A few soccer shots from the weekend...

Here are a few shots I took this weekend at the Florida Rush Nike Cup. C&C Welcome. Some of the horizons might look a little bit off, because the fields had a good sized incline.

Vince - nice mix of action, good faces, color and sharpness. The shots are a little small, though.

Not so much. If you look at the things that are supposed to be vertical in the background, some of them are leaning to the left. Things sitting on a tilted field may appear tilted (the trash can in the last shot, or the goal, for example) but permanent structures, like fenceposts, light stanchions, corners of walls, the vertical portions of windows and doors, sides of things hanging freely, etc., will/should always be vertical.

You are correct that "horizons", or field crowning, or even the bases/tops of walls or fences, can be skewed due to grading or even just perspective….but vertical stuff

I like the shots. Very sharp. Were these shot with your 7D and 70-200? Care to share your post processing method (mainly sharpening) you used on these? I shoot with the same combo (also have a 1.4x tele) and I'm struggling to produce images this sharp.

Thanks.

Very nice technique - good timing on the captures. I know this takes concentration on following the play.

marino420td wrote in post #12445768
Care to share your post processing method (mainly sharpening) you used on these?

No Post-Processing other than cropping and horizons. Although, I did dodge the blue player's face in #5. She was backlit, so it was tough to see her face.

marino420td wrote in post #12445768
I shoot with the same combo (also have a 1.4x tele) and I'm struggling to produce images this sharp.

What are your settings when you shoot?

dmwierz wrote in post #12445635
...permanent structures, like fenceposts, light stanchions, corners of walls, the vertical portions of windows and doors, sides of things hanging freely, etc., will/should always be vertical.

I thought I fixed #4, but apparently not. I normally use verticals to level my horizons, but it looks like I missed a couple. Thanks for the heads up.

Nice shots! Looks like you shot from a very low position which makes all the difference with youth soccer!

Fun stuff. The vertical shots look like you are sitting low on the grass? The DOF / blur on the bottom of the grass is a love / hate thing for me.

Vince - one additional piece of advice, and this isn't always easy with kids: try to get their eyes not looking down. Sometimes this means getting even lower (I've literally sat on the ground shooting kids soccer before) and sometimes it means getting more dribble shots and less shooting, or even more reaction shots after or before a play.

Wonderful pictures Excellent

Cozmocha wrote in post #12482957
Fun stuff. The vertical shots look like you are sitting low on the grass? The DOF / blur on the bottom of the grass is a love / hate thing for me.

I know exactly what you mean. I do it here and there. I've been shooting this team all season, so I wanted to mix things up a little. It has its moments, but I think they are few and far between.

dmwierz wrote in post #12483404
Vince - one additional piece of advice, and this isn't always easy with kids: try to get their eyes not looking down. Sometimes this means getting even lower (I've literally sat on the ground shooting kids soccer before)...

I was actually laying on my stomach like a sniper, so I couldn't really get much lower. Although, I loved the looks I was getting from people.

zmano83 wrote in post #12486956
Wonderful pictures Excellent

Thanks you.

Great action shots, Vince. The focus is spot on. Was wondering if you did much PP on these? Looks like the sun was creating some dark shadows. Did you add fill in post?

Good photos and very sharp. Others member said that, but i personally agree with these statement

bspawr wrote in post #12487958
Great action shots, Vince. The focus is spot on. Was wondering if you did much PP on these? Looks like the sun was creating some dark shadows. Did you add fill in post?

No fill. I dodged the player in #5, but that was it. No sharpening, I might have bumped up the blue just a hair in a couple of these, but that would be it.

vcrampton wrote in post #12487884
I was actually laying on my stomach like a sniper, so I couldn't really get much lower. Although, I loved the looks I was getting from people.

OK, so maybe the "answer" is to wait for them to look up…again, not always easy, but it does happen…usually when they're changing direction, or when they're looking to pass, or chasing down a ball. I think this would make for even more compelling images.

Posted below are the first images I could come up with from my archives that illustrate this…a couple real oldies and sort of goodies.

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Your pictures are awesome - well done!

vcrampton wrote in post #12487884
I was actually laying on my stomach like a sniper, so I couldn't really get much lower. Although, I loved the looks I was getting from people.

The low angle makes all the difference! That was the first thing I noticed when I looked at your shots. I got one of my all time favourite soccer shots by doing the same (laying on the ground):