I didn't know shooting High School baseball could be fun
Mar 26, 2016 13:36:42 #
I am not a fan of baseball but when a friend asked me to take pictures at her sons game I wouldn't say no. He is a 15 year old sophomore pitcher that is already being scouted.
Mar 26, 2016 13:56:52 #
Some nice shots. May I make a couple of suggestions??
He is a righty--get on the third base side and get some shots of his arm as far back as he reaches before he starts the forward motion. Yiou can also get the arm positioned at its highest point and you will get muscle ripple in the bicep. Kids love the shot.
Finally, stand behind the plate (outside the backstop) Place your lens frame against the fence, choose to put your lens in the center of one of those diamonds in the chain link. Use your widest f-stop (4 or 5.6??). shoot several bursts as he delivers, you should get his motion and the ball coming out of his hand straight at you.
Try to get a shot of his eyes with the intensity.
Good Luck. If you want to see examples of these shots, send me a PM and I'll show you a link. If I'm overstepping my boundaries---just delete this and me from your memory. :-)
Larry
He is a righty--get on the third base side and get some shots of his arm as far back as he reaches before he starts the forward motion. Yiou can also get the arm positioned at its highest point and you will get muscle ripple in the bicep. Kids love the shot.
Finally, stand behind the plate (outside the backstop) Place your lens frame against the fence, choose to put your lens in the center of one of those diamonds in the chain link. Use your widest f-stop (4 or 5.6??). shoot several bursts as he delivers, you should get his motion and the ball coming out of his hand straight at you.
Try to get a shot of his eyes with the intensity.
Good Luck. If you want to see examples of these shots, send me a PM and I'll show you a link. If I'm overstepping my boundaries---just delete this and me from your memory. :-)
Larry
Mar 27, 2016 09:53:21 #
treadwl wrote:
Some nice shots. May I make a couple of suggestio... (show quote)
Excellent suggestions. I would add try shooting with manual focus as well.
Mar 27, 2016 22:12:16 #
Toby wrote:
Excellent suggestions. I would add try shooting with manual focus as well.
In my opinion, manual focus is not very effective in action sports especially at the wide open apertures I also recommend. Short sequences at burst speeds will more often result in the better shots. These shots are the bread-and-butter of the F2.8 (and faster) lenses. Best of luck.
Mar 28, 2016 09:32:14 #
cjc2 wrote:
In my opinion, manual focus is not very effective in action sports especially at the wide open apertures I also recommend. Short sequences at burst speeds will more often result in the better shots. These shots are the bread-and-butter of the F2.8 (and faster) lenses. Best of luck.
Since I will be shooting with a 100mm f2.8 for the pitcher and home plate shots I look forward to trying these suggestions. I guess a 70-200 would be the best compromise lens but I don't have one of those.
Mar 28, 2016 10:18:00 #
jrb1213 wrote:
Since I will be shooting with a 100mm f2.8 for the pitcher and home plate shots I look forward to trying these suggestions. I guess a 70-200 would be the best compromise lens but I don't have one of those.
May I suggest that you try the pitcher with your 300F4 and see how you like those shots as well. The 100 is a bit short for that type of work. As you mentioned, the 70-200 is also a good lens for baseball, although I personally prefer something longer. I see you also have a 150-500 which is something you might also want to try for sports. More difficult to learn, but that's the fun of it. Be cautious, when using a zoom, of not spending your time zooming and not actually taking pictures. Best of luck.
Mar 28, 2016 12:25:11 #
cjc2 wrote:
In my opinion, manual focus is not very effective in action sports especially at the wide open apertures I also recommend. Short sequences at burst speeds will more often result in the better shots. These shots are the bread-and-butter of the F2.8 (and faster) lenses. Best of luck.
I should have mentioned the manual focus was just for the behind the plate burst to catch the ball in flight with the pitcher in the background. As mentioned here manual focus is not very good for your regular action shots
May 20, 2016 08:23:26 #
treadwl wrote:
Some nice shots. May I make a couple of suggestio... (show quote)
Hi Larry:
Great information as always. You have helped me in the past with shooting baseball. Always courteous. I would like to see your work. Please send examples of your work.
Thanks,
Jules
May 27, 2016 13:34:50 #
cjc2 wrote:
In my opinion, manual focus is not very effective in action sports especially at the wide open apertures I also recommend. Short sequences at burst speeds will more often result in the better shots. These shots are the bread-and-butter of the F2.8 (and faster) lenses. Best of luck.
I'm curious, why not manual? I shoot many sports venues and use manual all the time with either a 70-200 f2.8 or my 300 f2.8. I am always willing to learn something different. I agree on the behind the plate and third base advice. All great tips for anyone shooting baseball or softball.
May 28, 2016 16:29:24 #
juicesqueezer wrote:
I'm curious, why not manual? I shoot many sports venues and use manual all the time with either a 70-200 f2.8 or my 300 f2.8. I am always willing to learn something different. I agree on the behind the plate and third base advice. All great tips for anyone shooting baseball or softball.
Whatever method works best for you is the method you should use. I have had a few folks try to convince me they can focus faster than a modern camera. That would be a camera I wouldn't use! Depending on the results wanted, manual focusing might be the best choice.
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