Youth Football Pictures

I have been shooting my kids sports for a couple of years now and just started getting better equipment. Any suggestions to make my shots better?

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crop much tighter.. could use some contrast. A bit underexposed on some.

Agreed on the cropping. I think they'd look much more engaging if you eliminated the empty field in a couple of the photos. I think the second and fourth are best because the action is filling the frame more than the others.

Just a question, why the jumping around on the ISO? Do you have it set to Auto with camera set to AV mood?

Your shutter speeds are in the thousandths set that sucker to 100 and leave it during well lit summer days.

About all I have for ya, do you like your lens, looks very sharp and on target.

With that lens you can crop at 1:1 and still have a sharp image. And the saying for sports is shoot tight and crop tighter. The only thing you want is your image is the action. #3 has the best action in it. Keep it up!

I agree, crop tighter. Try getting lower, it often makes a more appealing perspective and may eliminate some background clutter.

BigAlz1 wrote in post #10827919
Just a question, why the jumping around on the ISO? Do you have it set to Auto with camera set to AV mood?

Your shutter speeds are in the thousandths set that sucker to 100 and leave it during well lit summer days.

About all I have for ya, do you like your lens, looks very sharp and on target.

I'm not the person you were addressing, but personally when I've shot action, even on a bright day, I like to set around ISO200 (since there's no discernible noise added) and close the aperture a bit. That way there's a little more margin for error on focus for moving subjects.

dmnelson wrote in post #10829713
I'm not the person you were addressing, but personally when I've shot action, even on a bright day, I like to set around ISO200 (since there's no discernible noise added) and close the aperture a bit. That way there's a little more margin for error on focus for moving subjects.

I truly understand the reasoning behind that, but in reality not sure this approach is getting the results you are trying to get. The best way to keep your action shots sharp is by shooting with the fastest shutter speed possible for a proper exposure. The ISO of 200 would do that, but a smaller aperture will not. The faster the shutter speed, the less motion blur which gives you a sharper image. So when a runner is coming at you at full speed, the less time the shutter is open is more important then widening the DOF a few inches. Also I don't think I lost a shot because of my aperture was to large...it is always due to simply missing the focus point.

When shooting sports I'll always use my fastest aperture, (2.8 on my 70-200), and set the ISO to keep my SS over 1/1000. During football games the first two quarters my ISO will be between 200 and 400. By the end of the game, I'll be shooting at least with an ISO of 1600. If I decrease the aperture to a f/4 I would then have to start shooting with an ISO of 400 or above, and end up with an ISO of 3200.

JMHO

Guys I understand all of that, I was asking the OP why it was jumping around, ISO, 100, 160, 200, at 2000th-2500th of a second there is no need in such small jumps in ISO. That's all I wanted to know, was just wondering if his settings was set to AV with Auto ISO.

Great feedback everyone, thanks. On a 7D would you use a TC (1.4) and crop some or no TC and crop more?

BigAlz1 wrote in post #10831049
Guys I understand all of that, I was asking the OP why it was jumping around, ISO, 100, 160, 200, at 2000th-2500th of a second there is no need in such small jumps in ISO. That's all I wanted to know, was just wondering if his settings was set to AV with Auto ISO.

Yes ISO was on auto. It's the first time I used auto. I will set a fixed ISO next time and try it out.

Thought so thanks, was you set to AV, TV, or manual?

BigAlz1 wrote in post #10831403
Thought so thanks, was you set to AV, TV, or manual?

Tv on almost every shot that day. There were a few Av shots done of the sideline players. The photos posted were all Tv.

mmcguire wrote in post #10831245
Great feedback everyone, thanks. On a 7D would you use a TC (1.4) and crop some or no TC and crop more?

With the 70-200 L, I don't use my TC. Again the quality of that lens let's you crop close to 1:1.

Here is one example, it was shot with the 70-200L about 60 yards away, and cropped just to have the two celebrating: ISO - 800

[IMG]https://photography-on-the.net …21304656_780e73​4a84_b.jpg[IMG]http://farm5.static.fl​ickr.com …21304656_780e73​4a84_b.jpg
TC_VS_EH-5837 by warren.robison, on Flickr


Another one about 50 yards away:

[IMG]http://farm5.static.fl​ickr.com …20685397_d89fc6​0be6_b.jpg
TC_VS_EH-5679 by warren.robison, on Flickr

I wish I had the original images with me, then I could show you how much I cropped...I'll see if I can get those posted tomorrow if interested.

dwarrenr, you're right that the bigger the aperture the more the action will be frozen. I was thinking of ideal lighting where ISO200 at f/5.6 (for example) is still fast enough to get 1/1000 sec. As opposed to a bigger aperture and ISO100. You are absolutely right though, if you have to compromise you should use a big aperture to avoid motion blur.