I started thinking about some of the sports photos I've taken in the past and decided to take a trip down memory lane. I wanted to look at the quality of those pics and see how I've changed/improved. Here are a few of mine from 2017 - feel free to share your old sports photos with a self-evaluation.
#1 before & after:
Before - I'm standing while taking the shot. Lots of space around the runner. My shot is tilted just a bit
Now - I've got my walkstool to sit and get a lower view, which gives me a much better perspective. Can't change this pic any in terms of that, but I can improve it now by cropping tighter and straightening it a bit. Also used LRC to brighten up the runner.
#2 before & after:
Before - Not a bad capture showing the coach explaining to the runner about going home.
After - Tighter crop with a different ratio (4x5 instead of 4x6) makes this simple shot more personal; did a bit of subject brightening along with Topaz sharpen.
Overall, the biggest things I see in my older sports photos is that I didn't shoot/crop tight enough, I sometimes had tilt that I didn't correct, and my perspective needed to be from shooting in a lower position.
How about you?
#1 original - I'm standing while taking the shot
Canon EOS 5D Mark IIIEF70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens168mmf/3.21/2500s100 ISO0.0 EV
#1 edit - can't change my perspecting but can crop, straighten, and brighten the runner.
Canon EOS 5D Mark IIIEF70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens168mmf/3.21/2500s100 ISO0.0 EV
#2 original - Not bad ... level, exposure is fair. Coach is explaining to the runner where to go next.
Canon EOS 5D Mark IIIEF70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens200mmf/3.21/1000s100 ISO0.0 EV
#2 after - tighter crop, slight lighting increase on the subjects
Canon EOS 5D Mark IIIEF70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens200mmf/3.21/1000s100 ISO0.0 EV
Here is my earliest available sports photo. Taken September 3, 2006 with a Canon PowerShot S3 IS -- a point and shoot I bought after my senior year of high school. The little lens wasn't fast at focusing and this photo was taken at f/8.0.
Here are my first photos that I could find with a DSLR. (It's possible earlier photos were taken with a DSLR and posted here on FM in late 2006/early 2007.)
Shot on March 31, 2007 in the now-demolished Metrodome, using a Canon 30D, which I think I saved up for earning $60 a week as photo editor of the college paper. The first photo is using a 70-200+ 1.4 TC (borrowed) and the second is with a 135 f/2.
I'll play... and give away my age.... WAY back to full manual focus, film, and a darkroom in the basement in ... 1989. The photo is actually quite similar in style to what I do now, but I usually sit instead of stand and the the better glass and AF definitely helps sharpen things up. If memory serves this was taken with a used Canon FD 300 F4L later that summer. The consistency in framing isn't too surprising because as an overeager high schooler I'd been studying up on images in Track and Field News and also had several opportunities to work with Claus Andersen (if you don't know his work, he's a wizard... doesn't miss).
cocodrillo wrote:
I'll play... and give away my age.... WAY back to full manual focus, film, and a darkroom in the basement in ... 1989. The photo is actually quite similar in style to what I do now, but I usually sit instead of stand and the the better glass and AF definitely helps sharpen things up. If memory serves this was taken with a used Canon FD 300 F4L later that summer. The consistency in framing isn't too surprising because as an overeager high schooler I'd been studying up on images in Track and Field News and also had several opportunities to work with Claus Andersen (if you don't know his work, he's a wizard... doesn't miss)....Show more →
I only ever used film for fun and learning in school. Those scratches and imperfections were the death of me. I had a professor that wanted all those imperfections removed. I never perfected my non-digital retouching techniques though, other than a bit of actual dodging and burning.
Caleb Williams wrote:
I only ever used film for fun and learning in school. Those scratches and imperfections were the death of me. I had a professor that wanted all those imperfections removed. I never perfected my non-digital retouching techniques though, other than a bit of actual dodging and burning.
Killer thing is that printing onto paper (1980s/90) and a lot of that stuff never showed up. The resolution from a scanned frame is vastly higher than anything that ever got printed straight from the neg. We're super spoiled these days!
Over 10 years of shooting baseball I shifted from concentrating on action to concentrating on reactions.
The players see enough of their swings etc... from the feedback I've recieved, what they want to see is the vibe & camaraderie. Of course I still shoot action but am geared toward catching the stuff that happens around the action.
Panorascal wrote:
Over 10 years of shooting baseball I shifted from concentrating on action to concentrating on reactions.
The players see enough of their swings etc... from the feedback I've recieved, what they want to see is the vibe & camaraderie. Of course I still shoot action but am geared toward catching the stuff that happens around the action.
Panorascal wrote:
Over 10 years of shooting baseball I shifted from concentrating on action to concentrating on reactions.
The players see enough of their swings etc... from the feedback I've recieved, what they want to see is the vibe & camaraderie. Of course I still shoot action but am geared toward catching the stuff that happens around the action.
A photographer I sometimes work with was hired by Stanford Athletics to shoot volleyball. The only shots they wanted was reactions and the like. I'm sure some action photos were taken, but they weren't the focus.
