Wow, excellent advice here. I have some time before the first game so I can go over everything here, plan and be ready to go when the time comes. This is what I was looking for since I didn't want to wait until I actually got on the sidelines to figure it all out. Thank you!

I am now the official photographer for my daughter's high school lacrosse team. I've been taking pictures of all my kids sports for 20 years but never for anyone else but me to see, so I've got a degree of anxiety! I'll be using a Nikon D7200 and Tamron 70-200 f2.8 lens, and I'll be on the sidelines. My main concern is keeping up shutter speed on dark days and under stadium lights. Normally I'm up in the stands with my butt in a seat and that's where I stay. lol. I know down on the field the lighting will be different and the game will seem faster. My questions would be should I be in full manual? Auto ISO (or auto anything else)? What metering? And any other advice would be greatly appreciated. I can probably fumble through the first few games and figure it out but if anyone can get me started at least, that would be great. I know lighting changes and all that so specifics will be difficult. But it seems there are differing opinions in manual vs. Aperture mode, etc. Just thought I'd ask some of you on here and get your 2 cents. Thanks!

Thanks to everyone for all the advice and comments! I'm planning a re-work of this at some point, using suggestions from this thread. Just have to find the time as this photo took a whole afternoon! :)

And this is the exact reason I don't keep a glass of water by my bed anymore. I woke up in the middle of the night one time and saw my cat drinking out of my water glass. And wondered how many other times that has happened??? Now I have a glass with a lid! Thanks for the pic...it made me smile!

I had those same little hearts for breakfast this morning, too! But I ate mine without thinking to take a pic. :)

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OMG. Fabulous! These just made me smile. Thanks!

Love those birds...good capture. This is definitely a female. They're tough to get. I have them in my yard but normally only get a good pic if they're on my suet. I'd rather have them in a more natural setting like yours. The female has been coming around a lot lately when normally it's the male. I'm hoping it's some sort of a sign that they'll be nesting nearby again. Really cool birds. Thanks for sharing!

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I have a couple pair of gloves similar to what Linda showed. Whatever gloves you choose, I would recommend keeping your camera on a strap around your neck. Gloves can be cumbersome and slippery at times. The hand warmer suggestion is a good one also! They work great.

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Great set, Regis. They look great on download. I like Starlings, maybe because we don't have a lot of them. I love their iridescent feathers and beautiful color. You captured them well.

Keep in mind I don't really know what I'm talking about...but here's my suggestions if you were to do this again:

1. mix up the strawberries and blackberries in the bowl for a more random look. The blackberries on the edge blend in with the black background. Mixing them would make them stand out more.

2. maybe add a fork (spoon?) to the shot.

3. a little more lighting to reflect somewhat off the glass bowls would make them shine..but not too much.

4. after the shoot, eat! It looks delicious!!!

Thanks so much for everyone's input! I'll do a little playing with this shot using advice from this thread and see how it goes.

Great ideas with the composition, dpullum. I hadn't thought of putting the same ingredients in the bowl.

I'll see what I can do about showing more of the plate, too. It is really only a picture of half the plate so I'll see about showing more of it. I added it to this photo later but I do have pictures without the plate. Just couldn't decide if I needed it or not.

Merlin..hope you could scrape that sandwich off your backseat and still eat your lunch...:)

Thanks again, everyone, for all the compliments and advice. I'll do some more playing with it when I get the time.