Finally my first attempt at football

Well after a long few weeks of trying to organize a team to shoot I finally had a chance to shoot my first game today, in fact its the first time i've ever used al servo

I took advice sought from this forum and used AV with ISO set at atound 640-1000 to keep my shutter speed above 1/1000. I also underexposed by a third.

Must say I really enjoyed it even though it was bitterly cold after an hour

Would love to know your thoughts on these. All were shot in JPEG and other than a crop are straight out of the camera.

Cheers

Phil

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I personally like a tighter crop on the players but otherwise they are sharp well exposed and you have captured some really nice action,keep up the good work

Cheers Nigel. I had these posted on another forum and the consensus was that the images were soft. I must admit when looking at other people's images mine do seem a little soft.

I read recently that to obtain correct lock on using AI servo you have to focus on the subject for 1 sec before pressing the shutter. This is something I didn't do when taking these.

For a first-these are pretty good, like CP, I'd prefer a bit tighter crop, and you need to straighten your verticals/horizontals

redmonkee said:

Cheers Nigel. I had these posted on another forum and the consensus was that the images were soft. I must admit when looking at other people's images mine do seem a little soft.

I read recently that to obtain correct lock on using AI servo you have to focus on the subject for 1 sec before pressing the shutter. This is something I didn't do when taking these.

Click to expand...

If you focus for a second on a fast moving footballer you will definateley be out of focus,I use AI Focus rater than servo and have a pretty good success rate,have a look here if you are interested


http://www.flickr.com/photos/captainpenguin/collections/72157621941035343/

Two point to keep in mind for your next game.

1. Watch your horizontals (unless the pitch is on a slope!)

2. Crop tighter around the action.

Look forward to seeing your next game

snapzz said:

Two point to keep in mind for your next game.

1. Watch your horizontals (unless the pitch is on a slope!)

2. Crop tighter around the action.

Look forward to seeing your next game

Click to expand...

Cheers Graham

Yes the pitch was on a slope, although on some shots I may have had the camera tilted to one side which may have exaggerated the wonky horizontals

in most of these the players are oof but the ball is in focus. i wonder if the 7d's autofocus system has tracked the ball.

redmonkee said:

Well after a long few weeks of trying to organize a team to shoot I finally had a chance to shoot my first game today, in fact its the first time i've ever used al servo

I took advice sought from this forum and used AV with ISO set at atound 640-1000 to keep my shutter speed above 1/1000. I also underexposed by a third.

Must say I really enjoyed it even though it was bitterly cold after an hour

Would love to know your thoughts on these. All were shot in JPEG and other than a crop are straight out of the camera.

Cheers
Phil

Click to expand...

I would say stick with AI Servo - Not AI Focus...I found that to be a "jack of all trades - master of none" setting, and in fact, it doesn't exist on the 1D!

As for keeping shutter speeds above 1/1000 - I've never felt the need to keep the speed above 1/640. By doing that you'd have stayed a couple of stops lower on the ISO (not that it's made much difference in terms of noise).

Composition-wise...there are 3 things:

1. Level the horizons. My old boss used to tear me a new one every time I sent a wonky shot, so now I can't stand them! It doesn't take a lot and it makes it look much better.

2. Crop tighter. In photos where you've got the ball and players heading - the ball needs to be really close, otherwise you've got wasted space...I'd probably have dumped no.1. When you crop tighter, don't be constrained by any aspect ratio. Those who are selling prints to players may want to consider how their prints will look...but those doing it for forums/editorial can crop however they wish IMO! Fit the crop to the action.

3. I say this to nearly everyone...get LOWER! Your shots are pretty good for this, but kneel down, buy a stool, sit on the ground...the lower the better

Generally, you've done pretty well for your first attempt...listen to Graham (Snapzz) and the stuff I've said and you'll be onto a winner in no time!

CP - I don't know about this "focus for a second and you'll be OOF" business...I focus on players as they run towards me using AI Servo and the focus tracks great for me.

Cheers James, some great pointers there.

I'm hoping to shoot my second game this weekend so I'll try and use your advice and hopefully get some better shots.

If you are photographing on a sloping pitch (like I was with this game) do you still try and straighten your horizontals? or do you just make sure the horizontals match the original sloping scene...hope that makes sense

redmonkee said:

Cheers James, some great pointers there.

I'm hoping to shoot my second game this weekend so I'll try and use your advice and hopefully get some better shots.

If you are photographing on a sloping pitch (like I was with this game) do you still try and straighten your horizontals? or do you just make sure the horizontals match the original sloping scene...hope that makes sense

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Hmmm...I must admit, it's not something I've really come accross. Since I photograph Premier League and Football League, they tend to flatten the pitch!!

I'm just trying to think...I reckon personally, if you've got something that you know is level, such as the crossbar or a tree in the background, I'd make sure they were level and allow the pitch to appear sloped. However, it depends how sloped we're talking as I'd imagine the eye would be distracted by a massive gradient!!

jamesb84 said:

Hmmm...I must admit, it's not something I've really come accross. Since I photograph Premier League and Football League, they tend to flatten the pitch!!

I'm just trying to think...I reckon personally, if you've got something that you know is level, such as the crossbar or a tree in the background, I'd make sure they were level and allow the pitch to appear sloped. However, it depends how sloped we're talking as I'd imagine the eye would be distracted by a massive gradient!!

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We're not all lucky enough to shoot premier league

The problem I have with the pitch I shoot at is it slopes quite a bit across the pitch so even the crossbar is not entirely level. If I straighten this in post I don't want to to look like the players are leaning to one side.

Surely if the players are upright then this would mean the horizontals in the background are as level as they are to the eye.

ps. how did you get into shooting premier league stuff. That's my ultimate ambition. Also I know i need 2.8 but will the 300 f4 do while I start off?

redmonkee said:

We're not all lucky enough to shoot premier league

The problem I have with the pitch I shoot at is it slopes quite a bit across the pitch so even the crossbar is not entirely level. If I straighten this in post I don't want to to look like the players are leaning to one side.

Surely if the players are upright then this would mean the horizontals in the background are as level as they are to the eye.

ps. how did you get into shooting premier league stuff. That's my ultimate ambition. Also I know i need 2.8 but will the 300 f4 do while I start off?

Click to expand...

OK, yeah...keep the players upright then if your goal is wonky! Ideally, if your bokeh is nice enough you'll have the players popping out of the picture anyway!

2.8 is only vital if you're shooting night-time games...I used to use the 300 f/2.8 + 1.4 extender and was quite happy at f/4.

When I first started out I used the Sigma 100-300 f/4 and that used to do me fine...the L series 300 f/4 is apparently even better than the Sigma...so I'd say you'd be fine!