david vt Loc: Vermont

Ok, the season is now over, but here are a few of my favorites. Represented a few of the first 1000 shots I have taken in over 30 years. (The runner with #148 bib is my favorite from the fall). Still lots to learn, but I had fun.

Enjoy, and any feedback to help me improve appreciated

Jules Karney Loc: Las Vegas, Nevada

My choices too are the runner. Shooting tight is good.

david vt Loc: Vermont

I wish I could say I was shooting that tight, but in reality the tightness has been more about cropping. That said, as I worked each event, I think began to shoot tighter right out of the camera.

I as not sure of Focus mode. Most of the fall, I was shooting fairly wide open for minimal DoF but with a Nikon D9 setting. began to notice that it was front focusing a bit too often, so I switched to S, but as I like “mix it up shots” with multiple players, sometimes when I looked, the camera focused “right through the hole” and a far background was in focus. Would value opinions as to best focus mode for team sports like Soccer or Bball

Jules Karney Loc: Las Vegas, Nevada

Every camera is different David. I shoot with a Nikon d500 and d7100. On the 500 I started with single, but switched over to group mode. I found it difficult to follow in single focus mode because of the weight of my camera and lens, and my age. Group works well for me. Basketball and soccer are tough to follow the players, they move quick. Soccer try shooting in Shutter priority. Maybe at 1/1000 the camera will set the aperture. 5.6-6.3 on a sunny day. iso auto.

Acufine3200 Loc: Texarkana USA

Good shots—I can find enough value in each to publish. The most dramatic, and workable for me is actually the vertical of the runner, #142, which shows in front of the pack. This shot shows him leading the others, but even better you have great facials on the “followers.” Faces, faces, faces—good stuff.

A rule of thumb for me when I first began was to look over my proof sheet (a page with each of the negatives in sequence order...now we can peer at the bottom of the screen in Lightroom) and study what would have made my shots better. For instance, positioning varies from sport to sport. In your soccer shots you may want to see if standing in other areas of the sidelines will yield more head-on shots. As you do this you will start to find your sweet spots. And, these spots will change with different lenses, and lighting.

I also spent time, well...still do, staring at the acclaimed pros (SI, major Daily newspapers) work, and see what it is about their shots that made spend more than a second looking at it. Lighting? Facial expression? Frozen action? Movement?

Keep firing away—memory is free! And, since the players are having fun, you might as well, too!

david vt Loc: Vermont

@acufine3200. Thanks. The Xcntry and soccer were the first 1000 or so shots of my camera when I bought it. Starting about half way through, I took a local intro photography class, and that helped a bit with positioning relative to the sun to get light on their faces and how to set myself up so they are coming at me. FYI, the boy of #142 is my son, though I think #148 is my favorite shot of the season (his best friend).

Soccer is harder. As you noted, hard to get coming at me. Will work on that in the spring season.