South Dakota H.S. Football

KipCox

First time I have EVER shot a HS football game. Obviously the lighting was the primary challenge. Choosing were to shoot from was also a challenge but I am learning. Any crits/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

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Thanks! :thumb

johng

Shot 3 is the nicest of the lot. But you need to frame more tightly in camera and crop less to retain detail. Shot 1 is too loose and too soon - if you're going to shoot a PAT/field goal like that you need the timing closer to impact - preferably at impact or just after. And a lot less background
Shot 2: too far away, too loosely framed and the faces are underexposed. You have to expose for faces not highlights - that's difficult without f2.8 lens - so if you can't afford an f2.8 then use an external flash.

shot 4: not much going on - shot 3 was the shot in the series. And face again is underexposed and shot is a bit overcropped

shot 5: way too much dead space in this shot - as well as that underexposed face. If you're going to take a shot like this it needs to be much tighter - basically a torso and above shot as the face/point is the only thing of interest. It's a tough shot without longer glass or the receiver right in front of you.

So, here are some suggestions - you need to frame shots much tighter in-camera - shoot more portrait orientation - most shots will have more vertical than horizontal components.

Save for an f2.8 or external flash / monopod - you're going to need them as f4 isn't going to work for very long.

Be patient - your subject should fill 3/4 of the vertical portion of portrait-oriented frame and 90% of landscape oriented frame at high ISO.

KipCox

Thanks for the pointers!

These were shot with a XSi with a Canon EF 70-200/f2.8L IS USM I and a 1.4 multiplier (that was why my iso was bottoming out at 4.0).

I appreciate the suggestions regarding proportions and shooting more portrait. Being a FB noob I was compensating for my inexperience trying to keep locked onto the subject(s) by staying zoomed out as much as I could while panning then zooming in for the shot.

I shot again today and the results were tighter although once again I kept sliding back to landscape for 95% of the shots. Just too tempting to shoot LS and rely on the crutch (Lightroom cropping) to tighten things up.

Here's a few from today's game (best 3 out of 30 "keepers").

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Thanks again for the pointers! DG forum members are the best.

bergquistd

Kip, I too tried SD HS football for the first time ever last night - I would be thrilled if my results had been as good as these! As John suggested, I can see I need to frame my shots alot tighter....

johng

a little better but there's still a key thing missing in 2 of the 3 - faces. Faces are what humanize the sport - it is expressions that make a huge difference - they add tension and emotion. for example:






That's why adjusting exposure for faces is so important but so is keeping that in mind with the angles you shoot and the players you highlight. Sometimes the action is good enough you don't need faces - spectacular catches, end over end flips, etc. But for the majority of your bread-and-butter shots you want to see those faces.

kpage

I'm trying my hand at football for the next few weeks... any tips other than framing in? How about with the lighting... do the lights from the stadium usually help a lot? I generally try to shoot without flash, I'd assume it's not allowed at a sporting game?

KipCox

@ bergquistd - Thanks for the compliment! I started out shooting hockey. Over the summer I tried baseball and it was a lot more difficult to get a good shot (not enough lens? player spacing?). So far for me the key for football has been about positioning and lighting. Hope you have as much fun learning as I am.

@ johng - Thanks for the pointers, especially positioning for the expressions of the players. Now I see why the other photogs have been planting their butts at the end zones and using 300s and 400s - they are trying to get the faces. I hadn't thought enough about that since I have been worrying more about just getting the shots. Hehe. You take some really sweet shots.

@ kpage - Flash use depends on the level - college and pro most always prohibit it, at the HS level in my area it's permitted. I try to avoid flash if I can.

The games I have been shooting have started about 5 or 6 in the afternoon. With no overcast I have been able to shoot about 1/800-1/1,200 at ISO100/200 and f4.0. If its overcast then I have used a combination of increasing ISO up to 400 or 800 (I don't have a higher quality camera so my ISO options are limited) and bumping the shutter speed down a few notches (say 1/500 or 1/640 if needed).

As the game goes on and the lighting darkens I try to keep the shutter speed the same (to freeze the action) and read the histograms and raise the ISO as needed (for me 1600 is my max since my XSI is so noisy). As the stadium lights come up I review the histograms and adjust ISO and shutter speed as needed. An issue I have learned in the last two days is that the stadium lights combined with my camera setups result in adequate exposure but they also have A LOT of contrast and shadows hide players' face unless I get lucky with a perfect angle and lighting.

I have a Speedlight 580EX II flash unit and it reaches mid-field but the lighting is too harsh and unnatural (demon eyes and yellow washout). Also, because I am inexperienced, the flash settings I have in it (E-TTL) are restricting the shutter speed to 1/200 which makes a focused shot under lights a difficult chore with very limited success.

I need to really learn to use the flash correctly so that it enhances the shot versus overpowering it.

I have read several tips about remote strobes but my budget won't allow it at this time.

For hockey I was taught to stay one stop right of center. I have been doing almost the same for football - so far mid to one stop right has been the best for my situations.

I am seriously looking at upgrading my camera body to either a 7D or a used MKIII for the higher ISO sensitivity, focus options, and higher frame rate.

I am not trying to be an expert...just sharing my setup in the hope that it helps someone like I was helped in the past and hopefully somebody will let me know if I am doing something wrong or there's a better way.

Thank God for DGrinners.

johng

kpage wrote: »

I'm trying my hand at football for the next few weeks... any tips other than framing in? How about with the lighting... do the lights from the stadium usually help a lot? I generally try to shoot without flash, I'd assume it's not allowed at a sporting game?

What gear are you using?

kpage

johng wrote: »

What gear are you using?

I'll be using a Nikon d60... I have a 35mm and a 55mm-200mm (both auto focus)

i also have... in manual focus...
50-135mm
35mm
24mm
plus a bunch of macros (obviously not ideal for football)

My biggest fear is the lighting, the d60 isn't AMAZING in low light but with the football stadium lights i was hoping it would work pretty well... I'm still VERY new to the auto focus so i dont always get it right, i'm so used to manually setting everything