p.1 #1 · Tee Ball - First time shooting ANY sports!
First time posting in the sports forum. I'm a hobbyist and mostly shoot family stuff and a little landscape. I've never shot any sports until a couple days ago unless you count chasing a toddler around. I had been thinking about buying a longer lens earlier in the spring to shoot my son's tee ball games but couldn't pull the trigger so I decided to rent one for a couple games to see if might be worth it for next year. Sure was fun! Now I just have to convince my wife.
After watching most of the season I realized that there wasn't too much in the way of real action so I tried to concentrate on getting good expressions, any comedy I could, and what I'll call "tee ball action."
I used a 5D mark II and 300mm f/4L. I had a 1.4 TC but I don't think I used it for any of these shots. I felt like the 5D did ok with AF despite its reputation but by the end, I was realizing why people pay the big bucks for cameras with serious fps. Oh well, I'll tackle that problem another day.
Please feel free to comment and critique or offer any advice you think might be beneficial.
1. This 5 year old girl had the best hitting form. Wish I had shot it wider - good leg kick, hip twist, weight transfer to a stiff front leg, etc. Looked like a pro! IMG_9465 by mpkingphoto, on Flickr
8. Which one? Also, how do you handle coaches being so close to the plays in your shots? Just let it be or cut the shot?
a. IMG_9556 by mpkingphoto, on Flickr
b. IMG_9557 by mpkingphoto, on Flickr
p.1 #4 · Tee Ball - First time shooting ANY sports!
Nice shots and you have the right idea "expressions, comedy and tee ball action". Just remember to stay low to get as much of the face under helmet or cap as possible. You did very well with these.
p.1 #6 · Tee Ball - First time shooting ANY sports!
For your first time these are great!!! As I've learned from the masters here (Paul, Russ, and others on FM) it's all about the facial expressions at this age group and you captured those! Especially with #3!
As BillP57 suggested. Get as low as possible.
For 1,2,3,4 - Even though the fence is out of focus, my preference is to adjust the crop angle so the fence posts are level or straight up and down.
# 5 - Crop a little tighter to get rid of the yellow fence at the top and the fence post on the right.
#7 - Maybe crop this as an 8x10 portrait, so there's less dead space on either side
#8 - There's just no avoiding the coaches, parents on the field, etc.. in the younger leagues, so learn to embrace it. Sometimes their facial expressions help to add to the shot. Personally I would roll with 8a because it's the sharpest and has a good sense of action.
p.1 #7 · Tee Ball - First time shooting ANY sports!
Thanks for the encouragement P Alesse, Russ and Oldrattler!
Bill, thanks for the advice on getting low. That might have helped me get some more of the kid's faces on shots like #6.
DPC1, thanks for all the tips. You're right about the fence. I fixed it on many of my shots but I guess I didn't notice it on these because the fence is fairly out of focus, like you said. I like your suggestions for the crops on 5 & 7, I'll be changing those up when I get home.
p.1 #11 · Tee Ball - First time shooting ANY sports!
MP - You captured the essence of T-Ball here. This age group is the best. I don't put as much emphasis on the action at this age as the mannerisms, body language, facial expressions etc. They can keep you busy on the shutter. Don't be apprehensive to get in there real tight. For this age and Little League you can get away with a 70-200 and the 1.4 TC without having to worry about breaking the bank. I used that combo on a Canon 20d for many years and get great results. Hope to see more.
p.1 #12 · Tee Ball - First time shooting ANY sports!
Thanks Frank! Nice shot here too. You're right, their expressions are the best. My son's expression as he walked back to the dugout after scoring for the first time in his first game is etched into my memory forever. He was so proud of himself.
Speaking of gear - now that the season is over, I'm thinking about next year and a 70-200 + 1.4x was on my short list of options. Option 1 probably being just rent something for a few games due to budget. If I do decided to spend the $s on a sports setup, I'd probably add a camera with AF that has some sports ability. I was thinking a 1DIIn as a budget option followed by a 7d. Either that or sell my 5DII and go with a 5DIII as a catch all option for all my photography needs. A 1DIII is in the discussion too but at that price point, I might as well just upgrade to the 5DIII. For lenses, if I was going to get any zoom it would probably be the 70-200 IS II with the 1.4x. I dunno about a zoom though, I'm really such a prime kind of guy. I did like the 300 f/4 a lot. Maybe a 7D plus the 200 f/2.8L would be a good budget combo that would frame similar to the 300 f/4 on my 5DII. Hmmm... this is sounding good.
p.1 #14 · Tee Ball - First time shooting ANY sports!
Mpking,
Were these shot at Glenwood LL by any chance? I see you are from SW Washington, just curious. My son played there for years.
Great shots by the way.
p.1 #15 · Tee Ball - First time shooting ANY sports!
Jeff Napier wrote:
Mpking,
Were these shot at Glenwood LL by any chance? I see you are from SW Washington, just curious. My son played there for years.
Great shots by the way.
Good guess but no. These were at North Clark LL. I played at Glenwood LL myself for years when my teams would have away games there. Nice fields there. Small world, huh?
p.1 #17 · Tee Ball - First time shooting ANY sports!
Yes it is. And I didn't/couldn't recall there being a fence at the T ball out field so I wasn't 100% certain it was. I have also of course been up to Yacolt on a # of occasions.
Keep shooting and posting.
p.1 #18 · Tee Ball - First time shooting ANY sports!
AWESOME! I do this for a living. I started working for a guy who taught me to always get the feet and hands. That was the worst advice ever. You did very well. You should be proud.
A few things I have learned. Always shoot below the eyes at all times period. Do not shoot unless you are on your knees or lower. Not only the kid looks bigger thing, when the fence line in the background starts at their knees it is much more pleasing.
You did a great job of exposing for the skin, just remember to always do that especially if you can obliterate the background. Set your white balance to be hotter. Turn em orange. I use the shade preset. It really warms up the skin tones and that is always ok for outdoor sports. Shade and sun.
I think being able to use a 2x3 ratio effectively is key. I think the shot should be done and available for print as soon as it is downloaded. Too hard to process that many. Lose bats, lose feet, lose hands, the goal is a ball and face in the same shot.
If there is any way to do the 1d2n and a 300mm 28.8 you will be in like sin. the 7d on a 300 2.8 is more but I use it successfully. Avoid the teleconverters. They fringe, period. Bright sun pale kid pale dirt. Lens to body. Need more reach, go longer, keep the aperture. even f/4 puts you out of the game too early as the sun goes down. 2.8 for sports. A non-IS 300 2.8 is about the same cost as a good 70-200 on a converter. And SO MUCH better!
One thing I love to do is to ignore the fact that my camera can shoot portrait or landscape. I kind of enjoy every image tilted some. In camera it is more fun to shoot that way.
p.1 #19 · Tee Ball - First time shooting ANY sports!
Bark Imaging wrote:
AWESOME! I do this for a living. I started working for a guy who taught me to always get the feet and hands. That was the worst advice ever. You did very well. You should be proud.
A few things I have learned. Always shoot below the eyes at all times period. Do not shoot unless you are on your knees or lower. Not only the kid looks bigger thing, when the fence line in the background starts at their knees it is much more pleasing.
You did a great job of exposing for the skin, just remember to always do that especially if you can obliterate the background. Set your white balance to be hotter. Turn em orange. I use the shade preset. It really warms up the skin tones and that is always ok for outdoor sports. Shade and sun.
I think being able to use a 2x3 ratio effectively is key. I think the shot should be done and available for print as soon as it is downloaded. Too hard to process that many. Lose bats, lose feet, lose hands, the goal is a ball and face in the same shot.
If there is any way to do the 1d2n and a 300mm 28.8 you will be in like sin. the 7d on a 300 2.8 is more but I use it successfully. Avoid the teleconverters. They fringe, period. Bright sun pale kid pale dirt. Lens to body. Need more reach, go longer, keep the aperture. even f/4 puts you out of the game too early as the sun goes down. 2.8 for sports. A non-IS 300 2.8 is about the same cost as a good 70-200 on a converter. And SO MUCH better!
One thing I love to do is to ignore the fact that my camera can shoot portrait or landscape. I kind of enjoy every image tilted some. In camera it is more fun to shoot that way. ...Show more →
Thanks for taking the time to post so much, Bark! I appreciate all the advice from guys and gals who do this every day. Wow, its like you have a window into my soul through the internet. You pretty much hit on everything I struggled with. So, a couple questions, if you'll indulge me. Most of the fields we play on have a chest high fence past the dugouts starting at about first base. For the shots of the batters I got down low like you said and shot through the fence on either side of the backstop. But for the action in the field, I stood up above the fence along 1st base so I could get a clear shot without the fence interfering. Would you say its better to get low and have a better composition shooting through the fence or stand up and get better IQ and AF performance?
Exposure was difficult for me. Usually when I shoot my family, I shoot in manual and spot meter on their skin at about +2/3. On the field, the lighting varied so much from the sunny side to the shady side (the sun was going down behind right field, so about perpendicular to the direction I was shooting) that I either kept getting blow out highlights on the skin and ball, etc or underexposed shots. It seemed to be either one side if the kid's faces were too hot or the other side was underexposed because of the direction of the lighting. Ultimately, I did something I've never done before and turned on the highlight tone priority setting, bumped the ISO a little and shot in Av with evaluative metering at +1/3 and hoped for the best. It seemed to work out ok but I was really winging it there. How do you meter for the skin in harsh sun to ensure proper exposure?
White balance was difficult too. Every time I got skin color warmed up to where I wanted it, it seemed like the grass turned a hideous yellow.
Thanks for the cropping advice, it's good to have a goal when thinking about cropping. A goal of face and ball is a good one to go by.
A 300 2.8 would be a dream come true. I'll have to look into a non-IS version and see if its within the realm of possibility down the line
p.1 #20 · Tee Ball - First time shooting ANY sports!
Great shots and #3 is a wonderful memory for the parents and kid.
You may find alot of 7D's on the market now, people hedging their bets on a new 7D MkII. Another consideration for a lens would be a Sigma 120-300 f2.8, the non-OS models are well priced.
