Mens Slow-Pitch Softball - Need advice and C&C for first time shooter!

[In2Photos]

First let me say thank you in advance for any help you are able to give.

I have been trying to decide for quite some time now whether or not to start shooting professionally. I have only been shooting for about a year and a half but enjoy it immensely. I can't get enough of it. I read, I shoot, I read, I shoot, and I process trying to learn from each shot. I finally decided to take the first step to shooting "something" in a "professional manner". I quoted these terms because I don't want to take anything away from the real pros out there. I wanted to learn more and more and become a better photographer before going pro but I found myself not really doing anything more than family shots. So I decided that I had to start somewhere.

My choice was mens slow-pitch softball. Now there are several reasons for this before I maybe get flamed.

1. I am familiar with the league, the organizers, and the players. I played with them this past spring.
2. I wanted to start somewhere where there was no pressure, like angry parents of little league players or bridezillas. ;) I like all forms of photography and haven't narrowed my choice yet as to exactly where I want to shoot.
3. Access. I can get in the dugouts and shoot from there without getting in the way.
4. Future gigs. There are lots of teams with lots of different affiliations (churches, businesses, and other leagues) so there is a potential to expand my shooting to more than just mens softball.

So what I am looking for is any advice for a first time sports shooter looking to get more into the professional market. I would also like some C&C on a few shots. I found our Friday night about 9 pm that I would be shooting after I played in a 10 am game Saturday :mad: so not much time to prepare. I shot these with my XT, 70-200 f/4 and 1.4x TC and my Manfrotto 679b monopod (no head). I know this setup is OK for daytime stuff but night stuff won't fly. I will most likely stick to day and early evening games but luckily it is summer so it stays pretty light through about 8pm and they do have some decent lighting on the three fields. I shot Manual, started at 1/1250, f/4, ISO 200 and switched to 1/2000 and 1/1600, f/4, ISO 400 after a few shots. I shot RAW and did a few edits in LR, mostly upping the blacks to add some contrast and a little clarity tool before sending to PS for some sharpening and my 30 second watermark (is it any good?).

So let me have it!

1.
http://www.pbase.com/madawson/image/81886163.jpg

2. This was cropped pretty heavy.
http://www.pbase.com/madawson/image/81886167.jpg

3. EDIT: Updated with Jerry's recommendations.
http://www.pbase.com/madawson/image/81993516.jpg

4. EDIT: Updated with Jerry's recommendations.
http://www.pbase.com/madawson/image/81993517.jpg

5.
http://www.pbase.com/madawson/image/81886186.jpg

6. This is a promotional shot I took for the league's website. The league is faith oriented but not a church league so they have a lineup/speech/prayer before each game.
http://www.pbase.com/madawson/image/81886146.jpg

[fslshooter]

Mike - I think you've made an excellent choice of where to begin for all the reasons you mentioned -- and the market potential might be bigger then expected because I doubt many shooters have tapped it. Now for a few general pointers: The main subject(s) of sports photos should be in focus. The great majority of sports photos are more interesting if you capture the main subject's face -- if you can get good sharp eyes that's even better. Sports photos that show up your main subject are usually of no interest -- a couple of baseball/softball examples would be obvious errors and strikes like when the batter takes a mighty swing and the ball is behind him or in the catcher's mitt. It's almost always best to blur backgrounds especially busy ones by opening aperture up. Try to capture stuff that tells an interesting story with no explanation necessary. Sports pics are almost always best if horizons are level. And as Dennis (dmwierz) says "shoot tight -- crop tighter" -- a general rule of thumb is to crop out everything you can that doesn't add interest.

Using these criteria lets take a look at your stuff: #1 meets most if not all criteria and it's a keeper -- I like the reflection in the baserunners sunglasses and the concentration shown in his face. #2 fails on at least three points -- no face, he didn't catch the ball and the background is very distracting. I'd cull that one if I were you. #3 would be better if the outfielder who just threw the ball was in focus, the background was more blurred, it was cropped a bit tighter and the horizon was level. It will probably be a keeper if you crop it a bit tighter and level the horizon. #4 is your best sports shot but a tighter crop would probably make it better. Having the ball in the frame might have helped but it might have hindered too. You've got an excellent face, perfect eyes, facial intensity with his tongue sticking out and we know exactly where the ball is. If having the ball in the frame causes you to lose those good points then it's probably better without a ball in the frame. #5 falls short on several points -- none of the subjects are in focus, both infielders missed the ball and the horizon is off. I'd cull that one if I were you. Although #6 has no faces it's probably a keeper because of the story it tells. I do question why the player on the right has his cap off and several others are still wearing theirs and perhaps why only he is in focus. If all caps should be off then it's definitely a cull.

Have fun and keep posting -- that's the way we all learn.

[In2Photos]

Mike - I think you've made an excellent choice of where to begin for all the reasons you mentioned -- and the market potential might be bigger then expected because I doubt many shooters have tapped it. Now for a few general pointers: The main subject(s) of sports photos should be in focus. The great majority of sports photos are more interesting if you capture the main subject's face -- if you can get good sharp eyes that's even better. Sports photos that show up your main subject are usually of no interest -- a couple of baseball/softball examples would be obvious errors and strikes like when the batter takes a mighty swing and the ball is behind him or in the catcher's mitt. It's almost always best to blur backgrounds especially busy ones by opening aperture up. Try to capture stuff that tells an interesting story with no explanation necessary. Sports pics are almost always best if horizons are level. And as Dennis (dmwierz) says "shoot tight -- crop tighter" -- a general rule of thumb is to crop out everything you can that doesn't add interest.

Using these criteria lets take a look at your stuff: #1 meets most if not all criteria and it's a keeper -- I like the reflection in the baserunners sunglasses and the concentration shown in his face. #2 fails on at least three points -- no face, he didn't catch the ball and the background is very distracting. I'd cull that one if I were you. #3 would be better if the outfielder who just threw the ball was in focus, the background was more blurred, it was cropped a bit tighter and the horizon was level. It will probably be a keeper if you crop it a bit tighter and level the horizon. #4 is your best sports shot but a tighter crop would probably make it better. Having the ball in the frame might have helped but it might have hindered too. You've got an excellent face, perfect eyes, facial intensity with his tongue sticking out and we know exactly where the ball is. If having the ball in the frame causes you to lose those good points then it's probably better without a ball in the frame. #5 falls short on several points -- none of the subjects are in focus, both infielders missed the ball and the horizon is off. I'd cull that one if I were you. Although #6 has no faces it's probably a keeper because of the story it tells. I do question why the player on the right has his cap off and several others are still wearing theirs and perhaps why only he is in focus. If all caps should be off then it's definitely a cull.

Have fun and keep posting -- that's the way we all learn.
Jerry thank you very much for the wonderful advice and critique. I will be sure to re-read it several more times and pound those points into my thought process during the shoot and during the culling/processing phase.

To answer your question about number 6. I shot this after the players had said the prayer for the game. I asked them to stay but some placed their caps back on and some didn't. The main idea for this shot was to get the logo on the back of the shirt to be the focal point but allow the viewer to wander over the entire image to get the rest of the story, which is the reason for the shallow DOF. Does it work now that you know? I have the chance to shoot this type of shot at every game so I can redo it.

One more question if I may. You didn't mention anything about exposure/colors/contrast etc. so I am going to assume that I did alright there. I know the most important part is composition and story telling but those technical things matter too.

Thanks again,

Mike

PS I updated two of the shots to reflect your recommendations.

[In2Photos]

Anyone else have any pointers or C&C? I need to learn here folks! :D

[fslshooter]

Mike - Yes, #6 works for me now that you've provided additional info. Since you'll have the opportunity to shoot it again you might want to show this pic to the other guys so they'll pose for you next time -- or shoot during the prayer.

Exposure, colors and contrast look good to me. I prefer the recrop of #4 to the way it was but something between the two might be OK too. Cropping is a personal matter and what appeals to one person might not to another -- I prefer images like this one really tight like you have it now.

[In2Photos]

Mike - Yes, #6 works for me now that you've provided additional info. Since you'll have the opportunity to shoot it again you might want to show this pic to the other guys so they'll pose for you next time -- or shoot during the prayer.

Exposure, colors and contrast look good to me. I prefer the recrop of #4 to the way it was but something between the two might be OK too. Cropping is a personal matter and what appeals to one person might not to another -- I prefer images like this one really tight like you have it now.
Great. Thanks again Jerry for all your help. I will be shooting more this week and this weekend so look for some more maybe later this week early next week if you are interested.

[Big K]

Jerrys responses were excellent so wont duplicate the effort. The only thing I would add as you begin to look at this more toward a professional angle is to not "pose" shots like #6. Take the picture during the prayer or just after but don't stage it. Let it be a natural moment and I think in most cases you will find the results much more rewarding.

You might try shooting with your camera high, down on the shoulders of the first four visible in your picture to capture the bowed heads, slight arch of th back and the high logo placement. The white space at the bottom from their shirts would have been a good place to overlay text for your web marketing photo.

Nice job and way to respond in a positive way to feedback. You will improve very quickly.

My $0.02.

Kevin

[In2Photos]

Jerrys responses were excellent so wont duplicate the effort. The only thing I would add as you begin to look at this more toward a professional angle is to not "pose" shots like #6. Take the picture during the prayer or just after but don't stage it. Let it be a natural moment and I think in most cases you will find the results much more rewarding.

You might try shooting with your camera high, down on the shoulders of the first four visible in your picture to capture the bowed heads, slight arch of th back and the high logo placement. The white space at the bottom from their shirts would have been a good place to overlay text for your web marketing photo.

Nice job and way to respond in a positive way to feedback. You will improve very quickly.

My $0.02.

Kevin
Thanks a bunch Kevin. I was a little mad with number 6. The shot came to me while I was shooting some other pics of the entire field with the players lined up and didn't manage to get there quick enough so had them pose. But I will definitely try some different angles, play with some DOF and different focal lengths too. I just got my new Sigma 17-70 to try out for some of the on-the-field shots before the game. I am shooting again tonight and 2 games Saturday and am pretty excited.

Thanks again.

[disneydork06]

sorry, just want to comment that i love the dbacks shirts. looking great :-D