First baseball shoot

Snowgirl · July 17, 2011

Hi. True confessions: I know little beyond the very basics about baseball. But, my brother asked me to come to a game yesterday and take a few shots of the team he coaches; so I did.

Here are a few shots representative of my efforts. Suggestions gratefully accepted in case he calls on me again.

#2 This one straight out of the camera, just cropped a bit:

In all I took a couple of hundred shots over two days and four games. Other may be seen here if you are interested (or desperately bored).

Thanks in advance.

Molotov Everything · July 17, 2011

Well I'm currently watching women's soccer so yea I'm pretty bored. I poked around the gallery, didn't look at everything but I guess here's some general notes I can think of.
-I noticed there's like 50 pictures of what looks like the warmups before the game, I think that's way too many.
-A lot of these look overexposed
-there's a few shots of people standing around doing nothing. I get the need to try to include the whole team but for example, shot 110 in the gallery is 2 guys standing there looking bored, and it isn't zoomed in enough for me to see their faces anyways, doesn't make for a compelling photo to someone who has no personal attachment to anyone on the team.
-shot 112 didn't upload properly
-a lot of them are shot too wide, especially some of the pitching shots (#97). It looks like from some of the other photos you could have zoomed in more on him. One thing that's slowly driving it's way in to my head from seeing other people's work on this forum is the tighter you can get the better.
-you had good timing on some of the batter's swings but the batter is all the way on the right side of the frame, I'd say put him more in the middle or on the left, no one needs to see the umpire.

What kind of lens were you using? I did my first baseball game a few months ago with an 80-200mm and it totally wasn't long enough to give me good coverage of the whole field. Infield was fine but outfield.... forget it.

Let me edit this in: for someone with no knowledge of the game or experience I think you did just fine, your timing in a lot of these shots is totally on point.

Snowgirl · July 17, 2011

Thank you for the critiques. All very helpful comments that I will keep in mind if I get roped in again, for sure.:D

I was using a Canon 1DMKIV with a 70-200 f/2.8 IS for the first 2/3 of the shots. The last third were with a 24-105 f/4 IS. Also, I used a monopod with the longer lens, hand held with the shorter one.

I do have a 1.4 extender that I should have taken with me and used. There was virtually no wind and it was really hot there. Both games we're played at high noon, oh joy. 30+C and no shade.

My only regret (other than not having a longer lens) is that I didn't have enough knowledge of the game to know where to focus my attention (and camera).

Thanks again for your suggestions.:D

Scott293 · July 17, 2011

Snowgirl wrote: »

Hi. True confessions: I know little beyond the very basics about baseball. But, my brother asked me to come to a game yesterday and take a few shots of the team he coaches; so I did.

Here are a few shots representative of my efforts. Suggestions gratefully accepted in case he calls on me again.

#2 This one straight out of the camera, just cropped a bit:

In all I took a couple of hundred shots over two days and four games. Other may be seen here if you are interested (or desperately bored).

Thanks in advance.

The one thing I notice from these photos are that you need to crop tighter like this when shooting sports.

Hope this helps, Keep practicing

photodad1 · July 17, 2011

When shooting baseball, I always use my 70-200mm f2.8L and the 1.4 extender. I agree with Scott293, crop tighter. I also, in sunny conditions shoot in AV mode, open up the F-stop to 2.8 and set the ISO at 100. Set your auto focus to AI-servo.

Glort · July 17, 2011

Nice shots Snow.

I have taken thousands of pics of my kids playing baseball and I like to get a bit of background in and some full length of the players as well.
My son is a pitcher and prefers the full length shots ( as does my Wife) so he can see his foot position etc. If you shoot wide you can always crop in but it don't work the other way round.

Anyway, well done I think.

Snowgirl · July 18, 2011

Thanks all. Although it was hotter than 'h' out there, it was a lot of fun and I'd definitely do it again - incorporating your suggestions. Much appreciated. Oh, and I will make the effort to learn a bit more about the game too. This was a last minute request so I didn't have time to research in advance and figure out what would be the best approach.

johng · July 18, 2011

Image 1: too loosely framed. The second baseman really doesn't add anything to the image. So, along with him you get a lot of annoying background that distracts from the pitcher. It also pushes the subject of interest too far towards the right edge of the frame. I'm also not sure what PP you did but the contrast looks way too high with too much saturation. The second shot has much more natural colors

Image 2: Not bad for in-camera framing - certainly tight enough to work with. I would suggest a crop that straightens the photo and pushes him to the left of the frame and cuts out the dead space above. The biggest issue with this photo is the lack of separation from the background. You should be able to shoot a shot like this with much longer focal length - at least 200mm 2.8 or 300mm 4.0. A big difference between a sport like baseball and a sport like riding is with baseball and other field sports you want to diminish the background as much as possible because it usually is more of a negative than a positive.

Snowgirl · July 18, 2011

Thanks John. Very helpful comments.

Glort · July 18, 2011

Snowgirl wrote: »

Oh, and I will make the effort to learn a bit more about the game too.

I ahve been watching my son play for 8 years now and i'm also an accredited baseball coach after I got roped into it by the club.

I'm still learning about the game!
It never ends. If the runner is forced its one thing, if its the 3rd innings its something else, if its a full moon and a high tide then something else applies and they will do something different again....
Bloody hell!

Every year they bring out changes 9 23 last year) and I'm only just catching up with teh ones they brought in 3 years ago. For that reason I only ever umpire the little kids and minor games where a bad call or several won't make much difference.

The easiest way to shoot it is just try to follow the ball. The rules and thinking you know the game just confuse's you.

One thing I have tried to learn is to get the ball in the shot when they are batting just before or after they hit it. Not easy when you have pitchers like my son who throw change ups and curveballs etc and not only throw the batters timing off but your own.
8 FPS shooting is useless, it's amazing how far the ball moves between frames.

One thing I have mastered is catches. Even the low fast ones straight off the bat I seem to be able to track somehow.

I still have a horribly high reject rate though but at least I'm just doing it for memories rather than sales.

Snowgirl · July 19, 2011

Glort wrote: »

I ahve been watching my son play for 8 years now and i'm also an accredited baseball coach after I got roped into it by the club.

I'm still learning about the game!
It never ends. If the runner is forced its one thing, if its the 3rd innings its something else, if its a full moon and a high tide then something else applies and they will do something different again....
Bloody hell!

Every year they bring out changes 9 23 last year) and I'm only just catching up with teh ones they brought in 3 years ago. For that reason I only ever umpire the little kids and minor games where a bad call or several won't make much difference.

The easiest way to shoot it is just try to follow the ball. The rules and thinking you know the game just confuse's you.

One thing I have tried to learn is to get the ball in the shot when they are batting just before or after they hit it. Not easy when you have pitchers like my son who throw change ups and curveballs etc and not only throw the batters timing off but your own.
8 FPS shooting is useless, it's amazing how far the ball moves between frames.

One thing I have mastered is catches. Even the low fast ones straight off the bat I seem to be able to track somehow.

I still have a horribly high reject rate though but at least I'm just doing it for memories rather than sales.

!

If my brother asks me to shoot any more games, maybe I'll just pick one thing to concentrate on per inning - like catches in one, hits in another, runners in another etc. in the hopes that I get one or two decent ones of each thing? Outfield is a problem with a max 200mm lens, but my 1DMKIV has very fast fps and handles high shutter speeds and ISOs really well if needed. Like you, I'm only shooting this for fun and for my brother, not for big bucks. But I still like to do the best job I can so learning is always on my agenda.

redleash · July 19, 2011

Ceci - I will gladly give you baseball lessons when I see you! I can help you know what to watch for to set up your shots. You do have some nicely timed shots, but I wholly agree on the need for tighter crop. Some full-length shots are good, such as the two you posted in this thread, but several of the shots in your gallery would benefit from focusing in on the face, bat, glove, etc., rather than aiming for the whole player. Getting some emotions in the faces is a must.

Nice to see you expanding your horizons!

Lauren

Glort · July 19, 2011

redleash wrote: »

Nice to see you expanding your horizons!

Yeah, the best bit about baseball is that it's over in 2- 2.5 hours and you can shoot at least 3 different games, 6 teams in that time no trouble.
Sure beats standing round shooting horses all day long.

To go one better with baseball, shoot T&I. May take a while longer to do a club than a game but at least your always busy which makes the time go fast and the profits beat the crap out of horse events.

attorneyjay · July 29, 2011

Snowgirl wrote: »

! If my brother asks me to shoot any more games, maybe I'll just pick one thing to concentrate on per inning - like catches in one, hits in another, runners in another etc. in the hopes that I get one or two decent ones of each thing? Outfield is a problem with a max 200mm lens, but my 1DMKIV has very fast fps and handles high shutter speeds and ISOs really well if needed. Like you, I'm only shooting this for fun and for my brother, not for big bucks. But I still like to do the best job I can so learning is always on my agenda.

In a pinch, if you're not familiar enough with the sport to anticipate the best action shots, just follow the ball. It will generally lead you to the action and soon you will start anticipating. A ball in the picture always adds a critical element anyway. If you've never played the sport yourself or watched it much, it's difficult to learn the best camera shots. It just takes practice.

Snowgirl · July 30, 2011

attorneyjay wrote: »

In a pinch, if you're not familiar enough with the sport to anticipate the best action shots, just follow the ball. It will generally lead you to the action and soon you will start anticipating. A ball in the picture always adds a critical element anyway. If you've never played the sport yourself or watched it much, it's difficult to learn the best camera shots. It just takes practice.

Thanks. That advice makes sense. I sincerely hope he never takes up coaching football - I'd end up getting run over on the side lines

Skipper1613 · July 30, 2011

As stated above the saturation level does seem too specifically the yellow. I see this in a lot of baseball shots I’ve taken on bright days. I typically reduce the yellow in Photoshop Hue/Saturation selecting yellow and then dragging the saturation down until the color looks right. You may also find that the reds will need to be dropped a bit too in some photos.
Again the 1st shot is way too loose, if you are shooting the pitcher during the throw you don’t need the distraction of the second player competing with your subject (the pitcher) for attention. If you are going for a landscape, shot head to toe shot place the pitcher in the back third of the photo with the empty space being in the direction where he will be throwing the ball. People will buy shots they can’t take themselves, good tight shots will sell way better than ones that look like they could have been taken by any fan in the bleachers
Something I didn’t see was any pictures of your brother from behind home plate. Shots taken through the fence from behind the backstop make great shots of a pitcher. If you get the angle and timing right you’ll get shots just as he releases the ball with all of the intensity of the moment and on his face and the ball on it’s way towards the batter.
When you’re on the 3rd base side of the field look for shots of the 1stbaseman making the catch at 1st these can be cropped closer if you’re lens doesn’t get you as close as you need. Shots of the ball entering the glove just before the runner steps on the base are nice. From the 1st or 3rd if there is a runner on the base nearest you it gives you an opportunity to a nice tight close-up of their face.

Dugout shots can be good sellers if you get shots with emotion in them, and tight close-ups work are good here too.

In your gallery.
Pitcher # 2 you’re shooting his back move to the other side of the field for shots of him.
Page 7 photo # DL2H4524 This image was messed up in the camera with the lower 2/3s of the image looking like a negative, it should be deleted.
Unless you’re in a way better market area than we are I’d say your prices are way too high. I about 90% of the photos I sell are the cheapest that I offer which are 4 x 6 prints at $3.31 ea.

Keep at it after a while it will just start to come naturally.

Snowgirl · July 30, 2011

Thanks, Skipper, for the detailed review. All of the advice I've been given has been amazing and very helpful. No worries about selling these shots, not even trying. I will check on the one you mentioned that looked undone. Hmm. Thanks for letting me know.

ThatCanonGuy · July 31, 2011

I haven't looked at your gallery, but here are a few tips:

In #1, you have more space to the left of the pitcher. The 2nd baseman doesn't have much to do with the shot, so I'd put more space to the pitcher's right. Since the action is moving to the right, you want to have more empty space to the right. Likewise, with batters, shoot facing the batter. Put space where the ball just was, and where it's about to be (between the batter and pitcher). This way, if you click the shutter too soon, you'll still have the ball in the shot, with the batter about to hit it.

Get low. Very important. I kneel on the ground with my monopod when I can.

Infield warmups are a great way to get good shots. If you have access to the field, stand in front of the dugout. With a blurred background, you probably won't be able to tell it's warmups.

It's REALLY hard to get an interesting shot if the ball is not in it, unless it's a shot with a lot of emotion. I think most people like shots of the player right before he releases the ball/hits it. It builds suspense. In #2, it's just like "What happened?" Your mind start thinking about where the ball is now, and about the batter hitting it. #1 is a good moment, but I would get lower, zoom in more, and put the pitcher on the left of the frame.

I've found the most dramatic angle for pitchers is behind the backstop, off-center. If the pitcher is right-handed, go a little to your left. If the shot is vertical, the pitcher fills the frame, and it's right when he's releasing the ball, it can be really dramatic. I think you would need the 70-200 + 1.4x for this.

Snowgirl · July 31, 2011

ThatCanonGuy wrote: »

I haven't looked at your gallery, but here are a few tips:

In #1, you have more space to the left of the pitcher. The 2nd baseman doesn't have much to do with the shot, so I'd put more space to the pitcher's right. Since the action is moving to the right, you want to have more empty space to the right. Likewise, with batters, shoot facing the batter. Put space where the ball just was, and where it's about to be (between the batter and pitcher). This way, if you click the shutter too soon, you'll still have the ball in the shot, with the batter about to hit it.

Get low. Very important. I kneel on the ground with my monopod when I can.

Infield warmups are a great way to get good shots. If you have access to the field, stand in front of the dugout. With a blurred background, you probably won't be able to tell it's warmups.

It's REALLY hard to get an interesting shot if the ball is not in it, unless it's a shot with a lot of emotion. I think most people like shots of the player right before he releases the ball/hits it. It builds suspense. In #2, it's just like "What happened?" Your mind start thinking about where the ball is now, and about the batter hitting it. #1 is a good moment, but I would get lower, zoom in more, and put the pitcher on the left of the frame.

I've found the most dramatic angle for pitchers is behind the backstop, off-center. If the pitcher is right-handed, go a little to your left. If the shot is vertical, the pitcher fills the frame, and it's right when he's releasing the ball, it can be really dramatic. I think you would need the 70-200 + 1.4x for this.

Very Cool advice. Thanks. I have the 70-200 but forgot to take the 1.4x the day I shot this. Definitely next time!

ThatCanonGuy · July 31, 2011

I have lots of baseball images on my site, which I think mostly illustrate my points... feel free to check them out. If you do, I recommend looking at one of the later galleries. You get better as the season progresses!

MT Stringer · July 31, 2011

Well I'm currently watching women's soccer so yea I'm pretty bored. I poked around the gallery, didn't look at everything but I guess here's some general notes I can think of.
-I noticed there's like 50 pictures of what looks like the warmups before the game, I think that's way too many.
-A lot of these look overexposed
-there's a few shots of people standing around doing nothing. I get the need to try to include the whole team but for example, shot 110 in the gallery is 2 guys standing there looking bored, and it isn't zoomed in enough for me to see their faces anyways, doesn't make for a compelling photo to someone who has no personal attachment to anyone on the team.
-shot 112 didn't upload properly
-a lot of them are shot too wide, especially some of the pitching shots (#97). It looks like from some of the other photos you could have zoomed in more on him. One thing that's slowly driving it's way in to my head from seeing other people's work on this forum is the tighter you can get the better.
-you had good timing on some of the batter's swings but the batter is all the way on the right side of the frame, I'd say put him more in the middle or on the left, no one needs to see the umpire.

What kind of lens were you using? I did my first baseball game a few months ago with an 80-200mm and it totally wasn't long enough to give me good coverage of the whole field. Infield was fine but outfield.... forget it.

Let me edit this in: for someone with no knowledge of the game or experience I think you did just fine, your timing in a lot of these shots is totally on point.

I agree with this reply.

My two cents worth...

1) You are outside the fence, get it out of the pictures. Shoot over or get a stool. I have had to stand on a bucket before and keep one with me all the time.
2) Don't shoot the pitchers back...after all, you are outside the fence. Walk around to the other side so you get their face.
3) Shoot tight and crop tighter.
4) Ball, face and action make for good shots. The ball is not always necessary but it helps.

Feel free to check out my pics. Here is one, all shot with the MK3 and 300 f/2.8.

Hope this helps. Keep on shooting.
Mike

Snowgirl · August 1, 2011

MT Stringer wrote: »

I agree with this reply.

My two cents worth...

1) You are outside the fence, get it out of the pictures. Shoot over or get a stool. I have had to stand on a bucket before and keep one with me all the time.
2) Don't shoot the pitchers back...after all, you are outside the fence. Walk around to the other side so you get their face.
3) Shoot tight and crop tighter.
4) Ball, face and action make for good shots. The ball is not always necessary but it helps.

Feel free to check out my pics. Here is one, all shot with the MK3 and 300 f/2.8.

Hope this helps. Keep on shooting.
Mike

Hi. Had a look at your site and I see what you mean. I have a ladder step stool that I use for portrait shoots that would be perfect for this. Plus the other suggestion to get low some times.

I'm actually looking forward to trying again. Hmm. Must find out when my brother's team plays next - and where

See if I can put what I've learned here into practice. Thanks so much.

Snowgirl · August 1, 2011

ThatCanonGuy wrote: »

I have lots of baseball images on my site, which I think mostly illustrate my points... feel free to check them out. If you do, I recommend looking at one of the later galleries. You get better as the season progresses!

So true! Thanks again.:D

lifeinfocus · August 1, 2011

Mike mentioned, ball, face and action.

Any sport I shoot I think of the acronym - FACT - I made up.
F - Face - obvious
A - Action - either freeze the action or intentionally blur.
C - Contact with the ball, with another player, with the ground/plate, with water, etc.
T - Toy - huh? Could have said B for Ball, but there are sports with no ball and sometimes it is about something like the baton as used in track relay teams. Plus it is easier to remember.

Get all 4 in one shot and you have a winner! Three out of four is great too.

I have done baseball a few times and found:

I like to shoot from third base to get shots of action at 2nd base - have to track the runners. Or if I move quickly enough to get a play at third base. - Have to anticipate a play there more than at second.
You can also get a play at first base with a long enough lens but generally not very exciting there. Also, you can get plays at the plate - sliding into home. And left handed hitters. For right handed hitters go to first base side.

Shoot tight and crop tighter.

Phil

Snowgirl · August 1, 2011

You folks are a total wealth of knowledge. Thank you so much for sharing all of the insights. Seriously - can't wait for another opportunity to try and put at least SOME of your suggestions in play.

The FACT acronym is brilliant!:D

redleash · August 1, 2011

Ceci - Check the game schedule and see if there is one we can shoot while I am visiting. Unless, of course, we are too busy chasing waterfalls.

lizzard_nyc · August 1, 2011

Hi Snowgirl,
Ive been following your thread--took me a bit to comment.
I can't really give you tips since I don't shoot this type of photography and I know it's not easy. I've had sheer luck in capturing a couple of nice sport-like shots, it's was unintentional though

I do like that we are both approaching little league in different ways though.

I love the thought of you and Lauren shooting together and know she knows the sport and will likely be good at anticipating what will happen which I think is important in this type of photography.

You have gotten some great tips so far.

I look forward to your next post--no pressure.

Gary752 · August 1, 2011

MT Stringer wrote: »

I agree with this reply.

My two cents worth...

1) You are outside the fence, get it out of the pictures. Shoot over or get a stool. I have had to stand on a bucket before and keep one with me all the time.
2) Don't shoot the pitchers back...after all, you are outside the fence. Walk around to the other side so you get their face.
3) Shoot tight and crop tighter.
4) Ball, face and action make for good shots. The ball is not always necessary but it helps.

Feel free to check out my pics. Here is one, all shot with the MK3 and 300 f/2.8.

Hope this helps. Keep on shooting.
Mike

Some good suggestions! But there will be times when you won't be able to get over the fence. When this happens, I open the apeture up and get the lense as close to the fense as I can. This magically makes that pesky fense disappear. I had a chance to shoot a couple little league games, and I found that if I shot from the end of one of the dugouts (end towards home plate), I could get some decent pitcher shots. A few of the games they changed pitchers quite often, so I shot 1 of the pitchers back, (walking up the mound) so I had a record of his name & #, cause they only had their # on their back.

Another thing to think about. If you get to know the coaches, you might be able to sell the not so perfect shots to the coach. He could use them to see what the kids are doing wrong. Coaches would like to see hand placement on the bat, what they are doing with their feet, and various stages of the swing of the bat. From some not so perfect photos, a coach found out why one kid was having problems batting. He talked to the kid and the kid made some corrections, and ended up hitting a few home runs. So don't fret if you get some not so perfect shots. Just sell them to the coach! :-)

GaryB

Snowgirl · August 2, 2011

BroPhoto wrote: »

Some good suggestions! But there will be times when you won't be able to get over the fence. When this happens, I open the apeture up and get the lense as close to the fense as I can. This magically makes that pesky fense disappear. I had a chance to shoot a couple little league games, and I found that if I shot from the end of one of the dugouts (end towards home plate), I could get some decent pitcher shots. A few of the games they changed pitchers quite often, so I shot 1 of the pitchers back, (walking up the mound) so I had a record of his name & #, cause they only had their # on their back.

Another thing to think about. If you get to know the coaches, you might be able to sell the not so perfect shots to the coach. He could use them to see what the kids are doing wrong. Coaches would like to see hand placement on the bat, what they are doing with their feet, and various stages of the swing of the bat. From some not so perfect photos, a coach found out why one kid was having problems batting. He talked to the kid and the kid made some corrections, and ended up hitting a few home runs. So don't fret if you get some not so perfect shots. Just sell them to the coach! :-)

GaryB

Thanks for the encouragement, Gary. I'll definitely do it again. It was fun!

Snowgirl · August 2, 2011

redleash wrote: »

Ceci - Check the game schedule and see if there is one we can shoot while I am visiting. Unless, of course, we are too busy chasing waterfalls.

All of the above, Lauren, all of the above. We will chase waterfalls, covered bridges, woodland paths, wide open vistas from hill tops, old churches, neat old buildings and streetscapes (in Saint John), and, of course, whatever other places and events of interest we can find.

How'd you like to walk on the floor of the Bay of Fundy at low tide and shoot the famous "Flower Pots"? AND, if anyone is still playing baseball in October - DEFINITELY we'll take in a game and you can help educate me!

redleash · August 2, 2011

Can't wait! And, yes on the Bay of Fundy--always wanted to see it!

First baseball shoot

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