Better lighting-JC B-ball

[Steve Cavigliano]

Hello all,
Yep, it's time for this week's Junior College hoops shots. I bet you've all been breathlessly awaiting these

Anyhow, it was an away game, over at Aptos. The gym had way better lighting ( a little brighter and way less yellow), so I figured I'd try to shoot at ISO800 and F1.8 instead of my usual ISO1600 and F2.2. The shots are a bit softer, but the color and contrast looks really good to me (although I'm blind in one eye and can't see out the other ;-).

I know that us basketball/sports junkies have been posting quite a bit this week and I'd definitely rather be posting a nice heron or egret shot. But since this is what I have been shooting, this is all I have to share





Other than the tilted backgrounds, how do they look to you? As usual, any feedback, comments. criticisms welcomed

Thanks for taking the time to look,
Steve

[blackwaterstudio]

Looks good Steve, what lens are you using to shoot these?

[gregneil]

Awesome shots, Steve! I think the color looks great, and the images seem really sharp. 1 and 3 are my favorites. I really like where you caught the action in these shots. Were these shot with an 85/1.8? I've been thinking about that lens...

My only question would be about chopping off the feet. In my 2 favorites, 1 and 3, you get the whole subject, but the other players are cut off at the ankles. I wonder if it would look a little more complete if you could get the whole feet in. Maybe it doesn't matter? I haven't studied many pro shots to see how often this happens, and if it's considered "acceptable" or not. Does anyone have any thoughts about getting all the feet in the shot? If you can't get the feet in, should you go for a tighter crop? The missing feet don't really bother me, it's just something I noticed, and would be interested to know what the pro's think about it...

Thanks for sharing! Keep the basketball pics coming... The season will be over soon enough and we'll have more time for other shots!

[Angelo]

very nice group of images.

[Steve Cavigliano]

Originally Posted by jdsphotography

Looks good Steve, what lens are you using to shoot these?

Thank you

I used that sweet Canon 85mm F1.8 lens. Other than being a bit long for floor shooting, I find it almost perfect for capturing low light action

Thanks for your comments,
Steve

[Steve Cavigliano]

Originally Posted by gregneil

Awesome shots, Steve! I think the color looks great, and the images seem really sharp. 1 and 3 are my favorites. I really like where you caught the action in these shots. Were these shot with an 85/1.8? I've been thinking about that lens...

My only question would be about chopping off the feet. In my 2 favorites, 1 and 3, you get the whole subject, but the other players are cut off at the ankles. I wonder if it would look a little more complete if you could get the whole feet in. Maybe it doesn't matter? I haven't studied many pro shots to see how often this happens, and if it's considered "acceptable" or not. Does anyone have any thoughts about getting all the feet in the shot? If you can't get the feet in, should you go for a tighter crop? The missing feet don't really bother me, it's just something I noticed, and would be interested to know what the pro's think about it...

Thanks for sharing! Keep the basketball pics coming... The season will be over soon enough and we'll have more time for other shots!

Thanks Greg

Yep, that's the 85mm F1.8. It is great for low light action. It is kind of tight from right under the basket (can't get the whole player in the frame, even in portrait orientation) and I was thinking about picking up the Mk II 50mm and seeing if it AF'd fast enough to use for these type shots. If anyone has this info (MK II AF speed), I'd appreciate any feedback.

You know I kind of wondered about chopping off feet/legs/knees too. Some of my older shots showed everything, but they showed so much it was hard to see expressions, or lay enough megapixels on the subject to tell a good story, or to be able to get a tight crop). I started going for tighter and tighter shots. So yes, I cut off/crop off non-essential extremities (non essential to the image not to the player....lol) but I think I am getting lots more pixels on my main subject(s) so that I have mucho detail to work with. Much better, IMO, than trying to work with a heavily cropped image.

I've got to go study some pro images too. Maybe they leave the feet in the frame

And you are right, only 2 more weeks of the regular season left. Then it will be on to baseball....LOL


Thanks for your comments and thanks for taking the time to look,
Steve

[Steve Cavigliano]

Originally Posted by Angelo

very nice group of images.

Thanks Angelo I appreciate you taking the time to view my images and to respond to this thread


Steve

[ehughes]

Great Stuff Steve, I was looking into the 85 1.8, how do you like it overall? Would you buy it again?

[wxwax]

Steve, this is really good work. I reckon it's about the best you can hope for with the available lighting.

WRT chopped off limbs, look at the images in the paper every day, they don't show complete bodies. What's important is that you capture a good moment in the action, which you have.

Nice stuff.

[pathfinder]

These are first rate Steve! And I think the color is spot on too!! You knew I'd be a stickler after our last color discussion, but these are outstanding. Sharp, nice back grounds, and the color looks like it came from Kodak!