Hello everyone. Yesterday it was the first time for me shooting sports. It was Volleyball. How the *** do professionals get solid photos with all the faces, people running around, athletes getting in your shot while you are focused on a subject, limited space etc? I took around 1300 photos. Only like 300 of them are usable. It was extremely tough anticipating the ball and trying to capture the action. And when I did… the faces… Oh my god. And not only that… it was women playing…you can imagine how many of the photos they will like. Some are pretty good athletic photos not gonna lie. And to my defense I had only one lens a 24-105 f/4. I am waiting for the new Sigma for Sony mount. I think it will help a lot. Anyway I would love some advice. Thank you.
Edit: By saying it was women I wasnt trying to be sexist at all. But my girlfriend was playing and when see saw the photos she would look at every minute detail of her body.
I’ve been shooting high school football (USA) for about 15 years, and I’ll typically shoot 1000-1300 shots, and deliver 150-250 to the team. My job is to try to get at least one good shot of every team member. If I was delivering for a newspaper, that would be winnowed to 50. For a print newspaper, probably 2-6 shots would see the light of day.
I’ll bet your 300 keepers will drop to far fewer upon further reviews.
What to do about repetitive shots? Try different angles. Put your camera on the floor and shoot upward (flip out screens help a lot). Shoot from high in the stands, or even from the rafters if you are allowed access. Get artsy and get a close up of the shoes if the player has written something on them. Reaction/celebration shots may be your best ones, don’t chimp your screen when the action stops.
As far as shooting young women, you can’t think about it too much when shooting but look closely while editing and culling. I once got a great shot of a cheerleader, at peak mid-air throw, four limbs fully extended, great face, everything was perfect, and you could clearly see the outline of her vulva though her clothes. But it was such a great shot! I showed my wife… no you can’t share that. I showed a pro photographer… no you can’t share that. Into the cull bin it went.
i see so typically you keep few of them… i guess i expected too much. It was like a normal gym type court nothing special. no backround,not great lighting etc. i couldnt move a lot plus i was afraid that the ball will hit my camera…i cannot afford that.! Thank you for the tips.