First time shooting football

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Hi all. So i am doing a personal project here where i get to follow and shoot the football games played in grass root level here in London and get to shoot both on and off the pitch.

Here is some images i took last week. Please Critic as harsh as you can :)

Thanks

1
GrassRootsDay1-14.jpg by Jon Richy, on Flickr

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GrassRootsDay1-1253.jpg by Jon Richy, on Flickr

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GrassRootsDay1-962.jpg by Jon Richy, on Flickr

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GrassRootsDay1-1406.jpg by Jon Richy, on Flickr

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GrassRootsDay1-1482.jpg by Jon Richy, on Flickr

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GrassRootsDay1-129.jpg by Jon Richy, on Flickr

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GrassRootsDay1-A7r3-43.jpg by Jon Richy, on Flickr

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GrassRootsDay1-1619.jpg by Jon Richy, on Flickr

Full album here

https://www.flickr.com/photos/josh1408/albums/72157700908240324/with/43692599755/
 
the only comments i would make is,i like your composition but would prefer the lens closed down more as apart from 1 i dont like the blurry background,i understand you may have deliberately gone for this to emphasize the close action but i dont like the background effect,otherwise good job(y)
 
I’ve no idea what generally the pros shoot aperture wise and it’s just a personnel thing from me,
 
Sounds like an interesting project and it has lots of potential. I actually quite like the shallow depth of field in the shots and they all look well timed and to my untrained eye they work well.

My immediate thought though was that they are all quite similar to the usual action shots you get at a football match, nothing wrong with that but I would have liked to have seen some different types of shot to show the bigger picture of grass roots football. Maybe things like the changing rooms (if any), goals being set up, the fans or managers, etc.
 
The use of open aperture is important in sports shooting to help focus the attention on the action. However, this does not mean you shouldn't consider stopping down for different effects.

I like the sound of this project. I think your first image acts as a good scene setting shot. I would suggest getting a few close up shots too, highlighting details of boots, the ball etc.
 
Okay here goes:

1. For me there is a lot of dead space that doesn't really add anything to the image. Appreciate that this was obviously taken at distance and it looks like you've deliberately opted to frame to get the trees and a bit of sky in but for me everything above the players isn't adding anything to the shot.
2. Much tighter crop which I think is better. Maybe a little too tight at the top. The major downside here for me is the lack of the ball in the shot. Generally I'd recommend having the ball in pretty much every 'action' shot. If you are doing a stock photo of a player just standing there then you won't need the ball. Similar if it's a celebration shot or there is some form of emotion or incident being captured. For me if you get the ball in it just adds so much more interest and context to the shot.
3. This is good action. You've got a little unfortunate that the players aren't facing you here as that would really have elevated the image but obviously that happens when photographing football. Again the downside for me is the cropping. A lot of space above and below the actual action that I don't think gives the image any value. You want to keep the eyes on the action and getting rid of a bit of sky and grass would help to do that.
4. For me you have the focus on the wrong player here. I think this works better if the focus is on the player facing the camera. In terms of cropping here it is tighter which is great but I always prefer to see more (or equal) space above the players than below. Otherwise it just looks a bit off.
5. Good action shot. I really like this. Again I'd probably highlight the amount of empty space above the players. Not a lot going on up there and I don't want my eyes wandering up into that space so it's better simply not to have it. Take half that space above the players away and it's a much improved photo.
6. Yes, I love this. This is generally the type of shot I like to see where you have two players facing the camera as they contest the ball. You could have cropped a bit tighter but this for me is a pretty nice football shot.
7. This doesn't really do much for me. Neither player is facing the camera which is pretty much a no go area unless you are capturing a key moment such as a goal or bad foul and you desperately need a picture to put out. If you take that picture from the other side then it's going to be a solid action image but from behind I'd have just left it out.
8. Not a bad picture but it looks like you haven't quite managed to frame it to get both the heads fully in the shot? I know it sounds picky but the little details are the things that improve or detract from an image. Those kind of things you start to notice when you compare your pictures to others.

Solid effort for a first attempt though! Bare in mind that what I've written above is my opinion based on my experiences. Almost every photographer can find ways to constantly improve and evolve. When I'm being harsh on myself I can usually pick apart every single image from a gallery and find ways I could have improved it.

I’ve no idea what generally the pros shoot aperture wise and it’s just a personnel thing from me,

Usually f/2.8 using a 400mm f/2.8 simply because we do want the background to be blown out of focus. Similar on the 70-200 f/2.8 but I'll often stop down to f/4 for closer up action and set plays etc to get a bit more DoF.
 
That's coming on my next batch of photos :) ie changing Room scene's. Referee meetings etc :)
Sounds like an interesting project and it has lots of potential. I actually quite like the shallow depth of field in the shots and they all look well timed and to my untrained eye they work well.

My immediate thought though was that they are all quite similar to the usual action shots you get at a football match, nothing wrong with that but I would have liked to have seen some different types of shot to show the bigger picture of grass roots football. Maybe things like the changing rooms (if any), goals being set up, the fans or managers, etc.
 
Okay here goes:

1. For me there is a lot of dead space that doesn't really add anything to the image. Appreciate that this was obviously taken at distance and it looks like you've deliberately opted to frame to get the trees and a bit of sky in but for me everything above the players isn't adding anything to the shot.
2. Much tighter crop which I think is better. Maybe a little too tight at the top. The major downside here for me is the lack of the ball in the shot. Generally I'd recommend having the ball in pretty much every 'action' shot. If you are doing a stock photo of a player just standing there then you won't need the ball. Similar if it's a celebration shot or there is some form of emotion or incident being captured. For me if you get the ball in it just adds so much more interest and context to the shot.
3. This is good action. You've got a little unfortunate that the players aren't facing you here as that would really have elevated the image but obviously that happens when photographing football. Again the downside for me is the cropping. A lot of space above and below the actual action that I don't think gives the image any value. You want to keep the eyes on the action and getting rid of a bit of sky and grass would help to do that.
4. For me you have the focus on the wrong player here. I think this works better if the focus is on the player facing the camera. In terms of cropping here it is tighter which is great but I always prefer to see more (or equal) space above the players than below. Otherwise it just looks a bit off.
5. Good action shot. I really like this. Again I'd probably highlight the amount of empty space above the players. Not a lot going on up there and I don't want my eyes wandering up into that space so it's better simply not to have it. Take half that space above the players away and it's a much improved photo.
6. Yes, I love this. This is generally the type of shot I like to see where you have two players facing the camera as they contest the ball. You could have cropped a bit tighter but this for me is a pretty nice football shot.
7. This doesn't really do much for me. Neither player is facing the camera which is pretty much a no go area unless you are capturing a key moment such as a goal or bad foul and you desperately need a picture to put out. If you take that picture from the other side then it's going to be a solid action image but from behind I'd have just left it out.
8. Not a bad picture but it looks like you haven't quite managed to frame it to get both the heads fully in the shot? I know it sounds picky but the little details are the things that improve or detract from an image. Those kind of things you start to notice when you compare your pictures to others.

Solid effort for a first attempt though! Bare in mind that what I've written above is my opinion based on my experiences. Almost every photographer can find ways to constantly improve and evolve. When I'm being harsh on myself I can usually pick apart every single image from a gallery and find ways I could have improved it.



Usually f/2.8 using a 400mm f/2.8 simply because we do want the background to be blown out of focus. Similar on the 70-200 f/2.8 but I'll often stop down to f/4 for closer up action and set plays etc to get a bit more DoF.
Awesome Thanks. really appreciate the feedback.

I'm a bit weary of cropping too much but I assume for sports it's fine and you don't need to fill up your entire sensor mp to produce sports action shots?

Is sacrificing IQ and loss of mp ok ?I only have a 24mp sensor camera in my sport's camera
 
24MP would be fine. Top end Pro sports cameras are around that. It's more about sensor quality and camera processing. A phone could have a 24MP sensor but the quality and size of sensor would be so small it would produce limited quality, especially when cropping and printing.
 
Cropping is essential for sports photography. When you are photographing a sport on a large pitch like football then you can't always fill the frame so you simply cut away the excess parts of the image instead to leave the bit you want to focus on. A simple example is when a goal is scored down the other end of the pitch it is still possible to use a 400mm lens to capture the celebration. It will be a small part of the captured image but you can crop in post processing to fill the final image with the celebration and remove a lot of the empty space.

Your 24Mp sensor will offer higher resolution than most of the pro bodies. I think the Canon 1DX MKI is only an 18.1MP camera. Obviously it produces incredible image quality at high iso which is why it's a good choice for the pro requiring the ability to get results in even the most challenging of conditions. In decent light though, whatever you are using sounds like it will be fine.
 
Take a look at this book https://www.amazon.co.uk/European-Fields-Landscape-League-Football/dp/3865212387 and this one by an acquaintance of mine https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dugouts-David-Bauckham/dp/1845374789
Your project has been done before, but don't be put off, make it yours. Referees, changing rooms, supporters, dugouts, weather, groundsmen. A wide choice of subjects. #5 works best for me. Post some more
awesome thanks will do!

Here are somore pics

1.
GrassRootsDay2-A7r3-21.jpg by Jon Richy, on Flickr

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GrassRootsDay2-A7r3-60.jpg by Jon Richy, on Flickr

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GrassRootsDay2-A7r3-74.jpg by Jon Richy, on Flickr

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GrassRootsDay2-A7r3-80.jpg by Jon Richy, on Flickr

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GrassRootsDay2-A7r3-98.jpg by Jon Richy, on Flickr

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GrassRootsDay2-A7r3-186.jpg by Jon Richy, on Flickr

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GrassRootsDay2-A7r3-188.jpg by Jon Richy, on Flickr

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GrassRootsDay2-A7r3-147.jpg by Jon Richy, on Flickr
 
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