Had a hard time getting clean backgrounds the last couple of weeks. Even when the angles look good before the matches start, clutter comes in after the fact. Frustrating!

As always, C&C is appreciated.

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Thanks,
Jay

Nice shots. I have been asked to shoot volleyball by the local HS but have read several not-so-good issues since they are indoors and most times poorly lit. We have a brand new gym with plenty of light.
Can you share the specifics?
Lens, Shutter, f/stop, flash, etc.

thanks

Jay - nice set. Volleyball is one of those rare sports that actually looks good when you're shooting down. The best examples are your tight frames. Your first two shots are a good illustration - both are sharp, but shot 1 is much more compelling to me. In volleyball, getting the full body in the frame just isn't a necessity to me. 2 is still a good shot but it is the weakest of this collection IMO. BTW, great job on exposure and WB in these.

Originally Posted by kitkos Nice shots. I have been asked to shoot volleyball by the local HS but have read several not-so-good issues since they are indoors and most times poorly lit. We have a brand new gym with plenty of light. Can you share the specifics? Lens, Shutter, f/stop, flash, etc.

Thanks. These were all 1/1000, f/2.8, ISO 8K (EXIF data is intact on the photos). I'm shooting ambient with a 1D4 and a 300/2.8 + 70-200/2.8.

Jay

Originally Posted by johng Jay - nice set. Volleyball is one of those rare sports that actually looks good when you're shooting down. The best examples are your tight frames. Your first two shots are a good illustration - both are sharp, but shot 1 is much more compelling to me. In volleyball, getting the full body in the frame just isn't a necessity to me. 2 is still a good shot but it is the weakest of this collection IMO. BTW, great job on exposure and WB in these.

Thanks, John. I appreciate the feedback.

It's a challenging problem trying to shoot volleyball tight. I agree that the really tight shots tend to be significantly more compelling, but the number of keepers sure drops off during the game! Both due to focusing on the wrong player more often and because of incidental chopping off limbs, ball, etc.

I shoot the same teams throughout the season, so I've got the luxury of being able to work on riskier shots without worrying that I'm not going to have enough keepers from a single match.

For #2, I've got it in there for a couple of reasons. First, my grumbling about the backgrounds was really mostly about the shots I chose to not include here. There were shots I liked a lot, but the background just killed it for putting it up for feedback (even though the kids and parents likely never notice it). The set of shots I ended up picking through as potential selects for posting here was, frankly, smaller than usual.

The other reason is just trying to provide some variety in the set. I had a couple more nice blocking shots, but unless I wanted to have a straight theme around blocking, I needed something different. #2 wasn't one that had great cropping options to go tighter unless I just completely forget about trying to keep the opposing player in. It would probably work ok, but I'd end up with a disembodied arm in the shot. Hmm... about like #1 now that I look again

Again, thanks for the feedback. Exactly what I'm looking for to help me improve.

Jay