felt like vacation

so I like NEVER get to shoot sports anymore...but I live like a 2 min walk from the university baseball and softball fields and just couldnt resist crackin' out the 20d and 70-200 f4 in some nasty weather and taking a stab at it for fun...

5fps and baseball dont clash well, I NEVER get the stupid bat on ball contact...so a stray frame I sort of liked
01.

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Will - For what it's worth bat-on-ball pics are only of value to parents and some players. If you'll study media shots in newspapers, player images on baseball cards and photos in baseball magazines like Baseball America you'll see that there is little or no market for them. Pro baseball shooters seldom keep these shots even if they get them because the great majority of them show the top of the batter's helment rather than his face because he's looking down at the ball. If you really do want the shot, then the best way to get it is to time your shot perfectly and not rely on burst mode. Set up on the batter, watch him carefully and you'll soon learn when he's going to pull the trigger -- eye movement, leg lift, shoulder twitch, etc. Since most batters bat three or more times during a game you'll get plenty of chances. After you get a few bat-on-ball shots, I think you'll see why pros don't keep them.

Pic #1 is far better than the great majority of bat-on-ball shots I've seen. A tighter crop would make it more interesting -- I'd suggest portrait mode with nothing but the batter and front edge of home plate in the image. #3 is a great action shot and my favorite of the bunch.

i agree ... number three is really well composed... its got action of all sorts in it... good stuff... but i think some different angles on the first two would have been better, they are good action shots but are weird crops and and have litlle context.

I like the last 2, especially the last one. I am not a fan of the firsts composition.

if you are trying to get a ball on bat picture you need to put it in single shot mode and get your timing down. Relying on the cameras speed is only a hinderence here.

Here is one for your comparison. You are right the head is down, but look at that bat bend under the pressure. I would have to disagee about not using a burst of 2 or three frames. I catch a high percentage of Bat on ball shots whith this technique.

Well sorry it looks like for some reason they won't let me upload the picture.

Well, #3 is simply superb all around in my book ... I much prefer the look of the ladies at any sport, plus she is in an amazing position, the girl on second is stealing and is just the right amount OOF, and then you have the batter and outfielder framing the rest ... utterly stunning even if not the kind of thing a magazine would want. Yup, looks like ballet to me.

I like the last one...