Next purchase?
- Thread starter LovePhotography
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You might consider the 70-300mm and Kenco extenders as a cheaper alternative to the 200-400mm.
I like the 1Dx for night sports because it's pretty good in low light. Better than the Mark IV, IMO. You can crank up the ISO.
Might be worth renting before you decide to buy, if you're not sure.
I like the 1Dx for night sports because it's pretty good in low light. Better than the Mark IV, IMO. You can crank up the ISO.
Might be worth renting before you decide to buy, if you're not sure.
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I took a quick look at your sideline shots and, correct me if i am wrong, most if not all the shots are 1/1000 at ISO 8000. Even the shots that have little movement in them. I would think that you can experiment by varying the shutter speed according to the action and thereby lowering your ISO. Even 1/1000 may be a little high in most action shots (I would think 1/500 would be sufficient in a lot of cases). The lower ISO will help in the quality of photos.
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The 1DX is (for Canon shooters) the best sports body. All the pros use it. That said, before upgrading your gear, it is probably best to make sure you are getting everything you can out of your current gear. Having looked at your gallery, I would suggest the following (I mean this constructively...I'm not trying to be an asshole):
1. 1/800 is slow for fast moving sports. I would try to get it up to 1/1600 or higher.
2. Do some/more post-processing. Get a color-checker passport and use it to reduce the hideous color cast of the stadium lights. Lift the shadows in LR. Increase the overall exposure where needed. Lightly dodge in on the faces with LRs adjustment brush, etc. But recognize that night game images (under high school lights) will generally suck compared to what you can get in early/late day light or overcast daytime. And will take more postprocessing. Not always, but usually.
3. With the 70-200, you can only cover half the field. Don't bother shooting the other end. This assumes that you are down on the field. From the stands you are even more limited. Resist the urge to shoot stuff too far away (unless you need to document for posterity or legal proceedings!). You'll just end up with crappy images.
4. Shooting from the stands is mostly only good for wide shots. There's a reason that all the pros are down on the field, kneeling or sitting. Shooting from below makes athletes look more imposing. And you want to be close, close, close. Ideally, you want to see the intensity in their eyes. Pick a spot where you can get backgrounds that work. If you must be in the stands, try to find larger compositions that work. Line yourself up with the neutral zone and shoot down the line of scrimmage right before or after the snap.
5. Don't be a no-crop purist. Crop tightly into the key elements and cut out the extraneous junk. If what's left is poor quality or doesn't work, cut it. With sports it is often hard to compose in real time, so finish composing on your computer if necessary. Work for clean compositions. Clean backgrounds. No foreground clutter. Crop or compose out distracting & irrelevant junk (bright lights, signage, trash cans, water jugs, random people, etc., unless they are purposeful parts of the composition). Most cameras have plenty of pixels, particularly if the image is sharp and will be viewed on 2MP displays.
6. If you haven't already, put focus on the back button so you have more control. Not sure about the 6D AF, but you should probably be in servo. The low frame rate will limit your ability to capture the "decisive moment," (without good experience/talent/anticipation) but get what you can.
7. If you are uploading a gallery you want people to look at, don't have multiple similar shots. Choose the best and cut the rest.
8. Unless there is a compelling visual composition, don't shoot people's backs, players running/walking away from you, etc. Resist the urge to shoot because something exciting is happening even though you can't really see it. Or reflexively punching the shutter button because something amazing just happened (and you missed it). You want to see faces, eyes (if possible), the ball. Players in a highly athletic/dynamic position that reflects the intensity of the action. And as Bruce Lee says in Enter the Dragon: "We need emotional content!"
1. 1/800 is slow for fast moving sports. I would try to get it up to 1/1600 or higher.
2. Do some/more post-processing. Get a color-checker passport and use it to reduce the hideous color cast of the stadium lights. Lift the shadows in LR. Increase the overall exposure where needed. Lightly dodge in on the faces with LRs adjustment brush, etc. But recognize that night game images (under high school lights) will generally suck compared to what you can get in early/late day light or overcast daytime. And will take more postprocessing. Not always, but usually.
3. With the 70-200, you can only cover half the field. Don't bother shooting the other end. This assumes that you are down on the field. From the stands you are even more limited. Resist the urge to shoot stuff too far away (unless you need to document for posterity or legal proceedings!). You'll just end up with crappy images.
4. Shooting from the stands is mostly only good for wide shots. There's a reason that all the pros are down on the field, kneeling or sitting. Shooting from below makes athletes look more imposing. And you want to be close, close, close. Ideally, you want to see the intensity in their eyes. Pick a spot where you can get backgrounds that work. If you must be in the stands, try to find larger compositions that work. Line yourself up with the neutral zone and shoot down the line of scrimmage right before or after the snap.
5. Don't be a no-crop purist. Crop tightly into the key elements and cut out the extraneous junk. If what's left is poor quality or doesn't work, cut it. With sports it is often hard to compose in real time, so finish composing on your computer if necessary. Work for clean compositions. Clean backgrounds. No foreground clutter. Crop or compose out distracting & irrelevant junk (bright lights, signage, trash cans, water jugs, random people, etc., unless they are purposeful parts of the composition). Most cameras have plenty of pixels, particularly if the image is sharp and will be viewed on 2MP displays.
6. If you haven't already, put focus on the back button so you have more control. Not sure about the 6D AF, but you should probably be in servo. The low frame rate will limit your ability to capture the "decisive moment," (without good experience/talent/anticipation) but get what you can.
7. If you are uploading a gallery you want people to look at, don't have multiple similar shots. Choose the best and cut the rest.
8. Unless there is a compelling visual composition, don't shoot people's backs, players running/walking away from you, etc. Resist the urge to shoot because something exciting is happening even though you can't really see it. Or reflexively punching the shutter button because something amazing just happened (and you missed it). You want to see faces, eyes (if possible), the ball. Players in a highly athletic/dynamic position that reflects the intensity of the action. And as Bruce Lee says in Enter the Dragon: "We need emotional content!"
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LovePhotography said:
The only TV cameras up that high are used as part of a multi-camera setup that includes numerous cameras on the field level as well. The still photographers and other video stringers are all on the field level, too. TV and newspaper photogs shooting high school and college football games all universally shoot from the sideline, I know because I did it for years.
First thing, get on the ground. Even the first row of the stands is too high. Second, get as close to the sideline as you can. You need to eliminate all the sidelined players, coaches, cheerleaders, etc. from your action shots. Trust Robert Capa's advice, "If your photographs aren't good enough, you're not close enough." Third, you need to be in front of the line of scrimmage, so that the play is coming AT you. All of your sideline action shots, you are behind the line of scrimmage, meaning that all we can see is backs. And move ahead when the line of scrimmage moves.
Everything that everybody else has posted in this thread is correct, constructive criticism. Try these tips and you'll save yourself a lot of money!
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Get the Tamron 100-600 for a thousand bucks. Don't worry about a new body unless you've got cash to burn,
and go have fun.
and go have fun.
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