First Two Attempts at Soccer C&C please

[jimqjr]

http://www.jimqjr.com/Sports/Soccer/Vista-Varsity-Soccer-11-06/1207/705403083_ytZpw-X3.jpg

http://www.jimqjr.com/Sports/Soccer/Vista-at-Oak-Ridge-10-28-2009/6-2/696262676_awrDQ-X3.jpg

[time2smile]

a little soft, it seems you focus point was centered on his hip

I really like the composition and the backgrounds on both.

[jimqjr]

Thanks Ted
Where should my focus point be? I have had poor results at best shooting at the head.
I use center point of focus should I move off center point and maybe shoot shoulders or am I just to shot the head and toss the ones out of focus? Any direction is much appreciated just trying to reach that next level.

a little soft, it seems you focus point was centered on his hip

I really like the composition and the backgrounds on both.

[ian408]

I agree. They seem a tad soft.

As far as focus, if you shoot Canon, you might want to look at the focus points in the Canon supplied software and see where they really are. If you want to shift them, practice doing it with the camera up to your eye.

[time2smile]

Thanks Ted
Where should my focus point be? I have had poor results at best shooting at the head.
I use center point of focus should I move off center point and maybe shoot shoulders or am I just to shot the head and toss the ones out of focus? Any direction is much appreciated just trying to reach that next level.

Always focus on the eyes...or as close to them as possible, even if they are closed, from what I read thats what all the sportshooters do, and we all know how there pics rock...you may need to drop the fstop a little for dof

[jfriend]

Always focus on the eyes...or as close to them as possible, even if they are closed, from what I read thats what all the sportshooters do, and we all know how there pics rock...you may need to drop the fstop a little for dofNo action sports photographer has a chance to focus on the eyes. They are a tiny target, not always facing you and very much in motion. Even if you could aim at them, the focus sensors themselves are much larger than the eyes in a typical sports composition. Instead, you have to focus on a larger target (often the body) and use an aperture that gives you an appropriate depth of field. There are many keys to getting accurate action focus, but good tracking skills with continuous focus is core.

I've written up how I set up my D300 for focus in soccer here (http://johnfriend.blogspot.com/2009/10/nikon-d300-auto-focus-for-sports-i.html).

[time2smile]

No action sports photographer has a chance to focus on the eyes. They are a tiny target, not always facing you and very much in motion. Even if you could aim at them, the focus sensors themselves are much larger than the eyes in a typical sports composition. Instead, you have to focus on a larger target (often the body) and use an aperture that gives you an appropriate depth of field. There are many keys to getting accurate action focus, but good tracking skills with continuous focus is core.

I've written up how I set up my D300 for focus in soccer here (http://johnfriend.blogspot.com/2009/10/nikon-d300-auto-focus-for-sports-i.html).

John, nice read, I wish my D90 had sone of those settings, greatly agree on contrast for quick focus, minimum hunting. I should of said instead of eyes, the face for close action shots or even the neck line, especially if the team wears a contrast collar, and the body if you are across the field.

thanks for the link

[Macushla]

John, nice read, I wish my D90 had sone of those settings,
I wish someone would write a similar tutorial for the D90. It was very helpful for the settings the camera does have in common. Thanks John.

[jimqjr]

Thanks Ian,
Okay so I have fallen into Nikon land, you guys must be nicer than the Canon shooters being I haven't had any response from them. I have a 50d and I find if I shoot heads the eyes are soft. It appears that the focus point being I have only used one focus point is sometimes larger than the head so it appears that I am getting focus average making the pictures softer. I have read the book many books and I have not found anything that tells me focus this way for a sharper picture.
I have an indoor basketball game tonight so I will attempt once again to shoot heads and see where it goes. The only difference is that I usually use a 50mm a f1.4-1.6 and ISO around 2000-2500 typically 1/1000th, so my depth of field has some limitation, though usually shooting body shot I get about 40-50 pictures with glossy eyes. Tonight I will take the experts advice and shoot heads. Wish me luck.

I agree. They seem a tad soft.

As far as focus, if you shoot Canon, you might want to look at the focus points in the Canon supplied software and see where they really are. If you want to shift them, practice doing it with the camera up to your eye.

[jfriend]

Thanks Ian,
Okay so I have fallen into Nikon land, you guys must be nicer than the Canon shooters being I haven't had any response from them. I have a 50d and I find if I shoot heads the eyes are soft. It appears that the focus point being I have only used one focus point is sometimes larger than the head so it appears that I am getting focus average making the pictures softer. I have read the book many books and I have not found anything that tells me focus this way for a sharper picture.
I have an indoor basketball game tonight so I will attempt once again to shoot heads and see where it goes. The only difference is that I usually use a 50mm a f1.4-1.6 and ISO around 2000-2500 typically 1/1000th, so my depth of field has some limitation, though usually shooting body shot I get about 40-50 pictures with glossy eyes. Tonight I will take the experts advice and shoot heads. Wish me luck.I find that with an erratically moving subject at a distance where you're shooting the whole body or more, it's too hard to focus on the head or eyes. You just can't track it accurately enough. Go for the body and figure out (based on the geometry of your shooting situation and focal length) what aperture you need for appropriate depth of field.

[jimqjr]

Hello John,
Thanks for the info though I think I am too new to use Nikon setup for Canon equipment. I have made some changes to my camera though I am not sure what good or bad I just created. I probably made to many changes so I wont be able to tell which ones made the biggest difference though when going through the book I thought hey that one sounds good and so does that oh yea and that one too. Great should have written down what mess I made.
Thanks again for all your help and direction.

No action sports photographer has a chance to focus on the eyes. They are a tiny target, not always facing you and very much in motion. Even if you could aim at them, the focus sensors themselves are much larger than the eyes in a typical sports composition. Instead, you have to focus on a larger target (often the body) and use an aperture that gives you an appropriate depth of field. There are many keys to getting accurate action focus, but good tracking skills with continuous focus is core.

I've written up how I set up my D300 for focus in soccer here (http://johnfriend.blogspot.com/2009/10/nikon-d300-auto-focus-for-sports-i.html).

[ian408]

Someone else suggested that DOF is what you should try and work with. If you use a larger area, like the body, and the appropriate f stop, you might be happier with your results.

One thing that I've found helpful is a DOF calculator. If you google 'dof calculator', you'll find a ton of them available to you.

You may also have some luck changing to AI focus too. That will help lock focus on your moving target.

[ChiShutter]

Thanks Ian,
Okay so I have fallen into Nikon land, you guys must be nicer than the Canon shooters being I haven't had any response from them. I have a 50d and I find if I shoot heads the eyes are soft. It appears that the focus point being I have only used one focus point is sometimes larger than the head so it appears that I am getting focus average making the pictures softer. I have read the book many books and I have not found anything that tells me focus this way for a sharper picture.
I have an indoor basketball game tonight so I will attempt once again to shoot heads and see where it goes. The only difference is that I usually use a 50mm a f1.4-1.6 and ISO around 2000-2500 typically 1/1000th, so my depth of field has some limitation, though usually shooting body shot I get about 40-50 pictures with glossy eyes. Tonight I will take the experts advice and shoot heads. Wish me luck.I think f/1.4-1.6 is probably too wide open for this kind of thing. You don't get a lot of DOF with apertures like that, and when stuff's moving around all over the place you're bound to have problems.

[jfriend]

I think f/1.4-1.6 is probably too wide open for this kind of thing. You don't get a lot of DOF with apertures like that, and when stuff's moving around all over the place you're bound to have problems. I agree. An aperture that wide only works for a shot where you're trying to only get one very narrow range of the subject in focus (and you have time to focus precisely there) or in a rare sports shot where everything that matters is all in one perpendicular plane.

There are some excellent sports shooters who can make f/2.8 shots work. I shot most of my soccer at f/4. Yes, I know your light is low and f/4 would push your ISO even higher, but an in-focus shot with noise is always more useful than an out of focus shot with less noise.