2nd attempt at Youth b-ball C&C

[Chicle]

So here is my 2nd attempt at youth basketball. Got to shoot the girls today. I think these came out a bit better than last time. Lowered the f-stop and shot with a higher shutter speed to freeze the action more. I feel like they might be lacking a bit PP but i'm not sure how they should really look. So if someone could possibly give a try at one and show me how it should look would be awesome. Any other comments welcome. Thanks.


1
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm160/ddepies/IMG_7534.jpg
2
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm160/ddepies/IMG_7544-1.jpg
3
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm160/ddepies/IMG_7604_2.jpg
4
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm160/ddepies/IMG_7606_2.jpg
5
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm160/ddepies/IMG_7649.jpg

[Aaagogo]

looks a little dark, with 50mm being pretty wide for basketball, wait for subjects to come nearer.

[40Dude6aedyk]

You are getting there. They are underexposed. Since you use 1/800th SS, why not try 1/400th? I suspect that your camera will not go to a higher ISO that the 1600 you used.

In #1, do you see how the folks on the bench look like they are more in focus than the player? That's not an equipment failure.


But with your equipment, if ISO 1600 is the limit and you don't want to use flash, then you will need to go to wider apertures and slower SS. So instead of f/2.2 you will need f/1.8, but at that aperture you are gonna have to nail the focus because the depth of field is unforgiving. With a slower SS like 1/400th you will have to live with some blurry hands, feet and basketballs.

Get to the limits of your hardware and technique first, then worry about PP. Here's a thread on my hardware limitations: http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=629790

[tmalone893]

I did a few PP corrections for you.
1. Adjusted the levels
2. Move the color curves around
3. Used Noiseware

[tmalone893]

Couple more.

[twiggles]

^^ nice edits, the OPs pics were underexposed. These were shot with a 50 1.8? If so, i commend you, thats a tough little lens to shoot lowlight fast action with! Focus appears to be a bit off, but again, with a 50 1.8, not bad at all!

[Chicle]

Thanks a lot guys. The edits look good and the advice makes sense. I'm shooting my little cousins basketball tournament this weekend so I will be able to get some more practice. I'll try shooting at 1.8 and get the SS right.

[alisaeo]

Take a look at : Post your indoor 50mm 1.8 shots
Similar issues are being discussed with the use of the nifty fifty or 50 mm 1.8

[Chicle]

Messed around with this one quickly. Does this one look better exposure wise?

I'm really trying to learn what a correct exposure should look like here. I think I was relying on my camera too much. I followed the light meter and that is how all the other ones were exposed.

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm160/ddepies/IMG_7544_2.jpg

[tmalone893]

You still have it underexposed. What are you using for PP. Look at the Histogram and make sure the graph is going all the way across. Left side is your blacks and the right side is your whites. The middle represents the grays. In the photo above, most of the graph is to your left.

[Chicle]

at the moment i'm just using iPhoto. I know not too good but I don't have the money for something better. I'll work on it in a bit after class. Thanks again for all your help.

[superdiver]

use the DPP that came with your camera (Digital Photo Professional) (you have the xt or xti, right

As I was looking through these I was taking back to where I started shooting bb....lol

some things that will HAVE to change before you get much better pictures on a consistant basis...

1)time playing with the setting and understanding how they all interrelate
2)a good lens for bb, the 50 1.8 is NOT one of them, you wont get consistantly good shots with it, sorry.
3) you cant go higher then ISO 1600 with your camera I believe, and that will hog tie you. You can do it, but you will need to learn to use a post processing program and noise reducer to get decent shots.

those are your only real limitations (besides possibly money...lol),

How to correct... simple

1)practice, posting and asking questions (like you are doing now)
2)get an 85 1.8, cheapest good bb lens around (about $320 0n Amazon)
3)upgrade if possible to something like a used 30D or use your camera and get better at post processing your shots.

Please dont take ANY of this and harsh or negative, I only mean to try and help and encourage...

feel free to ask, just remember my advice is only worth how much you paid for it...lol

[Chicle]

use the DPP that came with your camera (Digital Photo Professional) (you have the xt or xti, right

As I was looking through these I was taking back to where I started shooting bb....lol

some things that will HAVE to change before you get much better pictures on a consistant basis...

1)time playing with the setting and understanding how they all interrelate
2)a good lens for bb, the 50 1.8 is NOT one of them, you wont get consistantly good shots with it, sorry.
3) you cant go higher then ISO 1600 with your camera I believe, and that will hog tie you. You can do it, but you will need to learn to use a post processing program and noise reducer to get decent shots.

those are your only real limitations (besides possibly money...lol),

How to correct... simple

1)practice, posting and asking questions (like you are doing now)
2)get an 85 1.8, cheapest good bb lens around (about $320 0n Amazon)
3)upgrade if possible to something like a used 30D or use your camera and get better at post processing your shots.

Please dont take ANY of this and harsh or negative, I only mean to try and help and encourage...

feel free to ask, just remember my advice is only worth how much you paid for it...lol

Thank you very much for the advice. I am hoping to save up for a new body somewhat soon but money is pretty tight right now. I'll continue to practice with what I got and try to keep learning.

[alisaeo]

I hope you don't mind, I took the liberty of fooling a bit with you photo, here is what I came up with in about 4 minutes by adjusting the levels.
Let me know what you think.

[superdiver]

what a great improvement, and all from post processing... imagine what you could do with a good lens or even body, combined with experience in post processing......

[alisaeo]

superdiver, not sure if your taling to me about post processing or not, but wishing I had more time and money to invest in the learning the basics and upgrading equipment. Chicle, keep shooting until the money tree starts to produce then upgrade...thats my game plan. LOL

[Chicle]

superdiver, not sure if your taling to me about post processing or not, but wishing I had more time and money to invest in the learning the basics and upgrading equipment. Chicle, keep shooting until the money tree starts to produce then upgrade...thats my game plan. LOL

thats the plan.

[Chicle]

So after the advice of an awesome member I downloaded Photoshop elements and gave a shot at editing a photo. Hopefully this is looking a bit better.


http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm160/ddepies/MCC31of1.jpg

[superdiver]

MUCH better!

[tmalone893]

So after the advice of an awesome member I downloaded Photoshop elements and gave a shot at editing a photo. Hopefully this is looking a bit better.

Looks as if you are well on your way to PP with good results.;)

[Chicle]

^^
^^
that's the awesome ember

[Big Hands]

Well done Chicle!! Much improved. BB is a hard sport to shoot period. Even if you have all the fancy remote triggered lighting, it's not easy to get it all working right, let alone set it all up and with the usually dismal light in most gyms, ambient shooting is no walk in the park (I know, I've tried!).

One other suggestion I have is to try shooting some shots from a lower perspective. See if you prefer one perspective over the other.

Keep 'em coming. Nothing better than seeing all of our improvements that come from helping each other.