Baseball at 6 AM - (8 Pics)

Here are some pics from the Tigers @ Nationals spring training game last Monday -- I posted them while I'm watching the Red Sox vs Athletics game in Japan on ESPN this morning. Yup, I'm a nut about the game of baseball.

Carlos Guillen

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I like the action caught at the plate on the last photo. I too am up watching the game....inadvertently.​..but still...watching it. A's up 4-0 top-o-5th

last one is the winner for me too...

i got to get out to shoot some baseball.

As always, your pics are awesome.

You wouldn't by chance be interested in adopting a budding youth recreation league sports shooter??

If I did not know any better, I'd think I was looking at the preseason program ... these are just THAT GOOD!

thanks for the inspiration!

Damn! Nice shots! I really like the Santiago, Renteria and Sheffield shots!
Checking out your previous threads and they're all nice!

Tried to get tickets for the Sox-A's game but sold out way too early a few months ago. Thought it'd be nice to be able to get some shots as Major Leaguers don't come out here too often. Oh well, next time maybe I'll have better luck. I did get the see the game on tv atleast.

It's the bokeh....shot 2...just perfect.

Thanks for the kind words, folks.

rcavanaughjr wrote in post #5198290
As always, your pics are awesome.

You wouldn't by chance be interested in adopting a budding youth recreation league sports shooter??

If you were my kid, I don't think I'd want you doing what I do -- it can be hazardous to your health . See THISpost.

Jerry do you use photo shop on yuor photos there so clean and flawless.

sportsphotos wrote in post #5211817
Jerry do you use photo shop on yuor photos there so clean and flawless.

Yes -- I shoot RAW then use Photoshop to convert, crop, straighten if necessary, resize and sharpen with USM.

Great action, great exposures. What's the secret to minimizing a dark shadow under a baseball cap? Obviously, some overexposure is necessary but one doesn't want to totally blow out the background.

I posted some shots from last weekend's Angels spring training games (thread:Spring Training Pics) and I'd really appreciate your feedback. I had to go into photoshop to lighten the faces in a few instances and I really don't want to do that. The day those were shot was very bright, totally blue sky, midday.

shleiken wrote in post #5213707
Great action, great exposures. What's the secret to minimizing a dark shadow under a baseball cap? Obviously, some overexposure is necessary but one doesn't want to totally blow out the background.

The secret is to expose for faces and not be concerned about blowing out backgrounds -- it's a trade off. In baseball the great majority of backgrounds are of little or no interest so blowing them out seldom detracts from the capture anyway. Exposing for faces can be a bit tricky and I've found that manual exposure mode works best. I take spot readings from things that appear to be near 18% gray like umpires' gray trousers, grass and dirt. Then I check my histogram frequently to see if exposure is correct and make adjustments as necessary. The most difficult face to expose correctly is one that's half brightly lit and half in deep shadow. If the sun is high in the sky, I usually move to a shooting position where most if not all of subjects' faces are in deep shadow which means shooting into the sun. If it's late setting sun, I usually move to a shooting position where subjects' faces are in bright sunlight which means shooting with my back to the sun.

Thanks for the advice. I totally understand what you're saying -- when I shoot, which is always in the day, I meter on the grass and shoot everything manually. Even knowing that there's a harsh shadow under the brim, and trying to expose for it, I don't get close to the results you do. I guess that's one of the reasons you're a pro and I'm not. Also, I'm stuck in one seat and you have the ability to move around, which is helpful. But obviously your results are more than mobility — you certainly know what you're doing.

How do you get in the photo wells? Who do you shoot for?

Still goin through images from ST here Jerry, not to far away from finishing the tagging/renaming and then its cropping and uploading. Yup, fun part of photography (yea right). If only my laptop hadn't burnt out I wouldn't be so far behind.

Lastings, Shef, Dane shots do it...lovin that 400 ain't ya?

shleiken wrote in post #5228085
Thanks for the advice. I totally understand what you're saying -- when I shoot, which is always in the day, I meter on the grass and shoot everything manually. Even knowing that there's a harsh shadow under the brim, and trying to expose for it, I don't get close to the results you do. I guess that's one of the reasons you're a pro and I'm not. Also, I'm stuck in one seat and you have the ability to move around, which is helpful. But obviously your results are more than mobility — you certainly know what you're doing.

How do you get in the photo wells? Who do you shoot for?

After you get your grass meter reading, try overexposing one full stop where backgrounds are dark (like dugouts, trees and dark billboards) and uniforms aren't pure white. With lighter backgrounds and/or pure white uniforms, try overexposing a tad and maybe even up to one full stop. When shooting players with very dark colored skin in harsh sunlight always overexpose regardless of backgrounds or uniform colors. If you're not already doing so and if you have the time to convert images, shoot RAW in harsh sunlight and overexpose everything.

The only way anyone gets into the photo wells is if they have photo credentials and credentials are granted by organizations/teams within MLB rules and guidelines. The rules and guidelines apply to all levels of professional baseball to include minor league organizations and photographers must be affiliated with someone that MLB recognizes as a bona fide client. I'm a freelance photographer and I'll shoot for any bona fide client who'll pay me or on speculation if I think there's a good chance I can sell enough images to make the shoot worthwhile. I shot spring training this and last season with Baseball America affiliated credentials and I shot the past two minor league seasons with MiLB affiliated credentials. I've been the Florida State League photographer for four years and I shoot their games with FSL affiliated credentials.