High School football! Needing some real critique... Please? :)

[TaylorT]

Alright so I *just* started shooting football very seriously this year. I'm a sophomore in high school so I'm still pretty new at this haha! I REALLY would love some critique knowing what I'm doing well and what I need to work on because I'm just going on my instinct and I know there are a lot of great photogs out here that could help point me in the right direction!

Shooting with: Rebel XTi with a EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS. Mostly an ISO of 200 if I remember?

1
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2450/4012784074_64fc78d7d3_b.jpg

2
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2550/4012785522_eba2fc0c99_b.jpg

3
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3503/4012017719_a27368c123_b.jpg

4
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2636/4012787424_b9dd7ca03c_b.jpg

5
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2645/4012019837_3722e7a881_b.jpg

6
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2450/4012021831_3689cd0480_b.jpg

7
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2619/4012023165_b7f1431db6_b.jpg

8
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2609/4012024609_6e96a47491_b.jpg

Thanks so much all who help me out here
-TaylorT <3

[TaylorT]

9
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2612/4012026361_e6215fcc6c_b.jpg

10
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2607/4012796690_4e6401788e_b.jpg

11
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3524/4012029839_8623e6f7db_b.jpg

12
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2499/4012799082_d9f317c04a_b.jpg

[snyderman]

Most shots are pretty good. Focus is decent. Lighting was good. Just gotta get a LOT of the dead space from your shots. for example:

#1 has a subject that takes up about 10% of the entire frame. Crop to the player only!

#2 the guy on the ground isn't 'action' for the shot. just the back and the defender he's meeting downfield. crop everything else out

#3 looks ok ... try a little tighter, though

#4 is the tackle. the extra guys in the left side of frame shouldn't be there

Recrop and repost and I'll bet you'll get some agreement that you've got some pretty nice shots to share!

Lastly, it's difficult to get 'faces' because the kids' heads are all but covered, but it CAN be done with some forthought on where the action is coming from and going to. We should all quickly learn to pass on the action moving away from us where backs of uniforms are the best we can do.

dave

[JPBones73]

I'm no pro, but if you are only a HS sophomore you are off to a great start. My only suggestion as far as composition would be to crop a bit more to achieve more isolation of your subject, like the QB in #1 for example or the tackling in #4 and 5. The 70-200 2.8 is a fantastic lens, but I only use it inside the 20s when shooting from the end zone. I've found that 300-400mm is needed to isolate subjects at greater distances. Maybe you could see if your school would rent one from the yearbook budget for you or something.

[snyderman]

Taylor:

here's an example of your QB shot, but cropped tightly:

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a310/dsnyder160/DPP_13850TIF.jpg

see how you can actually see his face? The kid's dad will buy this shot even though it's nothing to write home about. Point is, the action was coming AT ME so I could capture the player, his face, the number on his jersey, etc.

dave

[TaylorT]

Thanks snyder!
Woulder something like this work?

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3521/4012118539_342e50e035_b.jpg
(took this during the varsity game later on in the day)

[kgoings]

Much better!

[snyderman]

now you have pretty much a WOW shot! The player would be impressed! Not so much the sports shooters we have around this place, but that's a good shot!

If you're only a HS sophomore, you're doing a fantastic job! One thing that I do intentionally with crops is that I too shoot high school kids and sometimes leave more in a pic than probably should be there just because it's a good shot of a face with a number for the player to identify himself in a picture.

Again, the best advice the good shooters at POTN gave me was shoot from a spot where you're pretty sure the action is coming your way. Here's another with a face and the action coming my way. Note: Sometimes I crop these really tight to the pants of the ball carrier, but in this shot, the defender at the bottom of the shot kind of makes the shot for me. Here it is:

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a310/dsnyder160/DPP_13827TIF-1.jpg

[Treusi]

A lot of the time the 'action' is in the facial expression as well as on the pitch. I'm just starting out but often find that an uninspiring wide play shot can come alive with a close cropped focused image. Good work once the clutter was cropped out.

[MikeFairbanks]

That's great work. You took some good pictures. The focus, color, etc. is nice.

Just try for the faces (and of course those long bombs).

[Dan-o]

As others have said crop tighter. Also fix your horizons it is a very easy fix and shouldn't be missed. Be patient with that lens, let it come to you. Shooting all the way across the field is pretty much a waste of time but you can still get by without a long lens.

I know you are new to the sports thing but looking at your Flicker you are good at portraits, so look for good opportunities on the sidelines for faces. You are off to a very good start, keep it up.

[TaylorT]

Thank you soooo much for the feedback everyone! It's been super helpful.

[HotShots]

I'm no pro, but if you are only a HS sophomore you are off to a great start.

If you're only a HS sophomore, you're doing a fantastic job!

Add me to this crowd! Fantastic job!!

The best advice I could give you it to keep shooting, keep posting, keep reading, keep learning. You've got a terrific start.

TDF

[VinnyC01]

yep, you're hired.

[JPBones73]

Another thing, I started with a Rebel XTi myself and I think it only gets 3.5 fps. There's some shots that you're going to miss over a camera that gets 6.5, 8 or 10 fps even if you're locked in on the action. ALL sports photographers miss dozens of opportunities during a game with 22 people running all over the field. That's why it becomes addicting. But I compared my shots I took for a website at a recent game with the ones that were published in the newspaper, and the guy shooting next to me at 10 fps would grab things from the same action scene that my 6.5 fps missed. It really does make a difference.

[Dan-o]

FPS is way over rated. I shoot at 1 frame per second during night football and do fine.

[Scottdog129]

Thank you soooo much for the feedback everyone! It's been super helpful.

TaylorT: Im just now starting to get into shooting sports for my son's football team as well. Amazing job at this! What settings were you using on your camera, if you dont mind me asking?

[Palladium]

Looking @ image #2 above this is what seperated the GWC and sport togs. In this play force yourself to track the tacklers not the ball carrier.

IMHO no one realy cares if the runner's back is in focus - in this play if you focus on the tackler than you have a keeper.

Good Rule - if you can't see their eyes - no one cares, don't waste your shutter count unless it's a really significant play.

[Croasdail]

You don't need faces in football. Its nice if your trying to sell to mom and dads. But a good football picture does not need a face. I would recommend you go over to SI.COM, go to the picture area, and study the shots that catch your attention. Look for the elements that make it a great shot to you. Many good shots have a face in them, but many just do not. Emotion drives some shots, contact and pure athletic skill the others.

Another rule that need to be broken from time to time is shooting tight. Do it too much and all you have is cookie cutter shots. Often you get more information from a well done wide shot - a player exploiting a whole, or going over the line. Shot tight, you loose impact.

So while rules are a good guide, develop your own style by looking at shots that move you in one way or another. Studying others work will teach you a ton.

Cheers and keep clicking away....

[TaylorT]

Ooooops I TOTALLY forgot I had my extender on in most of these photos! But here's an example of one of my photo's data scottdog...
Exposure: 0.001 sec (1/1600)
Aperture: f/4.0
Focal Length: 280 mm
ISO Speed: 400

But yeah I wasn't shooting anything under 1/1000. If I could shoot at 1/2000 I would bump the ISO down to 200.

If I didn't have my extender on it would look more like...

Exposure: 0.001 sec (1/2000)
Aperture: f/2.8
Focal Length: 190 mm
ISO Speed: 100