Soccer Girls Varsity In Las Vegas
Sep 30, 2016 13:44:53 #
Some of my latest shots. These were taken with a Nikon D-7100 70-200 2.8 lens.
Thanks in advance and for looking. Comments and suggestions are welcome.
Thanks in advance and for looking. Comments and suggestions are welcome.
Oct 1, 2016 12:37:36 #
These are all good, the next to last shot is my favorite, well done.
Oct 1, 2016 16:26:06 #
Oct 1, 2016 17:40:52 #
Jeff Smith 1 wrote:
Great action shots; very clear. Good job!
Thanks Jeff for your nice words.
Oct 1, 2016 20:49:52 #
Oct 1, 2016 22:08:52 #
raymondh wrote:
You got some good action, they're sharp & exposed well.
Thanks Ray.
Oct 2, 2016 18:26:20 #
Jules you are well on your way to mastering reportage photography...
Excellent journalistic style... superb compositional elements... catching the players at the decisive moment all the while keeping the ball in the frame... That in itself is a major feat... Kudos on this set, very commendable indeed...
"Comments and suggestions are welcome..." Jules taking this at face value and endeavoring to the a resource for you here...
Quick examination of full resolution files reveals considerable halos around high contrast edges... The D7100 lacks an AA filter and it's sensor's output is already "crisp" (others would say "crunchy") I shoot the D7100 and are keenly aware of it's wonderful attributes and it's minor limitations... Since I can only read the EXIF data that indicates you edited in CS6 don't have a clue as to your post processing workflow (a.k.a. are you shooting in RAW 14bit or are these are .jpgs straight out of the camera) I can only suggest to back off sharpening a tad when high contrast edges are present (they always are in bright sunlight). If these are .jpgs then go into the Shooting Menu and set JPEG compression to Optimal Quality. Then go into Manage Picture Control and Edit what Picture Control you chose under (Set Picture Control) and Edit it to lower Sharpening... If working with RAW files take care not to over sharpen, better to sharpen selectively to those areas which might benefit... Hope this makes sense...
Jules those who shoot for major news services will be at f/2.8 and a 400mm prime for soccer... Reason is to use bokeh to remove background distractions... In in bright sunlight ISO 400 really isn't germane... under those conditions please consider putting ISO in the basement i.e. 100. And using f/9 is including way too many distractions behind the subject(s)... By lowering ISO two stops you can easily shoot at f/4 to excellent effect (you'll still be at 1/000 second which should catch the action, if not bump the ISO to 200)... And yes your percentage will go way down but at the commercial level you should seek a "Cover Photo' where the subject and only the subject is razor sharp... the D7100's Expeed 3 can track effectively and the 51 focus points will allow broad coverage... In this scenario I typically use CH release mode; AF-C (Focus not the default Release Mode); 9-points and Back Button Focus... Yep I go through a battery before the game is over since I'm locking onto the ball/subject continuously... The real trick is buffer management... shooting 14-bit RAW is seriously limited on the D7100 which chokes after one second... but one quickly learns to to trigger selectively...
Best Advice if the sun is dancing in and out of clouds? Shoot Manual in bright sunlight and use Auto ISO to cover your back... Set the ISO to 200 minimum and Shutter Speed to 1/1000 minimum... Let Nikon's Expeed 3 handle the cloud cover at f/4...
Hope this all makes sense...
btw, this is only my humble estimation base on my own experience shooting soccer with the D7100 and a 70-200mm VR lens.
Important Note: If you are using the earlier version of this lens a.k.a. VR not VR II then you'd be best advised not to go to f/2.8 since the edges will be soft... In the newer VR II version it's not so much a problem but f/4 works better for me...
Keep saving up for that 400mm f/2.8 prime... but it seriously needs a monopod.... lol
Thanks for sharing... awesome series... really enjoyed your journalistic style!
Excellent journalistic style... superb compositional elements... catching the players at the decisive moment all the while keeping the ball in the frame... That in itself is a major feat... Kudos on this set, very commendable indeed...
"Comments and suggestions are welcome..." Jules taking this at face value and endeavoring to the a resource for you here...
Quick examination of full resolution files reveals considerable halos around high contrast edges... The D7100 lacks an AA filter and it's sensor's output is already "crisp" (others would say "crunchy") I shoot the D7100 and are keenly aware of it's wonderful attributes and it's minor limitations... Since I can only read the EXIF data that indicates you edited in CS6 don't have a clue as to your post processing workflow (a.k.a. are you shooting in RAW 14bit or are these are .jpgs straight out of the camera) I can only suggest to back off sharpening a tad when high contrast edges are present (they always are in bright sunlight). If these are .jpgs then go into the Shooting Menu and set JPEG compression to Optimal Quality. Then go into Manage Picture Control and Edit what Picture Control you chose under (Set Picture Control) and Edit it to lower Sharpening... If working with RAW files take care not to over sharpen, better to sharpen selectively to those areas which might benefit... Hope this makes sense...
Jules those who shoot for major news services will be at f/2.8 and a 400mm prime for soccer... Reason is to use bokeh to remove background distractions... In in bright sunlight ISO 400 really isn't germane... under those conditions please consider putting ISO in the basement i.e. 100. And using f/9 is including way too many distractions behind the subject(s)... By lowering ISO two stops you can easily shoot at f/4 to excellent effect (you'll still be at 1/000 second which should catch the action, if not bump the ISO to 200)... And yes your percentage will go way down but at the commercial level you should seek a "Cover Photo' where the subject and only the subject is razor sharp... the D7100's Expeed 3 can track effectively and the 51 focus points will allow broad coverage... In this scenario I typically use CH release mode; AF-C (Focus not the default Release Mode); 9-points and Back Button Focus... Yep I go through a battery before the game is over since I'm locking onto the ball/subject continuously... The real trick is buffer management... shooting 14-bit RAW is seriously limited on the D7100 which chokes after one second... but one quickly learns to to trigger selectively...
Best Advice if the sun is dancing in and out of clouds? Shoot Manual in bright sunlight and use Auto ISO to cover your back... Set the ISO to 200 minimum and Shutter Speed to 1/1000 minimum... Let Nikon's Expeed 3 handle the cloud cover at f/4...
Hope this all makes sense...
btw, this is only my humble estimation base on my own experience shooting soccer with the D7100 and a 70-200mm VR lens.
Important Note: If you are using the earlier version of this lens a.k.a. VR not VR II then you'd be best advised not to go to f/2.8 since the edges will be soft... In the newer VR II version it's not so much a problem but f/4 works better for me...
Keep saving up for that 400mm f/2.8 prime... but it seriously needs a monopod.... lol
Thanks for sharing... awesome series... really enjoyed your journalistic style!
Oct 2, 2016 23:15:02 #
Oct 7, 2016 10:33:54 #
Thomas902 wrote:
Jules you are well on your way to mastering report... (show quote)
Hi Thomas:
Okay here is some shots from what you suggested. I realize each camera and lens would react differently to your suggestions.
My other settings shots are clearer I think. What about you?
The main person would be clear but at 4 or 4.5 the other player is off.
Oct 8, 2016 14:45:41 #
Jules Karney wrote:
Some of my latest shots. These were taken with a Nikon D-7100 70-200 2.8 lens.
Thanks in advance and for looking. Comments and suggestions are welcome.
Thanks in advance and for looking. Comments and suggestions are welcome.
great set
Oct 8, 2016 15:23:31 #
Jules your superb compositional elements on the tennis imagery is excellent...
Especially having the ball within the composition! At 6 frames/sec that's quite a feat...
That said at f/6.3 and 1/650 of a second you're not even close to freezing the ball... consider 1/2000 for tennis (minimum) that would be at f3.2 at your ISO here... btw the D7100 will deliver at ISO 800 but you've wisely gated to ISO 400 where IQ remains strong... What matters is the ball should appear round not egg shaped... and yes it might be blurred owing to DOF... assuming you locked on the player's eyes (which is the most critical component in the mix)
Same issue with the tennis serve (blue) at 1/500... The angular velocity of the outer racket head is simply too blurred... a touch of blur is always nice for implied motion but the streaked specular highlights from the back lit strings are somewhat of a distraction...
"The main person would be clear but at 4 or 4.5 the other player is off..." Welcome to the challenge of razor thin DOF imagery... Pick up a copy (any copy) of Sports Illustrated... You'll quickly see the result of tenure... They shoot for isolation and wide open (unless it's a wide-angle composition which is meant to showcase the venue).
Food for thought... a blurred player in the background is acceptable... albeit not in the foreground... Yes it is a bear shooting wide open however you should be looking for absolutely stellar excellence not volume and/or percentages (unless you are shooting to simply document the entire team/game and not for your portfolio)...
In our industry the adage "You are only as good as the worst image in your book" rings loud and clear...
If it's not commercial quality it shouldn't see the light of day... Hope this makes sense...
Here's a piece of tenured wisdom... When shooting sports in strong sunlight unless you can see your shadow in front of the camera you are in the wrong place... move until you have the sunlight in the player's faces i.e. at your back (or quarter at minimum). Experience has been a brutal teacher for my work...
Here is an example of shooting wide open...
NIKON D3X; Lens 135.0 mm f/2.0; Aperture f/3.2; Shutter Speed 1/2000 / second...
Hope this helps...
Especially having the ball within the composition! At 6 frames/sec that's quite a feat...
That said at f/6.3 and 1/650 of a second you're not even close to freezing the ball... consider 1/2000 for tennis (minimum) that would be at f3.2 at your ISO here... btw the D7100 will deliver at ISO 800 but you've wisely gated to ISO 400 where IQ remains strong... What matters is the ball should appear round not egg shaped... and yes it might be blurred owing to DOF... assuming you locked on the player's eyes (which is the most critical component in the mix)
Same issue with the tennis serve (blue) at 1/500... The angular velocity of the outer racket head is simply too blurred... a touch of blur is always nice for implied motion but the streaked specular highlights from the back lit strings are somewhat of a distraction...
"The main person would be clear but at 4 or 4.5 the other player is off..." Welcome to the challenge of razor thin DOF imagery... Pick up a copy (any copy) of Sports Illustrated... You'll quickly see the result of tenure... They shoot for isolation and wide open (unless it's a wide-angle composition which is meant to showcase the venue).
Food for thought... a blurred player in the background is acceptable... albeit not in the foreground... Yes it is a bear shooting wide open however you should be looking for absolutely stellar excellence not volume and/or percentages (unless you are shooting to simply document the entire team/game and not for your portfolio)...
In our industry the adage "You are only as good as the worst image in your book" rings loud and clear...
If it's not commercial quality it shouldn't see the light of day... Hope this makes sense...
Here's a piece of tenured wisdom... When shooting sports in strong sunlight unless you can see your shadow in front of the camera you are in the wrong place... move until you have the sunlight in the player's faces i.e. at your back (or quarter at minimum). Experience has been a brutal teacher for my work...
Here is an example of shooting wide open...
NIKON D3X; Lens 135.0 mm f/2.0; Aperture f/3.2; Shutter Speed 1/2000 / second...
Hope this helps...
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