D3 Football, critique please

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Jeff_Stapleton
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p.1 #1 · D3 Football, critique please

Here is my second game of the season...It was McMurray @ East Texas Baptist University in East Texas..

This is only my second year of shooting sports...and only my 5th or 6th football game to shoot. I just upgraded to a 300/4L and it is making TONS of difference.

Getting images in focus used to be my problem, but now I get to work on composition...

Any advice/critique is appreciated. Ive learned so much in one year, but theres ALWAYS room for improvement

1) A standard punt return

2) Tackle

3) another tackle shot

4) The Obligatory Band shot

My biggest thing right now is not only framing the picture, but figuring out how to crop it...I keep forcing myself to operate within the 4x6 crop (or 6x4)...

not only do I appreciate the critique, but advice on crops

Thanks
-Jeff

Bigger versions of these can be found at my flickr site... http://www.flickr.com/jeffstapleton

Edited on Oct 07, 2008 at 09:18 PM · View previous versions

Oct 07, 2008 at 07:00 PM

DonCJohnson
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p.1 #2 · D3 Football, critique please

Looking good out there in East Texas!...

I don't have much advice but I want to see what others offer because I am working on the same issues. I am really glad that our high school doesn't have anyone wearing wear the face shields.

My fave is #2.

Oct 07, 2008 at 07:19 PM

Jeff_Stapleton
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p.1 #3 · D3 Football, critique please

Thanks Don

I do like #2 as well, but the horizon looks weird. I was in the end zone, so the hash marks go one way, but the 'band stands' in the bg tilt the opposite way.

Oct 07, 2008 at 09:17 PM

Jeff_Stapleton
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p.1 #4 · D3 Football, critique please

...Here are some more with a non 4x6 crop

4)

5) a nice QB shot

6)RB in action...too overblown...does it still work?

7)TD catch...I'm so upset I didn't get their feet...does it work without the feet?

again, any critique or advice would be awesome. I'm trying to do the best with what I've got.

-Jeff

Oct 08, 2008 at 03:13 AM

corndog
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p.1 #5 · D3 Football, critique please

Judging by your self critique, I think you know what works and what doesn't. I would keep on like you are, shoot, evaluate, shoot, evaluate, and so on. The lighting looks bad to me in some. I'm not sure what you're doing in post, the grass looks great in number 5, but the qb looks flat. Was this like a overcast day mixed with harsh high noon light? Someone with more experience may have better insight to the lighting.

Oct 08, 2008 at 03:29 AM

Jeff_Stapleton
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p.1 #6 · D3 Football, critique please

Thanks...

It was an overcast day (at first) with an 11:00 AM kickoff.

1-3 I just did contrast adjustments...4-7, I 'adjusted for skin tone'. I really need to get something to calibrate my laptop monitor (thats what I used to edit 4-7)

Oct 08, 2008 at 03:43 AM

Scott Sewell
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p.1 #7 · D3 Football, critique please

Nice job, overall. Crops look pretty good to me, too.

If I could suggest anything it's that you need to bump up your exposure a notch or two on most of these shots. "Technically" the exposure is probably dead on. But "technically" doesn't work when athletes are wearing helmets and hats.

In the image you comment about blown whites (#6?)...to me that's probably the baseline from where you want to work, and we still can barely see a face under the helmet.

If you want to have any chance of really seeing faces under helmets or hats, you've gotta give up the whites...blow 'em out. That band shot is really under-exposed as we just see absolutely no definition or clarity in the face of the sax player.

Oct 08, 2008 at 03:58 AM

corndog
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p.1 #8 · D3 Football, critique please

Those are tough lighting conditions, I'm not sure what the experts around here do to minimize the problems associated.

Thanks for the info on post, it helps give an idea of what adjustments you're making. The contrast, and general appearance, of number two looks best to me(if that helps you at all).

On the bigger picture, I don't think I would be worrying about the crop just yet, let the image decide how it should be cropped. If your project requires a square crop, or something specific, that's different, but I wouldn't be thinking about it otherwise. By the look of your portrait and landscape shots above, I think you are framing them well(though a touch off with clipping the feet or whatever but you already recognized that).

Oct 08, 2008 at 03:59 AM

jmoczygemba
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p.1 #9 · D3 Football, critique please

I think that these look pretty good. I like 2 & 6 and don't feel that 6 is too overblown, sure the jersey and background are gone but the face looks pretty good. For 7, I'm not sure that I like the spacing between the WR and the defender, maybe a tight crop of the wr would work. Just my opinion.

We played McM to open the season and I had the same issue with their uniforms. To me the white is too white and it doesn't take much light to blow them out. I really like the campus shots of the hall and the chapel on your flickr site.

Edited on Oct 10, 2008 at 05:21 PM · View previous versions

Oct 08, 2008 at 04:08 AM

Jeff_Stapleton
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p.1 #10 · D3 Football, critique please

So do the colors look way off on any of the #'s 4-7? Should I not worry about any color casts, but just do standard contrast adjustments?

Oct 09, 2008 at 03:08 AM

Jeff_Stapleton
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p.1 #11 · D3 Football, critique please

Scott Sewell wrote:
If I could suggest anything it's that you need to bump up your exposure a notch or two on most of these shots. "Technically" the exposure is probably dead on. But "technically" doesn't work when athletes are wearing helmets and hats.

In the image you comment about blown whites (#6?)...to me that's probably the baseline from where you want to work, and we still can barely see a face under the helmet.

If you want to have any chance of really seeing faces under helmets or hats, you've gotta give up the whites...blow 'em out. That band shot is really under-exposed as we just see absolutely no definition or clarity in the face of the sax player.

Really? I would have thought not seeing eyes as well would be much more desirable than a way overblown image?

Oct 10, 2008 at 05:32 AM

mmcatee
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p.1 #12 · D3 Football, critique please

As Scott said it is alla bout the faces if the backgroundor unis get blwon so be it You crops and action captured is fine, just work on exposing for the faces and you will be well on your way

Oct 10, 2008 at 02:12 PM


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