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What makes a good ball photo?

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by SoSueMe, Mar 27, 2007.

  1. Songbird

    Songbird Well-Known Member

    I take my camera everywhere. I like taking shots of TV baseball games in bars or other public places, etc.

    This was the 2003 ALCS, at restaurant/pub, and the boy, a Red Sox diehard, was so excited when the Sox loaded the bases against Pettitte. But Pettitte escaped, and the boy was just crushed. I fucking loved the moment.

    [​IMG]

    At the same place earlier in the season I took this because Lowe sort of looks like Emmett Kelly the hobo clown.

    [​IMG]

    Lastly, the picture ain't great, but I watched the no-no and wanted to take a shot of the TV screen with the linescore. I'm a baseball geek that way.

    [​IMG]
     
  2. buckweaver

    buckweaver Active Member

    Xan, I was in the left-field stands, May 18, 2004, at Turner Field.

    I am so stealing that picture. That rocks.
     
  3. SoSueMe

    SoSueMe Active Member

    Xan, you rock.
     
  4. Cadet

    Cadet Guest

    Not that I'm a photog by any stretch of the imagination, but you get some incredibly rich color in your pics, Xan. What's your secret?

    And yeah, I've been fucked over by the press guys a time or two. I was running a three-shot rodeo bullriding series from my kickass photog and they fucked it up.
     
  5. Songbird

    Songbird Well-Known Member

    Gracias, amigos. This thread is going to grow and grow and grow for the next several months. I think anyone who takes baseball-related photos should post 'em here.

    Idea: SportsJournalists.com's baseball picture book. That would rock!

    Cadet, I'll be honest: I know very little about photography. I make sure the settings are somewhere in the ballpark and just shoot. The flash helps indoors, and the Internet always makes photos look more lush. Photoshop helps, too. I toned all of them.

    I didn't take my first photo until I was 24 when I moved to Bennington. The first game I covered was a Southern Vermont College men's soccer game, and the first frame of the first roll of film I took came out crisp and ran with my story. From that moment I was hooked. I'll never take a job where I can't take photos with the stories I write.
     
  6. Cameron Frye

    Cameron Frye Member

    I only have one game's worth of baseball photos on this computer, and my assignment wasn't to shoot the actual game, but I can share a couple examples, good and bad.

    Whoever said to concentrate on faces was right on. If you're only after that great peak-action photo, you'll drive yourself mad. Baseball is by far the hardest sport I ever have to shoot, even though I enjoy it more than anything else.

    Try staying on the batter even after the swing. You might get a nice shot of a batter admiring a home run before he breaks into his trot (think Griffey). Or you could get something like this - Brian McCann grimacing as his line drive foul almost takes a fan's head off. It won't win any clip contests, but it's a keeper image.

    [​IMG]

    Work on your timing. Spend an inning shooting every pitch. You'll get a feel for when you have to hit the shutter to capture the ball just before or right as the bat makes contact.

    [​IMG]

    Maybe the most important thing to remember - don't get discouraged if you miss the shot. There are so many things that can go wrong - it's out of focus, the umpire is in the way, your framing is off (like the one below). There's always going to be another play.

    [​IMG]

    Another tip - watch your backgrounds. Try to avoid really bright or really busy backgrounds. If your backgrounds are ugly and you have a long enough lens, try getting higher - shoot from the concourse if you're in an actual stadium. Also, use the smallest f-stop number possible, to throw the background out of focus.

    Finally, read through these threads. There's tips here from some of the absolute best in the business when it comes to baseball photography.
    http://www.sportsshooter.com/message_display.html?tid=8799
    http://www.sportsshooter.com/message_display.html?tid=2209
    http://www.sportsshooter.com/message_display.html?tid=156

    Speaking of the best in the business - look through Brad Mangin's gallery on SportsShooter. Once the season gets going, he updates pretty regularly, so check back often, and look at the "additional galleries" linked at the bottom of the page.
    http://www.sportsshooter.com/members.html?id=7
     
  7. SoSueMe

    SoSueMe Active Member

    Great stuff Cam.

    Just one question: If I set the F-stop at 2.8 (my D-1H's lowest setting) that won't allow too much light as long as I up the shutter speed, correct?
     
  8. Cameron Frye

    Cameron Frye Member

    Correct, though the f-stop depends on the lens you're using rather than the camera. Most professional lenses are 2.8. I don't have one anymore, but I believe the shutter speed on the D1H goes up to 1/16,000 of a second, so with your ISO set to 200, you should be OK at 2.8 even on the brightest day. I almost always shoot manual exposure for sports. The great thing about digital is you don't have to be a great judge of exposure to shoot manual. Just do trial and error until it looks good on the LCD.
     
  9. Why is it that whenever I go to Sportshooter I start to look at my Spam e-mails a little more closely?

    That Mangin shot of Sosa is the type of shot I dream of one day getting once.
     
  10. Trey Beamon

    Trey Beamon Active Member

    Great thread (and awesome pics, folks)...just one question.

    I'm a one-man show who takes photos, but even worse, I'm forced to use an absolutely horrible lens (we have a Canon EOS; the lens cost around $100. :mad:) I don't have the exact specifications in front of me, but there's little zoom to speak of.

    For basketball, this wasn't a problem. Just sit along the baseline and let the action come to you. Now, I hope -- make that pray -- for a play at the plate.

    What should I do? Where should I shoot? The company certainly isn't going to help.
     
  11. ZummoSports

    ZummoSports Member

    My favorite baseball photo I ever shot wasn't even an action shot. I wish I had it here, I'd post it, but my previous job has all those photos.

    It was the last inning of the state semis and the team I was covering was down 1-0 and I had a shot of a kid who hardly played standing at the edge of the dugout chewing on the tip of his glove.

    More telling than any in-game shot.
     
  12. Cameron Frye

    Cameron Frye Member

    If new a new lens is completely out of the question, look for off-the field action. Reaction in the dugout, like Zummo said. Jube as a player comes back to the dugout after scoring a run, or as a pitcher comes back after a good inning.

    If you can, try shooting from the end of the dugout closest to home plate, and maybe you'll have enough lens to get a play at the plate. From the first base dugout, you'll get a better view of the baserunner; third base dugout will be a better view of the catcher.

    If you can convince your bosses to spend even $130, think about picking up this lens -

    http://www.adorama.com/TM75300EOS.html?searchinfo=70-300&item_no=68

    It's an off-brand 70-300mm lens. It isn't pro-quality by any means, but much much better than trying to shoot baseball with an 18-55mm zoom or something like that. I've shot basketball with an ultra-wide zoom lens (17-35) and I always have one when I shoot football, but I almost never go wider than a 70-200 lens for baseball, unless I'm looking for feature-type stuff. You're just too far from the action.
     
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