First time shooting youth soccer, C&C welcome

Hi everyone...Been doing a lot of reading up on youth sports and this last Saturday I had the opportunity to shoot some youth soccer...Youth meaning...3 yrs olds and 6 yrs olds...My friend is one of the coaches so he invited me along.

Let me first say that the kiddies are a lot harder to shoot than I expected...Systematic chaos is the best term I can think of to describe it. The 3 yr olds were like a swarm of bees going after the ball, just one big group of kids running around in a pack. The field was about the size of a half basketball court...With parents lined all around was kind of tough getting shots with an uncluttered background. I tended to stay at the corners of the fields because I thought that was the best position composition wise and kept me from getting run over by the herd of cats...

The 6 yr olds were a little better...They seemed to understand it was actually a game and had a purpose. Field was a little bigger. Players knew their positions, made for good shooting.

Light- Out in the hot Florida sun and this day definitely gave the saying, "The Sunshine State" a true meaning. Very harsh lighting and hard shadows...tough to get around that...if anyone has any pointers for that, please share.

Anyways... Here are some shots... Looking for any critique good or bad... I am looking to get better at this so I welcome all comments...

All shot with my 30D with my new to me Sigma 70-300 APO DG lens. I did find that I had to bump the fill in PP alot on some of these to offset the shadows..

Thanks!

1. 214mm, 1/1600 f5, ISO 100, Manual

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I think they are good. I would use AV set at F4 or F5.6. Let the shutter sort itself out.Backgrounds are almost impossible with the type of parks that the kids are playing in.
It looks as if you have the right idea of being at their level.

[QUOTE=cory1848;546362​7]



Light- Out in the hot Florida sun and this day definitely gave the saying, "The Sunshine State" a true meaning. Very harsh lighting and hard shadows...tough to get around that...if anyone has any pointers for that, please share.

Try reducing the contrast on your in camera settings.

bump for more opinions

The first one, is a joyful and amusing capture... Little guys can be passionate about their favorite sport...

The other photos make for real pleasant portraits... Very nice set...Good job.

Man I love that lens! When I first started shooting my Sigma 70-300 was my favorite lens and shot everything with it! I still use it for getting candids...Great pictures! keep em coming!

johnstoy wrote in post #5481725
The first one, is a joyful and amusing capture... Little guys can be passionate about their favorite sport...

The other photos make for real pleasant portraits... Very nice set...Good job.

Thanks, although I found I needed to crop most of them in PP cause I wasnt tight enough. Do most shoot tight to begin with? Or just crop in PP?

sidx001 wrote in post #5481844
Man I love that lens! When I first started shooting my Sigma 70-300 was my favorite lens and shot everything with it! I still use it for getting candids...Great pictures! keep em coming!

I am very pleased with this lens. In goodlight I really cant see the difference from my other shots when I rented a 70-200 IS L. Maybe I am just not that experienced tech wise to see the differences but I feel this lens is pretty sharp.

cory1848 wrote in post #5486077
Thanks, although I found I needed to crop most of them in PP cause I wasnt tight enough. Do most shoot tight to begin with? Or just crop in PP?

I shoot stage action (more than sports)... If it's real fast, there often isn't much time to zoom out or in... I crop in PP all the time... The objective is to get the entire performer into the picture, extremities and instrument included, or similarly, close ups are of the face and the instrument...

If you shoot slightly wider, you'll get all of the extremities in the picture, which helps immensely in balancing th composition... You can than safely, crop thereafter... I love to use the 24-70mm f2.8L or the 70-200mmf2.8L IS, though fast primes are always at arms reach...

Thought I'd share this bit of soccer playing and coaching philosophy:

My favorite method for soccer is to show a controlled game... It makes the players look good when the ball is kept on the ground... Loose air balls are representative of less that absolute control, and the hap-hazardous action tends to be sloppy... World class teams don't like to lift the ball up, instead use quick, crisp, ground passes to get the job done...

Of course, a fully in control header on goal, is an exception to the rule and also looks good in photos... The header is applied from above the ball, and the ball is directed downward and at the goal.

I like your pictures because they make great portraits for the children... They are in control of the ball, (it's not loose, and far away from their feet,) giving them very nice poise, style and motion.

Good luck with your task, and have fun.

johnstoy wrote in post #5489294
I shoot stage action (more than sports)... If it's real fast, there often isn't much time to zoom out or in... I crop in PP all the time... The objective is to get the entire performer into the picture, extremities and instrument included, or similarly, close ups are of the face and the instrument...

If you shoot slightly wider, you'll get all of the extremities in the picture, which helps immensely in balancing th composition... You can than safely, crop thereafter... I love to use the 24-70mm f2.8L or the 70-200mmf2.8L IS, though fast primes are always at arms reach...

Thought I'd share this bit of soccer playing and coaching philosophy:

My favorite method for soccer is to show a controlled game... It makes the players look good when the ball is kept on the ground... Loose air balls are representative of less that absolute control, and the hap-hazardous action tends to be sloppy... World class teams don't like to lift the ball up, instead use quick, crisp, ground passes to get the job done...

Of course, a fully in control header on goal, is an exception to the rule and also looks good in photos... The header is applied from above the ball, and the ball is directed downward and at the goal.

I like your pictures because they make great portraits for the children... They are in control of the ball, (it's not loose, and far away from their feet,) giving them very nice poise, style and motion.

Good luck with your task, and have fun.

Thanks! I got back out tomorrow to try some more...

Its funny how you mention control...with the 3 yr olds and even in the 6yr olds class, I dont see any of it...lol...most of the coaches are picking up the kids and turning them around saying..."Run that way!"....lol, its fun to watch..
There is an older group, maybe under 15, that plays there too, I might start shooting them for practice as well...

Stay with it Cory... You've got your foot in the door with this, and you found a good niche... Keep up the good work...

In the mean time, the young ones will continue to learn correctly, and will stay focused on quality soccer... It's actually easier to play it that way.

Have fun. Cheers.