Sr. Soccer Composite Portrait

JDecker29JDecker29 Registered Users Posts: 13 Big grins
edited February 17, 2015 in Sports
Give me your thoughts on this work please - been doing these in some form or fashion for my kids teams since they were 8 years old - now as they've gotten into HS I've been doing these for the senior girls for the banquet gift. 885503_10204144228903523_2974851336632957568_o.jpg

Comments

  • lifeinfocuslifeinfocus Registered Users Posts: 1,461 Major grins
    edited December 25, 2014
    Looks good to me. I like the background for the whole image and the backgrounds for the images on the right.

    What size prints?

    And what are the backgrounds on the right side?

    Phil
    http://www.PhilsImaging.com
    "You don't take a photograph, you make it." ~Ansel Adams
    Phil
  • 73Rocks73Rocks Registered Users Posts: 147 Major grins
    edited December 26, 2014
    I Like It!
    JDecker29 wrote: »
    Give me your thoughts on this work please - been doing these in some form or fashion for my kids teams since they were 8 years old - now as they've gotten into HS I've been doing these for the senior girls for the banquet gift.

    Great action shots incorporated into a nice isolation shot on a nice background . . . winning combination. I am sure the players/parents appreciate it greatly.
  • ian408ian408 Administrators Posts: 21,949 moderator
    edited December 26, 2014
    I like what you've done.

    But, I think the poster is pretty busy. I would make the background layer more transparent-so it's there but not quite as prominent and your more focus is on your subject. Same for the orange highlights.
    Moderator Journeys/Sports/Big Picture :: Need some help with dgrin?
  • jmphotocraftjmphotocraft Registered Users Posts: 2,987 Major grins
    edited January 3, 2015
    Too busy for my taste and the main image is unflattering. I see two other shots that would have made better main images. Sorry.
    -Jack

    An "accurate" reproduction of a scene and a good photograph are often two different things.
  • David_S85David_S85 Administrators Posts: 13,249 moderator
    edited January 8, 2015
    Waaay too busy for me. I don't relate to the paint splatters and I agree there should be a better subject photo that is more soccer pose related. Sorry.
    My Smugmug
    "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take" - Wayne Gretzky
  • mercphotomercphoto Registered Users Posts: 4,550 Major grins
    edited January 8, 2015
    Ditch the pain splatter and instead do the white border like on the left. Drop shadow those too. As other said, the main image needs to be a better selection. Otherwise I really love these types of composites!
    Bill Jurasz - Mercury Photography - Cedar Park, TX
    A former sports shooter
    Follow me at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/bjurasz/
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  • PhotoGuruPhotoGuru Registered Users Posts: 6 Beginner grinner
    edited January 12, 2015
    There's too much going on and her inner right forearm looks strange due to the background.
  • JDecker29JDecker29 Registered Users Posts: 13 Big grins
    edited February 17, 2015
    Thanks for the likes and critiques - haven't been here in a while - the prints are 16x20 and of course thru shooting about 15 soccer games this fall it is hard to get shots that fit what some of you are talking about - I use a 3s / Sigma 120-300 combo mostly and if the subject isn't close you can't get the size you need for the cut out in the middle - I'm using photoshop and use "smart objects" but you still have to have a decent size image for the cutout... its hard to isolate those shots when shooting pics of every kid playing the game. AS far as flattering pose for soccer - this is pure action - and part of that IMHO is ugly faces and passion - on the paint splotches they don't have shadows - it is a beveled edge which gives it IMHO a little life like paint would be if you slung it from a brush on the floor... and it is busy - maybe a bit too busy, but I want more than one pic on here - each pic represents a memory from a game - and 10 years down the road they'll still be able to piont to each one and have a story about that game... I changed the composite up this year from the last 3 and the paint splotches on the right were what my pea brain came up with - I do the backgrounds with diff. brushes I download - I've got two other soccer things I did before changing to this one and a softball state title poster as well http://tnbaseballreport.com/samplepix.htm
  • jmphotocraftjmphotocraft Registered Users Posts: 2,987 Major grins
    edited February 17, 2015
    Hi JDecker,

    Well the excuses of "it's action and it's hard to get shots and my lens isn't long enough" won't fly in this forum. We've all been there, we know the challenges, and we know it's possible to get thrilling shots if you really need to. And you have. I would say the middle left picture or the bottom right picture would have made a better center picture, assuming they are in focus and not cropped severely. Those have much better poses, faces, and action. Try for the FACT rule of sports photography - Face, Action, Conflict or Contact, Toy (in this case ball). The best sports shots will have good examples of all of them. The center shot here has none.

    Your lens is perfectly capable of shooting high school soccer on your D3s. Yeah a 200-400 f/4 might be ideal, but most of us don't live in that world.

    Overall the poster is pretty good, we're just suggesting ways it could have been better. I think it would have been twice as good with one of the other two pics I mentioned as the center pic, and then it would have had the desired effect.

    Love the softball state title poster. I think a poster for an entire team needs to have lots of pics to cover all the players, as you've done, so busy works there.
    -Jack

    An "accurate" reproduction of a scene and a good photograph are often two different things.
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