Two different zooms

A couple of photos from a recent track meet. One with a 70-200 f2.8 and one with the 100-400L II

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Thank you.

I like the second one. Still a closeup, but you also get a little more of the surroundings, that is, the stands in the background.

Thanks.

It was interesting to do meets with both lenses. Sometimes I would switch during the meet. A couple of meets ran late into the day so the 70-200 f2.8 became necessary for light and shutter speed.

Like at this meet, the f2.8 was needed

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duckster wrote in post #19219103
A couple of photos from a recent track meet. One with a 70-200 f2.8 and one with the 100-400L II

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I prefer the first one as her leg muscle definition is well captured.

Sometimes if the timing is right, you can really get the muscle definition.

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I prefer the first one because the background is blurred enough to retain the focus on the runner. In the second my eye is quickly distracted by the clearer background elements and I start looking at those more than the runner.

Thanks. That certainly is a advantage of the f2.8 lens over the 100-400

duckster wrote in post #19241490
Thanks. That certainly is a advantage of the f2.8 lens over the 100-400

Yep. I have both and much prefer the subject isolation afforded by the 2.8 but wind up using the 100-400 much more because I need the reach. Everything is a tradeoff.

If I was shooting to show the ATHLETE #1.

If I was shooting to show the MEET #2.

Personally prefer #1.

duckster wrote in post #19241485
Sometimes if the timing is right, you can really get the muscle definition.

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I see you've learned a lot since I first looked at this thread. I was going to recommend that you find a spot on a curve and shoot down the track rather than across. This gives you a lot of advantages that you can see in your last picture. It cleans up your backgrounds. It lets you use the perspective those long lenses provide to tighten the grouping of the runners. And mainly, runners in any sport look better running at you rather than across the frame. Faces are what make great sports photographs.

Going forward, I'd say you need to tighten up these shots in post. For that last picture, I'd keep all the runners, including the one in the back, but I'd lose everything else. In those early shots, I'd lose 3/4 of all of them. If you're shooting the race, you're shooting the runners. If you're shooting the meet, you'll have better luck in the infield between events.

Tight, tight, tight. Keep that in the front of your mind anytime you shoot sports. That 100-400 has some reach. Use it. Not only to tighten up your framing, but to tighten up your perspective as well. That will give you the best chance of capturing the drama that you're looking for in action shots. And that 70-200 would make a great infield lens. Drama happens there too.

You got great gear and you've learned how to use it. Next step is to learn where to stand.

Thanks for the suggestions! I do have some that have a tighter FOV

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I would agree.... to much extra stuff in the images. First shot..... the blurry coach adds nothing to the shot. He doesn't add to the shot. Remember anything that isn't adding to the shot, is distracting. I am the worst at this... when ever I have some one critique my work, the most common recommendation is a better crop. I often don't see it at first, but once pointed out.... its so obvious. Keep at it man.... track is fun to shoot.

Thanks. Since I am shooting for the kids and the end of year slide show, the coach yelling encouragement is meaningful for the athletes because that is his trademark, running from spot to spot on the track to support the runner but from a purely aesthetic perspective, I agree. Thank you for the feedback!