p.1 #1 · 10U Soccer - mix of sun, heavy overcast, and rain
My daughter had a tournament over the weekend so this gave me my first chance to really use the A1ii. For action, this was an incredible upgrade from the A7CR.
Lighting was decent early in the afternoon, but then we had a Nor'easter roll in and the field lights were still off for some of the shots. At one point I was at f/2.8, 1250ss, and ISO 12,800. (Metadata can be viewed using the " i " button on the right of the screen.) I always struggle a bit in editing when it comes to photos taken in poor light and high iso. I feel like I've done much better this time around at not shying away from high ISO and not being afraid to push the shadows and overall exposure in post as needed. Open to comment/critique.
p.1 #2 · 10U Soccer - mix of sun, heavy overcast, and rain
Good effort! Need to crop tighter. Yeah I know getting captures of all the kids can be important and there isn't always a ball, with faces and peak action especially at this age but those are the capture you want to post. Always show you best efforts. IMO, spend more time in landscape mode. These days I rarely switch to portrait. Review others work to see what works.
p.1 #3 · 10U Soccer - mix of sun, heavy overcast, and rain
schlotz wrote:
Good effort! Need to crop tighter. Yeah I know getting captures of all the kids can be important and there isn't always a ball, with faces and peak action especially at this age but those are the capture you want to post. Always show you best efforts. IMO, spend more time in landscape mode. These days I rarely switch to portrait. Review others work to see what works.
Matt
Thanks Matt, I appreciate that feedback. It's a very different challenge to the weddings/portrait sessions that I've become comfortable with. Luckily this was not a paid gig, totally volunteer and just being shared with the other parents on the team. So, my main goal was indeed to get at least a few shots of each girl. Some of the less exciting images I probably would have left out if it were for a paying client, but I know the parents will be happy with shots that I'd typically deem sub-par. With that said, I did update the gallery with just a bit more cropping on a few of the images.
I'm glad you mentioned the portrait vs landscape choice. I struggled with that decision while shooting. It seems I unintentionally ended up shooting/cropping to portrait when only a single player is in the shot, but going with landscape when multiple players are involved in the action. I guess I was trying to shoot with the orientation that would most fill the frame with the player(s).
Going along with the above, it is definitely challenging to find great action, with the ball, for each player. Therefore, some of the dribbling/kicking shots started to feel repetitive, even with it being different players. On a few shots I recall switching between orientations just for the sake of variation.
What would you recommend as the best way to capture shots on goal that include both the shot taker and the keeper? I assume the obvious part of that answer is to shoot on the wide end of 70-200, but I just couldn't seem to find a good angle to shoot from and ended up with a lot of other players cluttering the frame.
p.1 #4 · 10U Soccer - mix of sun, heavy overcast, and rain
In game action of goalies etc is a tougher scenario. Usually sideline around the top of the 18 yard box is about the best you can do. It comes down to each event and how the action unfolds. Normally I concentrate on the goalie but the amount of traffic can work against you. With this age group the one-on-one action is problematic as they are usually more spread out ie not tightly engaged with each other which doesn't lead to what I call 'peak' opportunities. For shots on goal, position on the end line where the 18 yard box line meets it. Fill the frame with the shooter, that's the action.
p.1 #5 · 10U Soccer - mix of sun, heavy overcast, and rain
Lots of very nice captures, IMHO. Love some of the expressions you've captured! I know what you mean about getting some shots of each kid for the parents - some kids will never have a good action shot just because of their (lack of) abilities, but you still want to get their picture, too.
