Sports Photography

[blazing swallow]

some high school

[gray zephyr]

oh

[foggy helm]

Spoooorrrtttssss

[cinder warren]

These are fuckin awesome

[astral merlin]

Did u use the 135 much?

[foggy helm]

Only for some of the warm up shots

[blazing swallow]

Very cool

[foggy helm]

These are also from a couple of weeks ago. A local derby in the Premier League

[blazing swallow]

Haven't shot a bunch of sports as I would of liked too the last couple of months

Recently sold my lens(rf 70-200 2.8), so I'm hoping to buy a 200-400 or something when I save up some more for work

[astral merlin]

Wasn't sure how to crop the 4th, wanted to keep ball in frame bit of a tough one I think, any feedback appreciated

this is how it was cropped

[foggy helm]

Not much wrong with the crop to be honest. I may have gone slightly tighter on the striker and left a bit more space for the ball to go in to, but we are talking millimeters

[astral merlin]

I'll give that a go, cheers

[foggy helm]

Here are some of the shots from Tuesday just gone

[blazing swallow]

clean

[tacit marlin]

@foggy helm

'

[foggy helm]

https://tenor.com/view/passionnément-gif-5912769248254098230

[hot rover]

any feedback?

An fyi my job only allows me to shoot through the glass

[foggy helm]

I've never done Ice Hockey, so take my comment with a grain of salt, but I would look at cropping in more on some of these!

[foggy helm]

Here are a few shots from the game I covered on Tuesday

[astral merlin]

the new prem ball looks so weirdly cheap

normally a bit flashier than that

[blazing swallow]

pulled the trigger

using this for baseball, football(day), and other field sports

[hot rover]

Tell me if its worth it, im considering one over a 300mm 2.8

[blazing swallow]

I've also used the 300 2.8 is ii, so I'll be sure to tell you

[hot rover]

Nice, thank you

[foggy helm]

I guess the 300 would be with a TC of some sort? I suppose reach is the aim of the game for baseball?

[blazing swallow]

when i used it, no TC

It would of worked great with one though

[astral merlin]

Nice picking up consistent work recently, looking very promising for the next month of so

just got to decide what to do when the season ends

[hot rover]

knowing it dosent have a whole lot of value but, would trading my 100-400 sigma be worth it for a 300mm 2.8?

[blazing swallow]

Which, version 1 or 2

Version 2 goes for around 3k, so I'm assuming you mean v1

[hot rover]

DG HSM contemporary

I probably have V1

[blazing swallow]

Ah ok

Thing is canons 300 2.8 v1 is out of service, meaning once the AF motor dies, it's done. You can try to find a repair shop that can replace/fix it, but parts are extremely hard to find

And it'll cost a lot of money

That's usually why I don't recommend anyone buy the version one over the version 2

[hot rover]

oh yikes

im kinda cooked

300mm are crazy expensive

[blazing swallow]

Any big white is

[hot rover]

tragically

[blazing swallow]

If it were cheap, everyone would have one lol

[hot rover]

looks like i will postpone any upgrades tbh

[blazing swallow]

Yeah a 100-400 works fine

I had the canon version 2 before any of my primes

[hot rover]

cause I should also save my money for 1dx shutter replacement

[hot rover]

I use sigma 100-400

[blazing swallow]

Oof, did it break

[hot rover]

no old

[blazing swallow]

Ah

[hot rover]

sample

nearing 300k shutter, will change it at 450k if it dosent break by then

dng? really bro smh

[cinder warren]

lol funny capture

[hot rover]

@marsh herald

[foggy helm]

England U21 tonight

[astral merlin]

any decent ones of nwaneri?

was a good game that tbf

Managed to get an opportunity to shoot for a club for the next 2 seasons, very excited gonna have a little meeting tommorow

no big club but consistent work is going to be lovely

@foggy helm just out of curiosity how did you progress in ur photography career? For example did you start in non league then work for a photo agency?

I just find it hard to plan the future in this career

Oh and how long did it take to get to where you are?

[foggy helm]

Yes, yes I did, I managed to get his celebration!

[foggy helm]

Nice one, being a club photographer gives you perks, as the players will look for you once they get to know you, and you get better access before and after the game! Is it a paid role, or voluntary at the moment?

I took my first ever football photos July 2023 (Sunday League), did my first agency game Jan 2024 (league two), and then my first premium game April 2024. I got a bit lucky, as I bought a 400mm 2.8 right at the start, and that has helped me get professional looking photos from the beginning. My focus hasn't been on maximising it as a career though, and I focused on getting to the highest level as quickly as possible. I haven't made much money from my route, probably not even enough to cover the insurance costs of my gear for a year. Even the youtuber Mark Kerton isn't a full time sports photographer these days, so it is tough

Not all agencies have full time roles, and if they do, it'll be one or two full time staff, with a load of freelance photographers working on comission. Obviously the agencies the size of Getty have a lot more salaried positions, but you have to be the best of the best to get a role there, so it's tough

[astral merlin]

Wow thats quite a fast progression, you defintley need the right kit to progress in this career, the 400 2.8 will likely be my next purchase. Once I build my portfolio some more I will try and look into agency work and hopefully it will take off from there. It's helpful to know that most sports photographers aren't full time aswell.

I did wonder if mark kerton earnt a living from it as I could see that being quite hard to do but I'd still personally just love to get to the level of shooting them games at some point.

[astral merlin]

Great shots aswell.

So really the plan over the next year or two is build that portfolio up working for this club and then agency work.

[astral merlin]

At the momment its voluntary, I'm still quite happy as its regular football so gives me much time to improve.

[astral merlin]

Finally managed to predict which player to watch for a corner and got the goal with cele

[hot rover]

Team won their first playoff round yesterday, now were headed to Niagara

[marsh herald]

A double header...

[foggy helm]

Ha, just saw these pop up on my Facebook too

[marsh herald]

That would be me 😆

[foggy helm]

I like the one on FB from behind of player 17, with the light behind her and the red cast on one side

[marsh herald]

Yeah that was one of my favorites too. Thanks

[astral merlin]

Shot a rugby game today, only ever done it once before and forgot how hard it is to shoot. Play moves around so much and tracking the ball is tough. Got a few decent shots out of it nothing I'm overly happy with though.

Wouldn't mind doing it more often learn to photograph a new sport

[hot rover]

Photographing sports is no joke, I photograph hockey and it has taken me a while to get that fast paced moment down

[blazing swallow]

nice shots

oop im a week late

[hot rover]

Just a little, hows the 200-400 situation @blazing swallow

[blazing swallow]

Decided to ditch it lol, turns out these things are pretty rare(to find at a decent price). I'm just saving up for a 400 2.8 is ii atp.

[hot rover]

Ah i see

Could totally send it to me lol

[vital thicket]

Damn ref always getting in the way

[marsh herald]

Thats how it is, 😭

But not always

[cinder warren]

wip snippy

[gloomy swallow]

i never say anything here but dang that shot is awesome lol

[marsh herald]

thanks I wish that I only take more of them.

[astral merlin]

Wish I could've recorded this goal, flicks over the defender with his first touch, on the half volley on the edge of box into bottom corner shame he barely celebrated : (

Probably one of the best goals ive seen in a long time, in person at least

can just tell from the look of the defender in the 2nd image that hes been absolutely done haha

[tacit marlin]

You're worried about the content of the photo or the sharing iteself?

[hot rover]

I sort of understand where your coming from this, but I would simply just share the photo, in the future if you end up working for big teams they want those photos, so whats stopping you from sharing those kind of photos now?

[kind peak]

Some shots of some local surfers the other day in some small surf

[hot rover]

Grown ass men btw (joke)

[blazing swallow]

bought myself a 400 2.8 is ii

[hot rover]

Tell me how it goes

[blazing swallow]

👍

[blazing swallow]

Its a great lens

Used it during a local football practice, shadows were horrible so it was hard getting decent shots without one half looking completely destroyed

Not many action shots yet, still getting the hang of this beast

Bokeh is amazing

[blazing swallow]

Even with heat simmer, the output images are still amazing and sharp

^screenshotted to show the simmer

[hot rover]

Although its low ress, i see what you mean

I wonder if low aperture has something to do with how the lens handles heat haze aswell? Meaning the higher F # ends up resulting in more image distortion with heat haze, is that even possible? @blazing swallow

[blazing swallow]

I'm not totally sure about what happens, but I do know the farther the subject is, the worst the effect is. The astroturf(fake grass) also isn't helping, as heat is also reflected off of it.

[hot rover]

Astro turf is great for clean shots until its to hot

[foggy helm]

Yea, I hate photographing AstroTurf. I always find it messes with colour, saturation and exposure

[hot rover]

Some astroturf is yellow or brown, it looks awful lol

[astral merlin]

Yeah the highlights are always horrid coming off the grass

just need some cloud and its all good

Team I'm shooting for next season play on astroturf : (

[tacit marlin]

Got a big tennis event today

Very preppy, pros will be there

Finally something fun to shoot

[brisk magnet]

Oh God I forgot about this thread for a bit

[tacit marlin]

okay so i was there for 12 hours it was miserable

hopefully i got something good

Z6iii was a godesend though

[brisk magnet]

You don't do a whole lot of tennis, don't you?

[tacit marlin]

that was my first time lol

by the end i figured it out more, but the start was rough

[brisk magnet]

Can you share some of your photos when you get a chance to do so, please?

It's also going to be my first time doing tennis photos as well.

So I have no clue what to look out for 😅

[brisk magnet]

@cinder warren or @tacit marlin I need volleyball pics advice

[cinder warren]

What are you gonna shoot

As in level

[tacit marlin]

never done volleyball sorry

[cinder warren]

Mav has done it before

[brisk magnet]

High school

@cinder warren have freedom to shoot anywhere

[cinder warren]

What gear you got

Full frame with 70-200?

I like a couple spots on the court

Line up with the net and go a little bit left or right for defense and receive & setter shots

Back of the court for net action but I like those on higher level, when they reach high above the net

I'd also try to focus a bit on what backgrounds you're getting

And don't be afraid to experiment I'd say

[cinder warren]

Any idea what the gym is like?

[brisk magnet]

The game is already over, at the time of texting you was an hour before the game.

[brisk magnet]

a6600 with 50 1.8, a6700 with 70-180 2.8 G2

[cinder warren]

Oh I was busy

[brisk magnet]

Nah, you're good.

I think I was able to manage with how familiar I am with the gym.

I just referenced it kind of like how I would shoot basketball and went from there.

[cinder warren]

That's good

[brisk magnet]

They're not the greatest shots, nor angles, to begin with.

But I'll have to adjust from there.

Volleyball is my weakness amongst other sports.

@cinder warren I forgot to mention, the gym is kind of tight -- hence the challenging capacity of being able to sit or stand further out.

Would that play a role, somehow?

[cinder warren]

With your setup yes

I feel like a bit below average gyms and a full frame with a 70-200 is ideal

So I can imagine you struggling with that

Weird ratios cuz preview, but first one is all the way zoomed out

Second one is 200mm

Both very little crop

[brisk magnet]

With basketball, it's not a struggle because I have both the same set up with previous basketball seasons and all have been well.

Just volleyball is what I struggle with the most.

Let me pull up some screenshots from last night's game.

[cinder warren]

Sure

[cinder warren]

It's fast paced though

I tend to not and try to shoot everything

But more as in "now im gonna go for a shot like this"

Because otherwise it's just too overwhelming

[brisk magnet]

These aren't that great to begin with.

I was really struggling a lot.

[cinder warren]

Hmmm I don't like to take that side of the court

[brisk magnet]

I don't either but it's all I could work with.\

[cinder warren]

Because the setter is 99% of the time facing the other side

[brisk magnet]

The seats don't go as high up as 10 rows either.

You could probably visualize that.

[cinder warren]

I only go up higher if I can go really high

[brisk magnet]

Let me find a wide photo of the gym, so you have an idea.

[cinder warren]

This is higher up, approximately 10 meters

More of a creative shot though

This one I usually don't keep, but did because of the unique arm positioning (and middle in frame)

[cinder warren]

I feel like fixing your white balance can do a lot btw

And close ups I like too

[brisk magnet]

Oh these are unedited files.

I just pulled it up so you can see what I'm working with.

I did do some close ups of the players and coach of my team:

[cinder warren]

These aren't too bad

[brisk magnet]

My serving shots aren't great either:

[cinder warren]

I take little serving shots

[brisk magnet]

I struggled the entire evening.

I have not stressed out more about sports photography before, this was the first I've stressed about it. Lol.

Too warm? @cinder warren

[cinder warren]

dang

you did a decent job though

[cinder warren]

yes

[brisk magnet]

Gym lighting isn't great either.

Would you like one raw and see what you can do with it?

[cinder warren]

that often happens

yes!!

[brisk magnet]

I'll DM it here shortly, have a class as we speak.

[cinder warren]

honestly struggling with the files, not used to sony stuff

@brisk magnet

didnt denoise

i can delete if needed for metadata

[brisk magnet]

The sidecar files? Nah, no need to delete or anything -- I can just copy the sidecar file into the folder and let Lightroom do its thing.

These look great on my screen though.

I used the same settings for when I shoot basketball and have never had any difficulties in this gym either.

[cinder warren]

ill send the settings in a sec

[brisk magnet]

Same camera settings, same lighting conditions, same processing settings in LR.

[cinder warren]

wait how do i send settings

[brisk magnet]

Hold up.

@cinder warren

You would need to tick on "Automatically write changes to XMP" so you can bring the same settings into PS if you want to work on it in a later time, same goes for LRC.

But if it's a denoise DNG file that's ready, you can just bring that into PS or LR and go from there.

That way, if your Lightroom catalog does get corrupted or you lose it, your changes will still be present.

[cinder warren]

so which files do i need to send?

[brisk magnet]

Just the XMP.

It would look like [filename].xmp

[brisk magnet]

@cinder warren I just remembered why the warmer tones are preferred... the signage outside the campus renders the image cooler than it should.

[brisk magnet]

@cinder warren I tweaked with your preset that you shared a bit, gave me a sudden change in perspective with how I edit volleyball now

Thank you for that.

Really appreciate it.

[cinder warren]

Honestly I like to edit bright

My background is also a bit brighter (as in lightroom background)

[brisk magnet]

Soft proofing mode?

[cinder warren]

No

I just put the grey to not the middle but 1 brighter

Light grey or something

Or just grey idk

[brisk magnet]

I don't think I'm quite getting to where you're at... lol

[tacit marlin]

sick uniform colors

[crimson scarab]

Ong

[blazing swallow]

400 2.8 is nice

this was a pretty big crop

lens is sharp, colors are wonderful

[astral merlin]

First National League south game, great time got plenty more games from this league coming.

[tacit marlin]

straighten your photos my friend

absolute minimum requirement for any professional work

[crimson scarab]

I didn’t even notice

Thank you

[crimson scarab]

I’ll use this for when I edit the photos I took yesterday

Ty

[hexed kindle]

This is the only good one

Because I shoot the rest with basic 😭

[balmy saddle]

First time doing sports photography

[astral merlin]

Nobody's gonna open them send jpgs

[brisk magnet]

Why are you sending raws?

[balmy saddle]

Idk how to send the same quality without it being raw

[tacit marlin]

u have to process your raw files

and export as a standard file format like jpg or png

[brisk magnet]

And I'm over here thinking about how you managed to acquire the Z6 without knowing how to process your raw files...

[balmy saddle]

I used my T3i for those pics

I currently only have a fisheye for my z6

[brisk magnet]

Sorry...

WHAT?

[tacit marlin]

that's crazy

[balmy saddle]

What? The standard zoom lens is arriving on Tuesday

[brisk magnet]

Do you even edit your photos?

[balmy saddle]

Only cropping

[cinder warren]

Why

[balmy saddle]

Idk

[brisk magnet]

That's not even editing at this point.

[blazing swallow]

Football yesterday

[idle pulsar]

that out of focus game clock looks funny

thought it was added in post for a sec

[cinder warren]

Yea lol

[astral merlin]

god i cant wait till i get a 400

makin me jealous

[blazing swallow]

Yea it looks wierd, might be due to electric shutter, but who knows

It was not added in post

[blazing swallow]

Its a great, expensive lens lol

[crimson scarab]

Some pics from Friday night

[cinder warren]

Quick jpegs from 2 sets of this game, did video for the others

Some great pic opportunities

[foggy helm]

SPORTS

[balmy saddle]

Taken on Canon t3i

[tacit marlin]

Nice

[foggy helm]

SPORTS

[cinder warren]

SPROTS

[balmy saddle]

Sprouts

[real cosmos]

Is this forum active?

[novel sparrow]

I’m really happy with how this pic came out

[novel sparrow]

It is now

[real cosmos]

Thats a really good pic

[novel sparrow]

My first good pic

I think it was the 1st or second day I started shooting

[real cosmos]

shooting sports or shooting in general?

[novel sparrow]

Both

With a real camera

[real cosmos]

Nice!

[novel sparrow]

I love the neutral tones

I gotta see if my team would want some photos

[real cosmos]

Tysm

[real cosmos]

Yeah i gotta do that too with the teams I photograph

[novel sparrow]

I was planning on getting a portfolio out and then asking teams

[real cosmos]

Does anyone shoot sports where you stand behind fences ex. tennis and baseball?

[tacit marlin]

i have before

[real cosmos]

How do you make sure that the fence doesn’t get in your photo at all

Like you don’t see an actual fence in my photos but you can still see a little bit of the gray that came from the fence

[tacit marlin]

Just get as close as you can to it and use a telephoto

Above 400mm if you’re right in front of it it will be basically non existent

But really there’s nothing other than that you can do

[real cosmos]

ty

[astral merlin]

yeah fences are no issue dw

shot thru fences

[cinder warren]

Panning could also help

[hot remnant]

Yo

[real cosmos]

Yo

[real cosmos]

I like this photo but I feel like a tighter crop would be good

[cinder warren]

Skin tones seem messed up

[real cosmos]

Yeah it seems very orange