sunset soccer

[gnats50]

Hey, everyone. I shot a soccer game at my university last weekend. I applied to be a yearbook photographer at my school, and we had to send in our best 20 shots from this game. These are 2 of them.
What do you all think?

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3143/2813778261_41413af350_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3142/2813784259_d201044d71_b.jpg

I wish I had a telephoto lens :cry:

[Robert_Lay]

Good luck on getting the job.

Your two samples ought to be well received.

One cheap way you can give yourself a better edge for getting good pictures is to learn to do Custom White Balance and how to do it often. The lighting that you will be working under will be a constant problem, and you might as well get a grip on it now.

[gnats50]

Thanks, Bob. Do you have any resources where I can learn about custom white balance?

[Robert_Lay]

Thanks, Bob. Do you have any resources where I can learn about custom white balance?


If you do not have the user's manual for the 40D, go to the Canon Website and download it as a PDF document. Look on pages 68 and 69 for instructions on how to do a Custom White Balance. Do not use a white surface! Use instead a neutral gray surface (with no color cast), because the footnotes in the instructions make mention that it is more accurate. Once you have registered the shot of the gray card as your Custom White Balance image, you can select CWB instead of choosing from Tungsten, Daylight, etc.

[craiglee]

these are great!

[gnats50]

these are great!

Thanks alot. I have only have a 40D and took a chance by using my friend's 10-22mm. Just 30 seconds after I switched to the ultra wide lens, the ball was kicked out of bounds and the corner kick was set up (5 feet in front of me).

Thanks Bob! You are so helpful, not only to me, but to everyone in the critique section. Your comments are always appreciated.

[walternewton]

Great lighting makes for great photos, these are fantastic - there's no substitute for being in the right place at the right time.

[gnats50]

^ agreed

I wanted to add: this was my first real try at Manual mode.

[zso]

For a young photog, these are great. I was my yearbook's photog and I absolutely loved it. I was using film back then and was limited to how much I shot. My recommendation for you is to shoot as much as you can and don't be afraid to experiment. Work on getting unusual angles, i.e. lying down on the ground or getting a high angle vantage point. I think that you are well on your way to having a great experience. One other suggestion is to become friendly with everyone. Try not to hang out with just your clique. Try to be "the guy/gal" who anyone feels comfortable talking to and will be willing to let you take their picture. Most people will be very receptive to you especially when they know that your pictures will be in the yearbook.

I wish you the best.

[Jubilee32]

Thanks alot. I have only have a 40D and took a chance by using my friend's 10-22mm. Just 30 seconds after I switched to the ultra wide lens, the ball was kicked out of bounds and the corner kick was set up (5 feet in front of me).

Thanks Bob! You are so helpful, not only to me, but to everyone in the critique section. Your comments are always appreciated.


If you are that close to the action be careful that you don't become a distraction to the game. A complaint from the players will not help your access to future games. I like the wide angles but a telephoto will be your best friend for the action. Good work!

[tomcat360]

If the pool of photographers at your school is anything like ours was, you're set!!

They look really nice. I shot for mine for 2 years and had a good time. Free games and good seats :D

[gnats50]

If you are that close to the action be careful that you don't become a distraction to the game. A complaint from the players will not help your access to future games. I like the wide angles but a telephoto will be your best friend for the action. Good work!

Thanks. I completely agree. All of the students are allowed to sit fairly close to the field. I sat at the same distance away as everyone else.



If the pool of photographers at your school is anything like ours was, you're set!!

They look really nice. I shot for mine for 2 years and had a good time. Free games and good seats :D

My university is really small (3,000 students), but I am a little worried, because the only other lens that I was able to use was my 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6. I used ISO 1600 and 3200 and shot well below 1/1000 sec.
Many of my pictures had blurry soccer balls and appendages, and they were really noisy.:(

[thefooz]

Beautiful shots, both of them. The colors, the lighting, everything works.

As for the blurry soccer ball, I'm no expert, but I believe you could try iso 3200 and underexpose the shot by one or two stops (shooting in RAW), and bump the exposure up in post processing to essentially get 6400 or 12800 ISO shots. You'll get more noise, but if it helps you bag the shot, who cares?

[Jubilee32]

Blurry balls ar enot necessarily bad, nor are blurry appendages. The key is capturing the action at the right spot or moment. Balls and arms and legs are moving and showing that action can really set the shot off.