New to shooting in anything other than sports mode.. first shots..

[Texas95]

Here is my attempt to get out of the basic modes and into the others.. Tell me what is wrong. (Other than the building behind the field.. :()
Thanks for the help!

[pete crawford]

texas, what were you using, and what settings? these guy's and gals are really good with help on this sight.

pete

[Texas95]

I was using a XSI lens was a 70-300 EF IS USM f4-5.6

[Texas95]

I think it was TV - 1/1000 f5.6 ISO 400. Sun was full blast, I kept changing all day. It was so bright I didn't know how to control the light better. Still learning... I could tell the light was wrong but didn't know how to correct it just right.

[Big Hands]

A little post processing can help this shot. First thing I did was to level the horizon. Actually, I plumb the vertical lines (in this case, the window frame on the right side of the background. This didn't give me much room to crop, but I did what I could so it's maybe a tad tighter than I normally would have cropped. Next, I resized the image. For posting on the web, I usually keep the height no more than 8" or 9" at most for portrait orientated shots. Then I used the shadow / highlight tool to bring out lost shadow details and recover some blown highlights (*** more on this in a minute). I bid use the blur tool to minimize the blotches on the tackler's forearm, sharpen and a bit of noise reduction (Noiseware Pro) because it appears that your sports mode may have usee a high ISO setting.

As for your settings, I would use Av mode to have control over the aperture and keep it wide open (f/2.8 for example if your lens will open up that much). The use the lowest ISO setting that will keep your shutter speed above 1/640 or 1/500 at a minimum in daylight shooting. ISO 100, 200 or 400 should be no problem to keep noise at bay. ISO 800 and above can start to be problematic.

I use cneter point focus so I know which focus point the camera will use and ahoot in AI Servo mode so the camera keeps focusing on the subject as it may move toward or away so long as you are at least half-pressing the shutter button.

I see you have a nice low perspective and that's good. I would also try to find a shooting position that keeps the sun at your back as much possible although it looks like you have some 'tragic' background issues to contend with as well ;)

*** The other thing I would recommend is to use a custom parameter in your camera and use it to set the camera's contrast to "-1". Leave the rest at "0" for now and let's see what you come up with on your next outing.

As for the shot as a sports image, it's a good shot. There's a lot to like about it in spite of having a tractor in the background :) Been there, had to contend with that and worse.

Good luck and keep posting!

http://photos.imageevent.com/johansen01/pixelpeepersdelight/oddballstuff1/demonstrationstuff1/websize/Jake13a.jpg

[tadrscin]

This is actually a pretty good shot, but there are a few things that could be improved upon. For starters, try to shoot with the sun to your back if at all possible. This will allow you to get sufficeint light on the players faces which is key. You virtually always want to get a players face in a sports action shot as their emotion tells the story. The background is fine as it's way oof. I see what I can only describe as severe pixelation. If you look at the blue player's left arm, that's what I'm talking about. I'm guessing that this is a heavily cropped version of the original image. If so, try to shoot as tight as possible. Your horizon is crooked. Take a look at the top of the grass field and notice how it gets lower as you go to the right. This is a simple PP fix that should always be done. You want to try and shoot as level as you can, but this is not a really big deal as it's hard to do all the time in the heat of the action.

Let's look at what you did right. You caught some nice action with good facial expressions, despite the faces being underexposed. You also shot from a low angle which gives a more dramatic look. For exposure I always meter off the palm of my hand which needs to be in the exact angle to the sun as the players faces. For us fair skinned folks you can open up one stop for a very reliable exposure. You can find out just exactly how much to alter this exposure by comparing a reading from a grey card and your palm in the exact same light. Better yet is an hand-held incident meter if you can afford one. I've also heard of simply metering off the grass and going with that, but I've never actually tried that. If you're not ready for manual mode, go with Av and shoot at your widest aperature for the least dof and fastest shutter speed. Adjust your ISO so that your shutter speed is fast enough to stop the action. I'm guessing at this level 1/1000 is plenty fast enough. I think this is a really start for getting off of sports mode.

[Texas95]

WOW! That is awesome. Thanks a lot! I will try all of that next game and see what I come up with.... I will hope for a better field without direct sun and an ugly background. ha!

[tadrscin]

Basically at this level of athletics, you just have to do the best you can with the conditions you're given. You're not likely to get the ideal shooting conditions. I'd take an oof tractor & building over a crowd of oof parents. This is far less distracting. Just be conscious of your choice of background and lighting. Don't be afraid of shooting in Manual. Especially if you have consistent lighting. I only go to Av if the light is changing faster than I can keep up with when shooting manual. The sun constantly going in and out of the clouds is a good example. Here's some excellent reading that I think you'll find very helpful: http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=135417 Here's a link to a specific post that should be very helpful: http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showpost.php?p=964154&postcount=9