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Warming Up to Football Season


wilsontsoi

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Zack,

 

"Walkin' the line" is a nice shot. "Solo Tackle," though, could be cropped tighter and/or been shot from a better angle. The empty stands in the image also hurt the composition. [if you watch a NASCAR race, you'll notice the ABC/ESPN cameramen try to keep empty grandstands out of the frame!]

 

But!!

 

The "Solo Tackle" shot of your son's great play is a sentimental favorite in your family: Even though you have a bad angle, it's a play where you & your son can look at the picture and be reminded of it.

 

If Friday night games are on your son's schedule, consider investing in brighter glass, as high school stadium lighting is about 40 footcandles, i.e. over four stops dimmer than daylight.

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Dan: Thanks for your feedback. I'm new at this game so any advice is greatly appreciated. I'm one of two photographers that will be covering the games this year. What we try to do is split the field in half at the 50 yard line. I'll work on half and he works the other.

 

The reason the stands are empty in the "Solo Tackle" picture is because that was a scrimmage game, though I will keep in mind to avoid empty grandstands if at all possible.

 

Most of his games will be at night and I'll be shooting with 200mm f/2.8L lens. I'm considering the 85mm 1.8 for the 4th quarter as I have a tough time getting shots that aren't blurry even when shooting at f/2.8 and ISO 1600.

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I discovered this one as I was going through my images from the scrimmage game. Although you probably can't make it out in this small version but I captured the coin as it was being tossed. Look between the two black posts on the top row of seats and you can see it.<div>00MKht-38123284.JPG.3a96d7fafb3709dd3a28da094e8b84e8.JPG</div>
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Wilson: I took a look through your portfolio which is fantastic. When I saw "Laying the Wood" I showed it to my son and told him that's the kind of hit I want to capture this season. I think it fired him up and hopefully he'll be "Laying the Wood" this year. I would love to hear how you got that shot. How far away you were, lens used, etc. Where you kneeling down when you took it?
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If I could tell new sports photogs one thing, it's that a majority of the time "tighter is better" when it comes to cropping. Despite the 11 men on the field, a football play usually boils down to two players -- runner and tackler, receiver and defender, coach and player -- so even if you got a good shot that captures the whole play, try and go tight.

 

My cropping process is to keep cropping little by little until that point I realize I went a little too far. Then hit the "undo" button and start toning and sharpening.

 

For example, (and I hope Zack doesn't think me presumptuous) I like the relationship between the runner and the sideline observer who is perplexed or worried about the runner. I might have cropped it thus (although it's good to try for a vertical or horizontal crop and avoid square photos if at all possible).<div>00MKiI-38123484.jpg.b46641cc6f924b366b8200003765d1b9.jpg</div>

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  • 4 months later...

Whoops....kinda late to answer, but only came back to visit.

<p>

Zack, thanks for your kind words. Technical details of <a href="http://www.photo.net/photo/5180127">that shot</a> are under "Details" tab. I was approximately 20 yards down field from line of scrimmage. I was indeed kneeling as the lower point-of-view gives an image that extra drama.

<p>

Happy shootin' folks. ^_^

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