Photographing football penalties

gibtheo

gibtheo

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Steven
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Just wondering if anyone has tips on photographing penalty shoot outs or penalties in general? I don't mind all 3 of these shots but I'm never reeeeeally happy with my penalty shots. I normally go for the middle one, post blurry foreground, player that took it with the ball somewhere in frame. Not a bad shot but I find them a bit samey and boring. Tried something different for number 3 and like it in principle but can't get behind goals at a lot of grounds and always fear I'll put the players off or get accused of that if they miss! Shooting all of these on a 70-200, would be nice to have a wide lens set up handy maybe. Maybe you guys using remotes get the best penalty shots? What does everyone do?



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3 is nice/good but bog standard 2 without the goalposts for me and deffo not #1 .. need to be behind goal area ready for the best football pics you will get all season... the mad rush of players and pileup when the last penalty scored :)
 
Yea number 1 was that I was waiting for the next game to start as that's what I was there to shoot, had my camera in hand so shot from where I was stood waiting. You're right about the celebrations after the penalties! Maybe too much post in this example, but I personally like a hint. Had a few focusing issues with 3, even though I switched to focus after 3 metres and spot focusing it was hard, these games weren't super crucial so had a bit of a mess about. Would stick to 2 if it was a normal situation.
 
What about on the 6 yard line. your going to get a diving goalie save/miss??
 
I don't move for them so sit wherever I sit during the game which is usually between 18 yard line and corner flag (behind the goal side)
 
I think you have to decide whether you want the goalkeeper OR the goal kicker. Both is often difficult. Depends on a lot of things, but decide in advance. If you get the goal kicker you'll get the reaction. If you get the goalkeeper you may get the ball in the shot as well.
 
Sometimes you can be in the right place but not know what to do with it. With hindsight I think I should have had the focus on the keeper in this pic.View attachment 22028
 
I think the dominant figure in the image should be sharp. A blurry foreground figure doesn't work for me. Had you managed an aperture with a large enough dof to get everything sharp, this would have worked well. And also, cropping the foot and ball spoils it. I do like the fact that the kicker, the wall and the goalie are all viewable.
 
This post will offer no advice and very little insight, so apologies, just my experience last night. :)

I have followed this thread with note over the last few days as I had a hunch that the JPT tie I did last night would end up going to penalties, which it duly did. So thanks for those guys who have been doing this for years who share their experiences on here. I shall try and do likewise for others in their first couple of years shooting who may find it useful.

I've done shoot-outs in parks and amateur tournaments before but this was my first "proper" one. I didn't feel comfortable for some reason, but I think it's an experience thing.

I took up a position behind and to the left of goal near where the linesman and keepers stand. I knew pretty much straight away it wasn't the brightest decision as I was a bit close in, but as I had just ran down from the halfway line to get to the correct end, I didn't have time to move really. Also, comments on this thread about ensuring you nail the celebration of the winning team stuck in my mind.

I only have a 70-200mm 2.8 as well, so wasn't sure if sitting at the side of the pitch would have produced anything that noteworthy.

As I shoot for Tranmere, I focussed on getting our keeper saving and our outfield players when taking. The pics were alright, but just lacked something for me. Not sure what. It was slightly surreal that the Tranmere keeper was also chatting with me between penalties offering to take turns in goal!

As it happened, Rovers won, I got shots of both penalty saves and the muted celebrations - not quite the dramatic "mad rush" from the halfway line Tony mentions in this thread, but then the 2nd Round of the JPT rarely gets the juices flowing. Nor the blood flowing through my fingers, for that matter.

Lessons learnt for next time: I'd probably go 10 yards closer to the corner flag so I can get the kicker and the goal in shot, or maybe try from the side somewhere. I'm involved with an amateur team on Saturday mornings, so I think I will be asking them to practise penalties so I can move around and experiment!
 
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