Little Softball and Baseball Last night

jbr13

It was overcast and cold, but I went out anyway.

johng

Of the 3, #2 is probably the best. Color, sharpness and exposure are good in all 3.

The problem I have with #1 is the akward look of the pitcher - that's a strange leg kick she has. Catching the ball in the frame is a necessity, but her body positioning kinda ruins this shot for me (someone who knows her may love it but I don't know her ). Her face is a bit soft but it's the body position that really kills it for me.

On shot 3 the problem is this is from a poor angle. You want faces. So while I like the timing of the shot - the fact that you are behind the payer takes away from it's effectiveness. You want to take this type of shot from the first base line not the third base line so you get the player facing you. Just a suggestion for next time.

One other suggestion, if you don't mind - when posting on forums, put a copy of the photo in a private gallery WITHOUT the watermark. People here are not going to steal your images (if you like - just upload a smaller version of the photo).

All in all, you got a lot of things technically correct which is great. You just need to work on your angles and subject critique a little. You're definitely on the right track!

jbr13

John, Thank you very much for the comments!! That is the kind of feed back I come here for! I posted them and then realized they were proof set. Sorry! The biggest problem I have in shoting the third baseman from First base, is I only have a 80-200 lens. If I had a 300 or 400 those shots would be better. Again thanks for the suggestion and comments. I will work on the angles!

Jason

johng wrote:

Of the 3, #2 is probably the best. Color, sharpness and exposure are good in all 3.

The problem I have with #1 is the akward look of the pitcher - that's a strange leg kick she has. Catching the ball in the frame is a necessity, but her body positioning kinda ruins this shot for me (someone who knows her may love it but I don't know her ). Her face is a bit soft but it's the body position that really kills it for me.

On shot 3 the problem is this is from a poor angle. You want faces. So while I like the timing of the shot - the fact that you are behind the payer takes away from it's effectiveness. You want to take this type of shot from the first base line not the third base line so you get the player facing you. Just a suggestion for next time.

One other suggestion, if you don't mind - when posting on forums, put a copy of the photo in a private gallery WITHOUT the watermark. People here are not going to steal your images (if you like - just upload a smaller version of the photo).

All in all, you got a lot of things technically correct which is great. You just need to work on your angles and subject critique a little. You're definitely on the right track!

johng

jbr13 wrote:

biggest problem I have in shoting the third baseman from First base, is I only have a 80-200 lens.

Jason

Yeah, that's quite a problem. I shoot with the Sigma 120-300 and that isn't even long enough.

Here's something you can do though - if the dugouts do not have fences in front of them (some fields I shoot do and some do not) then shoot from the dugout. You can get a decent angle of the third baseman from the home plate corner of the 3rd base dugout. Even if you have to use the 1st base dugout (typically you would shoot from the dugout of the fielding team - too many people in the way when that team is batting) it's a shorter distance than shooting from behind 1st base. The only real challenge is the 3rd base coach. Sometimes I think they intentionally get between me and my subject

wxwax

Hi Jason.

I like the color and sharpness you got in the shots. And I like the action in the third.

I much prefer the background in the second image, to the one in the first. That orange fence is ugly. The second background is a lot less distracting.

I find that softball pitchers are a lot more visual before they release the ball. The moment of release isn't very athletic looking. Their windup is far more visually interesting.

As for shooting third from first, just crop like crazy! But you're right, a 300 would make your life a lot easier.