Softball

[mtmcelvy]

my 11yr old getting a hit! C&C please!!

Mike

http://mcelvyphotography.smugmug.com/photos/355512301_w2yyQ-L.jpg

[dbaker1221]

without know how you shot this (settings) I'd say you need way more shutter speed.

[mtmcelvy]

sorry...

f 5.6
s 1/160
iso 800

could you explain why more shutter speed?
thanks,
mike

[johng]

sorry...

could you explain why more shutter speed?
thanks,
mike

Because of the blur in the hands and feet. The panning helped out but it cannot stop bluring in hands and feet. It also makes the background mour "jittery". Because the background fills up so much of the frame (over 2/3) the attention is naturally drawn to it so the coach, player and the rest are more noticed than they should be.

The way to combat that is to frame tighter - longer focal length or physically move closer. You want the action filling the frame - in this case your daughter. The background doesn't add anything and in fact it distracts. So, framing tighter will help as will switching from landscape to portrait orientation since your daughter is more vertical than horizontal so portrait orientation allows for tighter framing.

Here's an example of the framing I'm talking about:
http://www.jagsportsphotos.com/photos/288963452_JFTpR-L.jpg

I think you came away with a fairly good shot all things considered - focus is good, exposure is good (i.e. exposed for player and face at expense of background). It also illustrates the difficulty of shooting with a 5.6 lens even when it's not night time - 1/160 is at least 1.3 stops below what I would recommend as the minimum shutter speed for runners (1/400, preferably 1/640).

[mtmcelvy]

Thank you for the info!!! Softball season is about to get underway so this will be a BIG help! Lots of games equals lots of opportunity for practice!

Mike