I have recently decided to re-activate a career in sports photography. While in college (too many years ago), I use to shoot football, soccer and tennis. I am currently working with a local university doing some work in football and basketball. About two weeks ago, I posted five football images asking members for some constructive feedback. After three days and no response, I deleted my posting. I realize that this site has VERY little activity in the sports arena but I have a bit of a dilemma. In order for me to be successful in this arena, I need objective and constructive feedback on my work. I spend a considerable amount of time over at SportsShooter and have really learned a lot from just being an outsider and observing their postings. I do not have a sponsor to join SportsShooter and probably do not have enough experience to qualify as a member. Does anyone have any suggestions on what I can do to get feedback from other professionals? Thanks.
Ron
__________________ "I was really too honest a man to be a politician and live." Socrates.
White Balance so easy, even our 5 year old can do it.- Melissa Strickland
I didn't see it either Ron. Sorry. I try to check recent posts daily so I can't understand how I could have missed it. I certainly am not shy on commenting when asked.
Repost and I'll drag up some of my shots from this fall to compare.
I hope you are also interesting in discussing SALES. Without a decent way to sell the stuff, all else is a lost cause, unless of course you do it for labor of love.
White Balance so easy, even our 5 year old can do it.- Melissa Strickland
Ron, who is the audience and what is the intended usage of the images?
As for your technique here are a few thoughts:
1. Get lower so you have a greater chance to see the player's eyes.
2. Get (buy, rent, borrow) much longer glass to work mid-field
3. Avoid lining up where everyone else is on the field. Break away from the pack and focus on action that's coming RIGHT at you not at an oblique or a right angle.
4. Get more tuned into down and distance situations with the teams you cover and learn their tendencies, this will help you get into position to avoid the average action photo.
5. Don't be afraid to be behind the quarterback, you'll get some great defensive images.
6. If you're covering a team for the whole season, take risks, use remotes and try to do something truly different at each game.
7. Don't forget about the coaches, some of the best sports pictures I ever made were when there was a break in the action.
8. Keep shooting, something great will be in your very next frame!
Hope that helps and I look forward to your basketball images.
M
White Balance so easy, even our 5 year old can do it.- Melissa Strickland
I'd say you've done a fine job here. All the action feels up close and personal, and the players are generally facing the camera.
To echo what Michael has said, shoot from a low angle whenver you can (like you did for the first image above). Not only might you get a better angle on their eyes, but the players will tend to look larger than life, which is never bad for photo sales. I recall shooting youth football my knees would ache from all the crouching. The parents really liked the images, though.
I always had fun anticipating the action. I tended to wait until I saw something good coming right at me and shoot one image, rather than machine gun the action, though very occasionally I would do that too. I was lucky in that I was shooting flag football where the players didn't wear helmets. That yielded a lot of great facial expressions.
My favorite shots were where someone was completely off the ground - running, diving, or whatever.
I never did have enough lens to do well with night games. There's nothing like aperture for that!
That looks pretty good. Ditto the slightly lower angle. That's particularly important with the 300mm, as you tend to see the horizon in the background (whereas a 400mm will totally blow out the background), and a lower angle will alleviate that a bit. Try to lay your hands on a 1.4x teleconverter, then you'll be cooking with gas.
Unless you want a print for the kicker, lose that shot. The same with the scrambling for the ball on the ground. Unless it's a critical play in the game, it will never run.
White Balance so easy, even our 5 year old can do it.- Melissa Strickland
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