Hi everyone new to this so here goes. I shoot for my schools paper and had a chance to go down to miami with the girls team for a tournament. Shot with a d300s and 200-400 f/4. I would like any and all C&C so i may better myself, thanks.



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8.

The only comment I'm going to make is to get rid of shot #2 ....

Reasons: the background is horrible; there's nothing going on in the shot; and the girl in the blue will hate you for "showcasing" her rear-end ...

Agree with Cecil, not a big fan of #2 for the reasons he stated.
#5 not sure if you can crop it tighter, but I don't like the hanging arm and stick on the right edge of the frame.
#7 personal preference perhaps, but I'd crop in a little tighter on the action.

Great shots!

Just to add what Cecil already stated . . . be very mindfull before publishing any girls' sports pictures. I have "ditched" serveral great action shots because 1 or 2 of the subjects would find the image very "unflatering".

Originally Posted by 73Rocks Great shots! Just to add what Cecil already stated . . . be very mindfull before publishing any girls' sports pictures. I have "ditched" serveral great action shots because 1 or 2 of the subjects would find the image very "unflatering".

Haha, in my experience (having a teenage daughter) there are many captures that girls just don't like. Somehow they want to look like fashion models while playing tough sports. But agree with Cecil above that the shot of the players running away with cars in the background is not your best.

To be a bit contrarian, I like the first shot the best. I like the soft and muted tones of the background, the space around the player, and the ball hanging in the air. I generally agree that tight crops are better, but it's possible to make very powerful and unusual photographs by using space and interesting surroundings. A friend from the local photographer wells does this exceptionally well: http://ezrashaw.com/

I like what you've done. Especially 3, 7, and 8. However, as others have said earlier, they all would benefit from much tighter cropping. Also, I didn't check your EXIF, but looks like that in each of these shots you were closer to the 200 end of your zoom lens, not the 400mm. Try framing the shot tighter initially and see what you get. It's tougher to keep up with the action, but when you do it can result in a photo with more impact.
Finally, with G-lax, they are frequently on fields with horrible backgrounds. Before you start, look around and figure out what angles give you the least-bad background and try and set up to shoot more in those directions.

Banzaii, Excellent first post! I like 1,3,5 and 8, all for the same reasons. The backgrounds were pretty clean to begin with, and the action was close enough to blur what background there was. I shoot with the same lens and I know if I try and reach too far, I must ensure that I have a super clean background because increased DOF at distance will bite me. Unlike boy's lax, with the girls you can safely stand behind the goal keeping good offensive and defensive action close and ensuring at least the length of the field as a buffer to a cluttered background. You don't have that same luxury when you shoot side to side.

Good job!

Thanks all for the insight. I realize now that #2 isnt good at all and now I know to crop much tighter.

Hopefully down the road as the season progress Ill have some better ones to show. Thanks again guys.

Originally Posted by Banzaii Thanks all for the insight. I realize now that #2 isnt good at all and now I know to crop much tighter. Hopefully down the road as the season progress Ill have some better ones to show. Thanks again guys.

It's a trite expression for shooting sports, but it's truth: Shoot tight and crop tighter.
Context is all but unimportant in 95% of your shots. There's always someone there with a videocam to get all the context anyone wants. You should just go for the tight stuff that only a good still camera can get.

Oh, one more thing. Just because your shot gets panned here doesn't mean you should take it down. If you leave it up, others can learn from the criticism.