Tips on Racing and Softball

RaceJunkie

I am struggling trying to figurre out how to get the numbers in focus. Is it shutter speed or just poor panning?
1.


2.
Here is another


3.
Here the photo is just grainy and not enough light. I shot this from abuot 30ft away with a Nikon 50-200mm lens. 1/40 - f/5.6 Using a SB-800 Speed Light.



I just recently starting shooting in Manual mode so I know there is allot to learm. I just want to learn how to get more control over my photos.

4. The Bat is just a blur.



Camera is a Nikon D-40

Zee

Can't see pics - you need to change your settings to allow external links.

Art Scott

No Potos
No photos appearing here .......just a box with a CONTENT PROTECTED BY OWNER message and a lock.....I presuming that lock and message means the gallery is locked and not for public view.....

WildWally

I think the key is to un-lock the lock !!!!!
Are there numbers on the key ?? ..
Sorry , can't see photos ...

RaceJunkie

Sorry I did not realize it was locked.

AmateurMX

Tips on Racing and Softball
Overall your photos are not far off from being good. You just need a little tweaking in exposure and technique.

#1. It looks like the camera was stationary and the shutter speed was slow. The guardrail, fence and dirt have no motion blur in them while the car does. If you are going to shoot with a slow shutter you should always pan with the subject. As soon as the car appears in the viewfinder, frame it up and follow it.

#2. This one just looks like a focus issue. Was it grab shot, where you just picked up the camera and pulled the trigger? It doesn’t look like the camera had time to process what you were shooting.

#3. The exposure on this one is close. It looks like you need a little more flash power. If you are not already, I would suggest shooting the flash on manual at full or half power and set the f-stop according to the distance and the ISO.

One technique you might want to try is shooting a low ISO, maybe 100 or 200, setting the camera to aperture preferred and under exposing the ambient light by a half or full stop using the exposure compensation button.

Another thing I would have done on #3 is to get tighter on the action. A car backing it in to a corner is pretty dramatic. But the drama is lessened with a lot of dead space.

#4. The shutter speed is just way too slow on this one.

I think the key to shooting good photos is a lot of experimenting, making mistakes and learning from them. One of the many benefits of digital photos is the EXIF data. You can go back to any of your photos and see exactly how you shot it. That’s a big advantage to making necessary changes to the way you shoot.

MT Stringer

RaceJunkie, I can offer some help and suggestions for your softball pic. From looking at the exif for Pic #4, I can tell that you're all screwed up!

Your shutter speed is way too slow and that caused the blur.

Here's my suggestions, and they are exactly what I use for shooting softball, baseball, track and football.

Note: I use a Canon, so the explanation might be a bit different for your Nikon.

Use AV Priority Mode (aperature priority). Set your lens wide open or maybe just a half stop down. In my case that is f/2.8 or 3.2 with the Sigma 120-300 and the 70-200. Both are f/2.8 lenses.

Adjust you ISO so that your images are shot at at least 1/500 sec.

When I looked at your softball pic, it says 1/80 sec at f/25. So, you should be the other way around. Open the lens up and let the light in. By doing that in AV mode, your shutterspeed will increase so the exposure will be correct. Then adjust your ISO up or down, say from 200 to 400 or higher if needed.

I also use AI servo and center focus point only so the focus will follow the subject as it moves and you pan.

If you want to check out some examples of what I just wrote, check out my Smugmug website. www.mtstringer.smugmug.com

Look in the Sports section for "High School Softball". And a lot of the games in the "GHYSA 2008 Metro Championship" tournament are mine also (not the _DSCXXX images, those were shot by a friend with a NOINK). Especially Game #14 in the 18u bracket. Before the game started, the girl was running the bases and her dog was chasing her. I was following her by panning and shooting through the backstop. It was a really funny moment.

I hope you are not offended by my suggestions and find this info helpful.
Good luck.
Mike

AmateurMX wrote:

Overall your photos are not far off from being good. You just need a little tweaking in exposure and technique.

#1. It looks like the camera was stationary and the shutter speed was slow. The guardrail, fence and dirt have no motion blur in them while the car does. If you are going to shoot with a slow shutter you should always pan with the subject. As soon as the car appears in the viewfinder, frame it up and follow it.

#2. This one just looks like a focus issue. Was it grab shot, where you just picked up the camera and pulled the trigger? It doesn’t look like the camera had time to process what you were shooting.

#3. The exposure on this one is close. It looks like you need a little more flash power. If you are not already, I would suggest shooting the flash on manual at full or half power and set the f-stop according to the distance and the ISO.

One technique you might want to try is shooting a low ISO, maybe 100 or 200, setting the camera to aperture preferred and under exposing the ambient light by a half or full stop using the exposure compensation button.

Another thing I would have done on #3 is to get tighter on the action. A car backing it in to a corner is pretty dramatic. But the drama is lessened with a lot of dead space.

#4. The shutter speed is just way too slow on this one.

I think the key to shooting good photos is a lot of experimenting, making mistakes and learning from them. One of the many benefits of digital photos is the EXIF data. You can go back to any of your photos and see exactly how you shot it. That’s a big advantage to making necessary changes to the way you shoot.

WildWally

Very good advise you got here .
I shoot a lot of softbal games , and 1 of the most distracting things is people on chairs . Sometimes they can-not be avoided , but sometimes you can work around it .
If it is very sunny out , try setting your camera on Shutter Priority , about 1/2000 sec , and let your camera do the rest . This should stop most action and get sharp pictures .
1 important thing . Ask the umpire if he minds if you go on the field . They have never told me no , unless there is a pro at a tournament , in which I would not want to anyways .
You can squat behind the 3rd/1st base coach against the fence for stability , and get decent shots .
You can also put your camera right against the fence behind home plate (or if you have a longer lens , over 300mm , you can stand back a bit) to get clutter-free shots .
I will post some examples if wanted .

Hope this helps ,,,and good luck !!!!
"Walt"

AmateurMX wrote:

Overall your photos are not far off from being good. You just need a little tweaking in exposure and technique.

#1. It looks like the camera was stationary and the shutter speed was slow. The guardrail, fence and dirt have no motion blur in them while the car does. If you are going to shoot with a slow shutter you should always pan with the subject. As soon as the car appears in the viewfinder, frame it up and follow it.

#2. This one just looks like a focus issue. Was it grab shot, where you just picked up the camera and pulled the trigger? It doesn’t look like the camera had time to process what you were shooting.

#3. The exposure on this one is close. It looks like you need a little more flash power. If you are not already, I would suggest shooting the flash on manual at full or half power and set the f-stop according to the distance and the ISO.

One technique you might want to try is shooting a low ISO, maybe 100 or 200, setting the camera to aperture preferred and under exposing the ambient light by a half or full stop using the exposure compensation button.

Another thing I would have done on #3 is to get tighter on the action. A car backing it in to a corner is pretty dramatic. But the drama is lessened with a lot of dead space.

#4. The shutter speed is just way too slow on this one.

I think the key to shooting good photos is a lot of experimenting, making mistakes and learning from them. One of the many benefits of digital photos is the EXIF data. You can go back to any of your photos and see exactly how you shot it. That’s a big advantage to making necessary changes to the way you shoot.

RaceJunkie

MT Stringer wrote:

RaceJunkie, I can offer some help and suggestions for your softball pic. From looking at the exif for Pic #4, I can tell that you're all screwed up!

Your shutter speed is way too slow and that caused the blur.

Here's my suggestions, and they are exactly what I use for shooting softball, baseball, track and football.

Note: I use a Canon, so the explanation might be a bit different for your Nikon.

Use AV Priority Mode (aperature priority). Set your lens wide open or maybe just a half stop down. In my case that is f/2.8 or 3.2 with the Sigma 120-300 and the 70-200. Both are f/2.8 lenses.

Adjust you ISO so that your images are shot at at least 1/500 sec.

When I looked at your softball pic, it says 1/80 sec at f/25. So, you should be the other way around. Open the lens up and let the light in. By doing that in AV mode, your shutterspeed will increase so the exposure will be correct. Then adjust your ISO up or down, say from 200 to 400 or higher if needed.

I also use AI servo and center focus point only so the focus will follow the subject as it moves and you pan.

If you want to check out some examples of what I just wrote, check out my Smugmug website. www.mtstringer.smugmug.com

Look in the Sports section for "High School Softball". And a lot of the games in the "GHYSA 2008 Metro Championship" tournament are mine also (not the _DSCXXX images, those were shot by a friend with a NOINK). Especially Game #14 in the 18u bracket. Before the game started, the girl was running the bases and her dog was chasing her. I was following her by panning and shooting through the backstop. It was a really funny moment.

I hope you are not offended by my suggestions and find this info helpful.
Good luck.
Mike

I appreciate all the feedback I can get. I have always shot in auto so all these new settings are new to me. I do have another game tomorrow and I'll try some of the suggestions. It will be a 8:00pm game.

The lens I have is a Nikon AF-S 55-200 1:4-5.6G ED (Whatever that means)

I can open it up and the LED will read F5.6

For ISO settings I have 200,400,800,1600, and HI1 (so I would use 400 right?)

The AI servo has me a bit puzzled. Here is what I have to choose from.

I guess you are talking about the focus mode, for this I have

Single Servo - AF (for stationary subjects)
Continuous-servo (for moving subjects) I am guessing this is the one I need.
Auto-servo (Camera chooses automatically)


I'll go check out your photos now.

MT Stringer

Continus servo is correct. As long as you follow the subject (with the shutter button partially depressed), it should stay in focus.

The f/4-5.6 means your lens is a varifocal lens. At the short end of the zoom, it can be opened up to f/4. But as you zoom out to 200, the f/stop will increase to 5.6.

So, given you are set in aperature mode, with the lens wide open, you will be shooting at f/5.6. As the sun starts to set, you'll have to increase the ISO incrementally higher. With the lights on, you may not be able to shoot, even when you use the highest ISO your camera allows because the shutterspeed will be too low. I would expect with the lens set at f/5.6 and high ISO, you'll see a shuutterspeed of 1/60th - 1/125th or therabouts. That may prove difficult to get non-blurry shots.

The high school baseball and softball fields I have shot on this season have indicated a shutterspeed of 1/320 - 1/500 sec and that was when I had my lens wide open at f/2.8 and the ISO at 3200.

So, when you get to the game, shoot early and often before it gets too dark.

Good luck.
Mike

RaceJunkie wrote:

I appreciate all the feedback I can get. I have always shot in auto so all these new settings are new to me. I do have another game tomorrow and I'll try some of the suggestions. It will be a 8:00pm game.

The lens I have is a Nikon AF-S 55-200 1:4-5.6G ED (Whatever that means)

I can open it up and the LED will read F5.6

For ISO settings I have 200,400,800,1600, and HI1 (so I would use 400 right?)

The AI servo has me a bit puzzled. Here is what I have to choose from.

I guess you are talking about the focus mode, for this I have

Single Servo - AF (for stationary subjects)
Continuous-servo (for moving subjects) I am guessing this is the one I need.
Auto-servo (Camera chooses automatically)


I'll go check out your photos now.

RaceJunkie

MT Stringer wrote:

Continus servo is correct. As long as you follow the subject (with the shutter button partially depressed), it should stay in focus.

The f/4-5.6 means your lens is a varifocal lens. At the short end of the zoom, it can be opened up to f/4. But as you zoom out to 200, the f/stop will increase to 5.6.

So, given you are set in aperature mode, with the lens wide open, you will be shooting at f/5.6. As the sun starts to set, you'll have to increase the ISO incrementally higher. With the lights on, you may not be able to shoot, even when you use the highest ISO your camera allows because the shutterspeed will be too low. I would expect with the lens set at f/5.6 and high ISO, you'll see a shuutterspeed of 1/60th - 1/125th or therabouts. That may prove difficult to get non-blurry shots.

The high school baseball and softball fields I have shot on this season have indicated a shutterspeed of 1/320 - 1/500 sec and that was when I had my lens wide open at f/2.8 and the ISO at 3200.

So, when you get to the game, shoot early and often before it gets too dark.

Good luck.
Mike

Just one question. A flash won't help for the darkness?

MT Stringer

I haven't tried. Since I'm on the field near either the first or third base bag, I'm not about to break out a flash. Maybe from the stands, but not up close.

Here's a night shot of a play at home plate. Canon 40D, Sigma 120-300 f/2.8, 1/320 sec, f/2.8, ISO 3200
<a href="http://s226.photobucket.com/albums/dd265/mt_stringer/?action=view&current=Safe-650.jpg&quot; target="_blank"><img src="http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd265/mt_stringer/Safe-650.jpg&quot; border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

Mike

RaceJunkie wrote:

Just one question. A flash won't help for the darkness?

JBHotShots

RaceJunkie wrote:

Just one question. A flash won't help for the darkness?

I am actually trying to get away from using a flash for my night racing. It freezes the action too much. I got the 85mm 1.8 and it works wonders.

http://dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=93231

RaceJunkie

LouDoggsRuca wrote:

I am actually trying to get away from using a flash for my night racing. It freezes the action too much. I got the 85mm 1.8 and it works wonders.

http://dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=93231

Great shots

sportsshooter06

never never never use flash, from field level. never. I do not care what anyone says. Only if you are doing setups, no playing action, is it permissable.

Your equipment, is probably not going to allow you to get good low light shots. A very slow lens, and a camera that is excellent, but lacks what is needed for low light, unless you have a faster lens. Even then the camera may hamper your efforts.

minimum shutter speed for softball, baseball 1/500, aperture wide open, that means smallest number f4 not f22. ISO as high as you can go , while still getting decent looking photos, this means as little noise as possible.

Use AF-c if available, this lets the camera focus continuously on the movement, use the center focus point, always keep your eye on your subject. focus on the upper chest, shoulders , largest and highest parts of the subject body.

Set your WB on auto or cloudy setting, do not use the auto settings, unless you understand what they are doing. you mentioned shooting in f25, how did you get there? auto would not stop the aperture down that much, you had to do that.

have fun good luck. it's a hoot.

JBHotShots

RaceJunkie wrote:

Great shots

Thanks

RaceJunkie

I tried the Aperture priority but did not have too good of results.







Then I messed around with shutter priority.







Here is a link to the pics I took if anyone wants to look at the exif data.

sportsshooter06 wrote:

never never never use flash, from field level. never. I do not care what anyone says. Only if you are doing setups, no playing action, is it permissable.

sportsshooter06 wrote:

Your equipment, is probably not going to allow you to get good low light shots. A very slow lens, and a camera that is excellent, but lacks what is needed for low light, unless you have a faster lens. Even then the camera may hamper your efforts.

I'm beginning to think the same thing.

MT Stringer

It looks to me like you are out of luck on the night games.

About the only way to give it your best shot is to use AV mode. Open your lens wide open. Set your ISO at 1600 or 3200 if you have that option.

Take a shot and look at the shutter speed. If it is below 1/320, you might as well put the camera away until you get a shot at a day game. Or look for a shot that has the player standing still...maybe dugout action or a goofy look or two.

Hope this helps.

Good luck.
Mike

RaceJunkie

MT Stringer wrote:

It looks to me like you are out of luck on the night games.

About the only way to give it your best shot is to use AV mode. Open your lens wide open. Set your ISO at 1600 or 3200 if you have that option.

Take a shot and look at the shutter speed. If it is below 1/320, you might as well put the camera away until you get a shot at a day game. Or look for a shot that has the player standing still...maybe dugout action or a goofy look or two.

Hope this helps.

Good luck.
Mike

Would a better lens help or just need to upgrade the camera<

JBHotShots

RaceJunkie wrote:

Would a better lens help or just need to upgrade the camera<

At least 2.8. I have the Canon 85 1.8 its a wonderful lens.