Fisheye -- I have no idea what I am doing...

wmstumme

So I decided I wanted a new toy for this Lax season and went out and got an inexpensive fisheye. It is an 8mm all manual job. What a completely different experience from normal sports shooting. I tried to do some reading and look at other work on line to get some ideas before heading out this past weekend, but not sure how much sank in.

I'd be interested in any suggestions or tips of things to try.

Had a lot of fun with it--here's a couple that I came away with:

AceCo55

I really enjoyed these - a fresh perspective. I wouldn't want to see all the sports images like this but they do give an excellent context to the match/ground/team.
The only one that I (operative word = "me") don't think works is #7 (single player's face). I think it's not that flattering and doesn't have context other than it's a distorted face (guess I don't care so much about a dog's feelings, because I like the last one ... and it has more context)
Nice work (as usual)

David_S85

These are all fun. I prefer the dog's shot the most because, for dogs, it's all about the nose.

wmstumme

Ace/David: Thanks for the comments!!

AceCo55 wrote: »

... I wouldn't want to see all the sports images like this but they do give an excellent context to the match/ground/team. ...

Over the years I have shot so many of my daughter's games that sometimes it can feel a little bit like groundhog day. I totally agree that you don't want too many of these type of shots--but it is fun including something new that puts you so totally out of your comfort zone.

time2smile

Cool Shots...

If you still want to play with this, try different angles besides dead on, focus on top 1/3 of frame, and get a curved horizon, as in the dog shot. Focus on bottom 1/3 and get a bowl look. Also try portrait instead of landscape and the effects will be totally different.

Have Fun, Best Wishes

jhefti

FWIW my experience with wide angle shots is that they need to be used sparingly. They're great for atmospherics (http://www.johnhefti.com/p744352708/h1e829c53#h1e829c53) or on goal when you want to capture all the action. They're also great for capturing the venue, assuming it is interesting to capture (http://www.johnhefti.com/p505398757/h346a37b#h346a37b). What they don't do very well is capture the action of just a few players, like #1 in your set. I had to look to find the ball being passed. Meanwhile, there is all this space in frame in which nothing very interesting is happening.

I especially like the shots of the players with their sticks in the air, and the shot near goal works as well. Of course, had there been a deep blue sky with interesting clouds, all of these would be better. Not much you can do about that, though.

Just keep shooting with it; you'll figure out how to use it.

jmphotocraft

I don't think I would bother with the FE for action, but I really like the other stuff. The up-the-nose shot is kind of funny but as we can see it's not for everyone.

JBHotShots

Good job!!!

I had the exact same thoughts when I picked mine up a couple of weeks ago. Not much more I can add to what has already been said. I'll PM you a couple of my shots when I get home to my computer.