Shot middle school Wednesday. Varsity Thursday. Second Varsity game Friday. JV Saturday. Would love to hear what you think -- and more importantly what you like and don't like from the sampling.

Dealt with some sun, clouds, rain, and more than a few lousy lights. Homecoming queens, happy cheerleaders, enthusiastic bands, and disappointed players. Tried to capture it all.

Armed with Nikon D3 & 300 f/2.8 (some paired with 1.4 or 2.0 TC.) Second body is Nikon D300 & 70-200 2.8 VRI.

5-8

9-12

13-16

17-20

1 & 3 make good "stock" shots and easily sold to parents, etc., but for a story-telling perspective (if that's what you are trying to achieve) I would pass on them.

#8- I see what you're trying to do here, but no ball and no faces equals no keeper. The idea is good using the sign in the background to add a layer, so try it again.

#9- I like the expression on his face as well as the muddy jersey. This would be much better without the cheerleaders in the background.

#10- Dig the low and tight though you could crop this a little tighter to really make it even better. Love it. Very gritty feel.

#11- Tight and clean. This would be better if the kid stiff-arming was in mid-stride. Still a good shot.

#12- Same as 1&3. Pass.

#13- Very cool feature. Tight with a clean background and nice light. Good job.

#17- The noise and a lack of detail in the player's face hurts this. Also, the cheerleaders are looking at you which kills the candid feel you want and need here.

#18- Cool shot with the ball at the right moment though the ball is a little blurred which brings me to this: You can't shoot football (especially in daylight) at 1/500. You have a camera with the best high-ISO sensor on the planet, so use it.

#19 & #20 - Did you shoot these vertically or crop as such? Always (well, not always but the vast majority of the time) shoot horizontally and leave the cropping for later.

All in all, a good variety of shots and angles. It looked like you went in the stands for the last three which always helps to mix things up and see things from a different perspective.

Rick - Solid set, mix and cant add to the feedback you've already received. Strong for me is #4, 11 and 13. You got the D3 snapping away I just received Sigma 120-300mm 2.8 to help with reach (see posts). Pitt beats my Hokies and then loses to the 'Cuse ??

Trust all is well.

Best,

Wendell

Eric Smith wrote:

#10- Dig the low and tight though you could crop this a little tighter to really make it even better. Love it. Very gritty feel.

#11- Tight and clean. This would be better if the kid stiff-arming was in mid-stride. Still a good shot.

#18- Cool shot with the ball at the right moment though the ball is a little blurred which brings me to this: You can't shoot football (especially in daylight) at 1/500. You have a camera with the best high-ISO sensor on the planet, so use it.

#19 & #20 - Did you shoot these vertically or crop as such? Always (well, not always but the vast majority of the time) shoot horizontally and leave the cropping for later.

All in all, a good variety of shots and angles. It looked like you went in the stands for the last three which always helps to mix things up and see things from a different perspective.



Eric,

Thanks a million for the tough love. As soon as I read your comments I know exactly what you are talking about. Great food for thought.

Wanted to see if these two images fixed the issues you were talking about with number 10 and number 11. Better?

You caught me on the slow shutter speed on number 18. Was working on some artsy stuff the shot before -- and dropped the shutter. Saw the play happening and didn't get the shutter bumped up fast enough.

And finally, I shoot most of my football in the portrait orientation. Feel like that way I can get as tight as possible without cropping as much in post. Will have to try it in Landscape and crop it later.

sportsdadof3 wrote:
Rick - Solid set, mix and cant add to the feedback you've already received. Strong for me is #4, 11 and 13. You got the D3 snapping away I just received Sigma 120-300mm 2.8 to help with reach (see posts). Pitt beats my Hokies and then loses to the 'Cuse ??

Trust all is well.

Best,

Wendell

Wendell, I am trying to see how the D3 shutter will hold up to all the sports shooting. You know exactly what I am talking about....

Thanks for the feedback. Number 13 was a shot I almost passed on, but I saw the little boy and the precious way he looked at the flag and had to have it. Glad you like it.

As for Pitt, there is absolutely no telling which team will show up. They are so hot and cold. I am sure the coaches are about ready to pull their hair out.

Let's talk soon. Been too long since chatting with you on the phone.

"Four Football games in four days"...Hey, simmer down over there! Next thing you know you'll be shooting four games in one day.

A little tough love is good for you every now and then but so is getting credit when credit is due. If the rest of your take for the four days is close to the quality of what you posted here I think you can hold your own in any given sports situation.

Thanks,
Marty

Marty, thanks for taking time to look and to comment. More than that, thanks for your continued support and encouragement. One of the things I love most about this FM community is that it has an incredible ability to push shooters to improve while offering really sound constructive criticism.

"Echo" Marty's sentiments as well. Some great feedback as well as response here to ideas. Great to see that in an open forum as such.

I actually like 7 and 20 for a different reason. Sure faces are the desire in most shots, however the action and battle of two teams playing hard is displayed in these.

hey Rick, some good 'tough love' feedback. Only thing to add is I'm seeing some deterioration in the dark blue pants on several of them, might want to tone that down a bit...and/or boost some NR.

But well done, and, a lot of work...

Chris

Looks like you've gotten a lot of good feedback already. I would just like to add that #12 is my favorite shot from this set.

12, 13 and 18 are my favorites of the set. I like the Kids expression holding the flag!

MakoShark wrote:
"Echo" Marty's sentiments as well. Some great feedback as well as response here to ideas. Great to see that in an open forum as such.

I actually like 7 and 20 for a different reason. Sure faces are the desire in most shots, however the action and battle of two teams playing hard is displayed in these.

Mako, thanks for weighing in. Pic 7 is a touchdown grab late in the game that ended up being the game winner. I really liked the fact that the tight end is about twice the size of the DB who is trying to break it up. I like 20 for the way the DB is shielding the receiver from the catch.

kwhaley29 wrote:
Looks like you've gotten a lot of good feedback already. I would just like to add that #12 is my favorite shot from this set.

Thanks for checking on the set. I am glad someone said something about that one. I had been looking for that shot all season to use on his senior poster. Have a bunch with eyes closed or a defender in the way. Really happy to get this one so clean before the sun went down.

Without reading all the other comments posted, one thing that jumped out at me is the lack of story telling here. You have posted enough images to have the brain want to see a story. Even if these aren't the same games all the way through, you can tell a story.

For instance are 5, 6, 15, 16, 17 before the game? Why does the lighting jump around (I know why it is since you told us), but it seems a bit off.

Aqualung wrote:
hey Rick, some good 'tough love' feedback. Only thing to add is I'm seeing some deterioration in the dark blue pants on several of them, might want to tone that down a bit...and/or boost some NR.

But well done, and, a lot of work...

Chris

Good catch on the darkness in the blue pants. When things get so dark on the football field, I am often too concerned with not blowing out the whites that the shadows. Why can't all games be played under cloudy skies in late afternoon?

amlsml wrote:
12, 13 and 18 are my favorites of the set. I like the Kids expression holding the flag!

I love shot 13. It may have been my favorite shot of that entire game. I just love the way the young scout is taking his job very seriously -- and we both know, you can't go wrong with pictures of a young kid AND the American flag. Thanks for looking at the set. I appreciate your comments.