He everybody, I am an amateur photographer from Tennessee. I shoots sports at my college and am looking for some feedback on my pictures. Anything is welcome! Thanks everyone!
He everybody, I am an amateur photographer from Tennessee. I shoots sports at my college and am looking for some feedback on my pictures. Anything is welcome! Thanks everyone!
Nice shots! I like the third one the best the way the stick leads your eye to the ball and the position of the athlete in the frame.
Overall, I would say there just isn't enough isolation with the subjects (this may be limiting based on your lenses). Also keep the sun at your back when shooting daytime sports - 2nd shot has all the key parts in the dark. At the very least try your best to brighten those in post.
You need 3 things to make a great lax photo. 1. Eyes 2. Ball 3. Opponent- which causes "stress or conflict. Look at your photos and see if you have all 3. Then you can decide on your own. Next thing: if you are shooting in AV mode, then go into settings and add 1/3 or 2/3 stops of exposure compensation, then edit if you like and reduce the highlights and maybe raise shadows. You will see a huge difference.
James, CC really hit the nail on the head with their reply. Eyes are money for your action images. There are exceptions to every rule of course, but rules also exist for a reason. Things like gear and what parts of the field you have access to can definitely make getting faces/eyes more difficult, but it can also be a fun challenge to overcome.
I typically always preach shooting JPEG for live sports in a photojournalism environment where you'll be transmitting on the spot, but if you don't have the pressure of immediate turnaround then you might give shooting in raw a go and bringing up your shadows in post. A later afternoon game is going to be tough lighting-wise, but it's workable in the right situation.
Another thought: lots of times limiting situations actually give your opportunities to make something more original. Do you have any way to get up high and shoot down at the field? Could you get down closer to the grass and shoot up? Are there elements you can use as focal points to tell more of a story (logos on uniforms, field, helmets, equipment)? If you know the situation won't let you get killer action for the entire game, find some ways to supplement your action shots with storytelling to build out a full picture (puns!) of the event.
James,
I agree with CC and Andrew. I think they have provided some good constructive input. One thing I would add is concerning the 3rd shot. While you don't have a large professional stadium as a background and you have to work with what you have, I'm not crazy about the benches in the background. Also since it is only the one player you can't tell if this is a game shot or simply warming up prior to the game. Some context is needed either way.