dont' shoot with the 50D, but I don't think believe that camera is clean at that ISO unlike the 5dMkII or the D3. Since your last post, have you figured out exposure yet? Honestly speaking, hockey, especially pro hockey, isn't the sport to learn how to shoot unless you are willing to spend the time and energy.
What can be done to improve? Practice. I would recommend that you shoot a kid's game in the same rink (try kids under age8 or the over 35 adult league. or E level leagues), and see if you can get those players in focus in most frames in each session. If you can't nail the focus in most frames during those games, you're just going to spray and pray during the pro practices (nothing wrong with that either).
On the positive side, you did capture a nice moment and the WB is decent (congrats!).
Thank you for taking the time to critique my mess. There is no need to remind me of a previous post, as I dont think that you are trying to be mean or hateful. One can not have thin skin and be good at anything.
I would have liked to shoot from the glass but it is a mess there right now.
I shot at 1/800 to stop the puck and the image looked too dark so I upped the iso. At 1/500 he puck was still out of focus.
Here is the shot without pp.
I will keep practicing. And thanks again for your time. DON
Keep shooting nothing to lose by trying...
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Pro hockey is very difficult to shoot. The suggestion to shoot some local youth hockey is a good one. It will also help you develop your exposure technique.
How are you focusing? Are you using all the focus points or a single point? I ask because it's possible that your focus point will tell you why the image is soft. BTW, I can't tell if the puck is frozen and out of focus. Or moving and out of focus.
Good luck with the future practices and I look forward to seeing your results
ian408- Thank you for your time also. I am using all focus points. Should I be doing something different? When I look at the shot I can see that the puck is somewhat lost in the jersey but it looks in focus to me. What am I missing or what should I be looking for? I can see the logo and the edge on the puck but thought it was too far away to read it clearly. Tomorrow my my 5 year old, who was moved up from the Dymamite league ( 6&U) to the Atom league (8&U) has his Championship game so I will see what I can do there. Also on Saturday the Jr. Ducks have try outs and do to injuries I have to watch,any suggestions on what to try?
Thanks again for all the help,
DON
My suggestion is to use a single focus point and place it on your subject. The problem with using all of them is you never know what exactly the focus point is and at f/2.8, you are screwed if you want the goalie in focus and you get the stick of the D just out of the frame. Also make sure your camera is set to AI focus so that you track the subject (once locked on).
if you do use single focus points, you need to be familiar with how to set the points without looking at the camera. By learning that, you can change the focus point on the fly to frame your shots correctly.
Remember that not all focus points are the same and because of that, you should review your manual and make sure you use a cross type point. The 50D has 9 focus points and they are all cross type. The center focus point is most sensitive when wide open (2.8).
DON