Softball

Throwing out for discussion. Any suggestions for shooting a kids softball tournament? Positioning, style, etc? I'd like to be able to get a pic of a batter swinging where the bat is blurred and the batter more in focus. I know I'd have to play with the shutter speed but if anyone had any tips it would be appreciated. Any other input/tips is appreciated as well.

Thanks

Tom

(1) POSITION: For shooting the batter(s), a good position is from the 1st base dugout area for right handed batters, 3rd base dugout area for the lefties. For shooting defense, I alternate between the fence line next to 1st base and next to 3rd base - from 1st base posit, you get a good view of 3rd baseman's or shortstop's face while fielding a ball and making the throw to 1st. From the 3rd base posit, you get the 2nd and 1st baseman's face. Also from the 3rd base view, you can get some good shots of the pitcher...

(2) I think you'll be disappointed in the blurry bat shots, I would recommend trying to freeze the ball and if you get it on or close to the bat, that's a good shot. Otherwise, go with a slower s/s - depending on age level of the players, probably around 1/640 to 1/800. I normally shoot about 1/2000-1/2500 for the frozen bat/ball pics. Oh, and adjust your ISO appropriately. Shoot in manual, AE Servo, high speed drive.

Here a couple shots from my shoot last Monday:

Sometimes, I like to get the R/H batter from 3rd base perspective as well....

Nice, thank you. I have been relegated to positions outside the playing field, shooting over a fence though I am using a Canon 70-200mm, the shots are on the far side of the reach so I will have to improve my positioning. I also have been using the Expodisc to set the White Balance when shooting which seems to have worked well. I also shoot with the 7D. I really like the camera but when it comes to setting the custom white balance, I usually set up in different positions so it would be great to be able to name the pics on the camera for future reference and setting.

When you shoot your softball pics what metering mode do you use?

I've been shooting my oldest two for years, so I have a lot of experience from youth through High School. You can see this season's work here:

https://www.flickr.com …/albums/7215770​6472206111

I have some general comments:
1) Position yourself so the action is coming at you, and you capture faces. A shot without a face is garbage typically. Practically this means from the first base side for 3B, SS, batters and the opposite side for 1B, 2B. Outfield is situational.
2) Shoot pitchers head on through the backstop, just offset enough to see around the umpire.
3) You need more reach, even with your small format bodies. I use a 100-400 on a 35mm format camera for almost everything. About the only stuff I shoot under 300mm reach is pitching.
4) The best place to shoot batters is just like the big TV broadcasts do it in MLB - meaning from center field. The good news is that 200 foot fences in fastpitch mean you can do this with 'just' a 600mm lens.
5) In fields with high fences all the way around, you have to pick and set up for limited shots at any one time. Basically it slows you down.

Don't forget to anticipate the cool stuff - Anticipate the catcher throwing on steals and pickoffs. Anticipate sliding into bases / home as these are the best shots but hard to get. Don't shoot just the batting, stay with it and get the batter flipping the bat and leaving the box.

Have fun.

tmwhitm wrote in post #18865580
When you shoot your softball pics what metering mode do you use?

More often than not, exposure is pretty constant through at least an inning if not an entire game. So I prefer to shoot a manual exposure (you can simply meter off the grass in 10 seconds and go). You are likely to come home from a game or tournament with a whole lot of shots, so having everything consistently exposed is a real time saver in post processing. If the light isn't changing, having the camera guess at an exposure for every shot makes no sense.

If the day has patchy clouds, you might have to use an automatic exposure mode. In this case I'd set the camera to M mode, wide open, shutter speed 1/1000 or faster (if bright out) and auto-ISO. I generally see little difference between evaluative and CWA metering modes with Canon, and blasting away in softball you are just looking for it to be pretty close anyway. The problem with auto-exposure is you tend to need to tweak everything a bit more in post for consistent exposure.

I use partial metering for 90% of all my shooting, I never use center-weighted. Also, up until this year, I was allowed within the fence but Michigan changed the rules effective this year that photogs can't be inside anymore so I, too, use a ladder and shoot over the fence...sometimes, I'll shoot thru the fence which really isn't a problem with the 70-200...especially when taking pics of the pitcher like this one...

Agree with everything except the lens choice...don't need 600mm or even 400mm...70-200 works fine and if you throw on a 1.4x teleconverter, you're good to go. The 7D is good enough that you can crop it if needed to get "closer." Although, I would love a 100-400 or 600...but can't justify the expense.

I shoot all softball in manual and will set the aperture to underexpose by 1/3 to 2/3. Works very well for me....

great action in these shots!!

jwilson wrote in post #18865677
Agree with everything except the lens choice...don't need 600mm or even 400mm...70-200 works fine and if you throw on a 1.4x teleconverter, you're good to go. The 7D is good enough that you can crop it if needed to get "closer." Although, I would love a 100-400 or 600...but can't justify the expense.

It probably depends a lot on what your intended output will be, so we should both be careful with generalizing. Also, note I shoot with 35mm format bodies, so you'll be cropping the same as me when using a lens 40% shorter (although you will have the same pixels on target as me at the same focal length when I am using my Sony A7rIII).

It's worth giving some specific examples, which are also useful for talking about how to set up for some shots.

First up, here is 1B shot through the fence about midway between first and home. This position keeps base coaches out of my way, and offers shots of 1B, 2B, P in defensive action. You can also shoot RF from here. This is 400mm on what amounts to a 'close' shot.

Note that I struggle with verticals when I shoot through fences, just a lot going on and hard to keep the camera straight. So some cropping is good.

Similar to the 1B shot, I may set up for SS and can also get LF and sometimes CF through a fence. When this happens you will want every bit of reach you can get. Here we have the LF saving a double, shot at 400mm and cropped super hard. This level of crop is fine for an 8x10 or screen image, but will not support a large print without losing some detail.

This shot breaks my rule of getting the action coming at you, but because the face is partially visible and the shot is of a good play, it is a keeper.

You don't have to shoot batting (and catchers) from CF, but it can make for interesting shots. A 400mm lens on a 1.6X body would be workable. This is 600mm on 35mm and is not cropped too hard.

So remember to look for and setup on slides etc. These shots have a low payoff (lots of sitting, little shooting) but when you get good ones it's fun. This shot was supposed to be of the baserunner.....but you end up seeing the SS do a really nice job of blocking the bag.

And have fun. Look around and shoot the cool things and get the moments with some emotion. Sometimes a really good shot can occur after the play is dead.

Great shots, Jeff!