First track & Field

This is my first go at shooting track and field. There
is something going on seemingly, at every moment!
At any rate, it was fun and any comments would be
appreciated so I can improve. Happy Easter all!

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Good capture on #1, but #1 is probably cropped too tight (I wouldn't cut the feet off), looks a bit underexposed and her arm is blocking her face. I don't love the composition of #2 and it also appears to be underexposed.

Here are a few I took yesterday at the Santa Barbara Easter Relays here in Santa Barbara, California:

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I would say that both set are good captures. I know how difficult it can be, but pictures, in my opinion, where you can't see the face are distracting. I don't know what equipment you're using, but if you are using a continuous drive mode, don't just hold it down and let the frames fly. It is much better to wait until you see the peak of the action and start from there. This way you have more control over what you capture. If you are using a point and shoot, this probably isn't possible. But if you have a DSLR or SLR, try this next time. Pan with the action (remember to continue panning as you are pressing the shutter), when you see the peak action in your viewfinder, start to take pictures. Now, you don't have to just hold the shutter button. Try to use controlled bursts. I photograph the local high school football and wrestling matches, and I find this approach results in more usable pictures. Hope this helps.

Thanks for the advice. I will work on panning more often. It is
amazing how fast everything happens. Each event is explosive in
nature and I do need to use the burst mode more often! I sent
a couple others that may be better. What do you think?

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I like those a lot, especially the vaulter. Now here's another suggestion. I use a Canon 20D, and I see you're using a Rebel XTi. I find that my camera will want to over expose by about 2/3 of a stop. I always dial in exposure compensation of at least -2/3 and I use center-weighted metering. I shoot in RAW. Now, unless you're shooting a mostly white jersey, or mostly black jersey, the camera should be closer to the correct exposure. And with the RAW format, you can always go back and tweak. I find Canon's RAW format is very forgiving. I shoot football games under high school stadium lights on manual. There isn't enough light to "properly" expose the pictures in camera even with a 200mm f/2.8, but with the RAW format, I can bump the exposure a full 1 1/2 stops without any unacceptable noise. You just need to learn how to use Canon's EOS Viewer Utility or Photoshop's Camera Raw.

Hope these tips help. Keep the shutter clicking, too. The more you shoot sports, the quicker you'll start to "see" how to do something. When I started with football, my first few games had a small ratio of keepers to misses. Now I can consistently walk into a sporting event and nail the shots I need to nail. Keep up the good work.

PrimaryCanary, thank you very much for this useful advice! I plan on shooting
another track event next weekend and I will heed your advice and give it a go.
Does anyone have any other tips that would be of use?