First shoot with 450D cont.

[bmxphotographer]

Hi guys,
Another 2 from today
any C&C would be great

Cheers Dillon

http://ingenito.smugmug.com/photos/366587747_dLaGp-L.jpg

http://ingenito.smugmug.com/photos/366587723_SDbAJ-L.jpg

http://ingenito.smugmug.com/photos/366587625_36jwG-L.jpg

[mishlove]

Hi Dillon. Nice action shots, am glad you are enjoying the camera. I have not seen field hockey since my days in South Africa and never co-ed, I think it is great.

[bmxphotographer]

I'm fairly sure these images aren't perfect so can some more people tell me how they see these images.

thanks for your comment michael!

[Cadwell]

Dillon, sports photography is all about people. Unless you've got something interesting to show in a wider shot then go tight and get expressions and action.

Number 3 is your strongest potential image but you need to shoot it tighter and lighter. The empty space to the top and right of your image adds nothing. I've attached the sort of crop I'd use of that photo.

In photo 2 "Redlegs #68" adds nothing to the photo. He's just standing around in the foreground occupying a large part of the frame and not really taking part in the play. Normally we try and get the faces of athletes. Sometimes a rear view does work but they either have to be doing something dramatic or provoking a reaction in the people who's faces you can see for it to work. Now in the case of photo 2 it looks like there was something interesting going on with the player just out of shot to the left, the one on his/her knees. The interaction between them and the girl in the yellow and green is the shot I'd like to have seen.

#1 is a nice shot but I don't think the portrait orientation does much for it. A landscape crop would have contained the 3 players nicely. I do like the inclusion of the third player covering the play. Portrait shots work well for single players or occasionally two players very close together.

That all might seem like damning criticism. It wasn't meant that way and they are good photos as they stand but you asked what could have been better and those are my thoughts on it.

Without EXIF intact it is hard to comment on the settings you used but if I were shooting this I'd set the camera in AV mode with the lens at or near wide open in order to provide separation between the players and the background. I'd set the ISO to whatever I needed to gain a sufficiently high shutter speed (around 1/1000th sec) in the prevailing light.

I hope all of that is in some way helpful and congratulations on your new camera! :-D You have made a good start with it.

[yellalablady]

I agree with Glenn. Although, I like the 2nd one best. I have used a square crop to focus in on just the girl. I would rather have a 6x4 horizonal crop for this shot. Sorry for the poor quality. It degraded when I resized your original.

[zeeman]

Great feedback, Glenn. Its a joy to learn reading your comments.

[bmxphotographer]

Thanks Glenn!
that is great criticisim and I appriciate it alot! and thanks for the reworks it helps me understand what you mean alot more!
thanks monnie the crop looks better than the origional.

[PPPhoto]

Dillon, it looks like you're having some fun with that new camera.

Great comments Glenn. Now you have me wondering how my photos from my college newspapers days would measure up. It seems so long ago, and I can't remember them all. I know I had some decent shots of basketball, volleyball, soccer, track, etc. and even won an award or two.

Dillon, I think that biggest thing is to keep practicing. I know that I need to do that, as I am not the world's greatest photographer, and likely never will be. I see so many photos on here that I'm sure are better than anything I have.