Track & Field Suggestions

[TheGoofster]

With all of these great photographers giving you advice, I feel out of place saying anything, but I did just want to add 2 thoughts.

I know most people seem to be against manual focus (or at least prefer the continuous motion auto-focus), but I would suggest that you at least give manual a try. In some sports events, manual is really hard to get right (like basketball players who constantly stop and go), but I think when shooting track, the subject keeps a relatively steady pace, and you might find it easier to focus on them with just a bit of practice in manual mode. Maybe it's because I shot for so many years using an old SLR that didn't have any kind of auto-focus, but I actually try to use manual focus quite often, and many times I seem to get better results in manual than I do in auto focus.

The other thing I would suggest is giving panning a try. Again, with a subject that keeps to a pretty steady pace, you might be able to pull off some really nice panning shots that would give you some great background effects. There are some people on this board who can give you some really great advice on how to pan (if you're not already familiar with it).

Anyway, best of luck with your shots, and keep posting your results. There are many others like myself who learn so much from seeing the shots, and listening to the advice of others.

 

[mom2rtk]

Oh, you must be one of 'them'

I'm a proud Jayhawker myself

Well, I'm a not so proud Wildcat myself, just not the Kansas variety. I graduated from Northwestern, home of what was then (and might still be) the losing-est football team in history. So I really don't get all the college sports hoopla.....

But we DO live in Missouri.... and my husband DID graduate from one of the University of MO schools........

So yes..... I'm one of ..... them..... .... by marriage.........

 

[mom2rtk]

I have been shooting cross country and track and field for over 30 years and am still finding new angles and subjects every time I shoot. I always set my focus to manual and pre-focus on a spot. I have never gone faster than 1/500 or even 1/250. I found that this was fast enough to stop the action for the distance events. You may want to go faster if your are trying to shoot other events (like the sprints or field events). I always try to get the start and finish. In between I would try to shoot at the top of the curve as they are entering the back straight or coming out of the final curve and entering the home straight. Usually there is not to much clutter in the background at these points-but this depends on the set-up of the track-where the concession stands are, etc. I agree with what a PP had stated about the KU Relays. This would be a great spot to go to get experience about shooting the sport. It wouldn't hurt to take your son-you can learn a lot about the sport by observing how things are done at a very high level. You can also appreciate what the athletes have to do to compete at that level. I have had my athletes compete at a very high level (the Olympic trails, collegiate nationals, Penn Relays, etc.) and at a more modest level (the unseeded heats at JV meets) and I always come away with an appreciation of the sport and also trying to learn something about how capture it on film (or digital film these days). The more you experiment, the more you learn and find what is best for your setting. Just my 2 cents. Good luck to your son.

With all of these great photographers giving you advice, I feel out of place saying anything, but I did just want to add 2 thoughts.

I know most people seem to be against manual focus (or at least prefer the continuous motion auto-focus), but I would suggest that you at least give manual a try. In some sports events, manual is really hard to get right (like basketball players who constantly stop and go), but I think when shooting track, the subject keeps a relatively steady pace, and you might find it easier to focus on them with just a bit of practice in manual mode. Maybe it's because I shot for so many years using an old SLR that didn't have any kind of auto-focus, but I actually try to use manual focus quite often, and many times I seem to get better results in manual than I do in auto focus.

The other thing I would suggest is giving panning a try. Again, with a subject that keeps to a pretty steady pace, you might be able to pull off some really nice panning shots that would give you some great background effects. There are some people on this board who can give you some really great advice on how to pan (if you're not already familiar with it).

Anyway, best of luck with your shots, and keep posting your results. There are many others like myself who learn so much from seeing the shots, and listening to the advice of others.

Well, I have to say, I never even considered manual focus. It's certainly something I could experiment with in the copious amount of time I seem to have between events!

I do think I am going to try harder at the next meet to find a better vantage point. I wanted to be at the start and finish line, but as it turned out, too many players and officials were milling about there and got in the way of my shot (sheesh.... didn't they SEE I was there focused on my son??? ) And it seemed like he always ended up lined up behind someone anyway. So I'm figuring out that down around the final curve might be a great place to avoid the clutter. I actually had finally found that out at that last meet, and had practiced the shot, only to find out my they made a mistake and my son was really done for the night. So maybe at this week's meet.... but once again it will be at a new venue, so I'll have to figure it out when I get there.

And I think panning is a great idea I hadn't considered! That might be a great in-camera way to blur that clutter a bit, plus give a nice effect.

Thanks for the great suggestions!

 

[mom2rtk]

here is another device for viewing your lcd in bright light

http://www.delkin.com/products/popupshades/

I use paint shop photo pro x3, but I would think you could do the same with photo shop,

rather than cutting out the subject, just create a new mask layer, blur that layer, then use the erase tool to erase the subject, on thata layer, which in turn allows the clear subject to show, then merge the 2 layers..

if you have difficulty erasing on the blurred layer, you can do 2 things, either up the opacity on that layer so you can see the layer below, then erase and change the opacity back..then merge layers

or copy the original, then blur it, then paste clear copy on top as a new layer, then erase everything , but the subject, again merge layers...

Thanks for the suggestions Mickey88! That pop up shade looks pretty handy too. I guess if my son likes track and decided to stick with it, I might enjoy something like that. Right now he still plans to play soccer in the fall and not do cross-country. But who knows! I do know he's having a lot of fun, and so am I!

 

[mom2rtk]

So for those of you who followed along and helped: I made several changes in my approach from the first set of photos to the second. What do you think made the second set sharper:

1)The sun was out more on the second day

2) I used Tv at 1/1000 instead of sports mode

3) The Sigma was able to access a slightly larger aperture

4) Maybe the Sigma is just a sharper lens (Tamron 18-270 for first set, Sigma 50-150 f2.8 for the second set)

I don't just want better photos, I want to know WHY they were better so I can continue to learn.

 

[disneyboy2003]

So for those of you who followed along and helped: I made several changes in my approach from the first set of photos to the second. What do you think made the second set sharper:

1)The sun was out more on the second day

2) I used Tv at 1/1000 instead of sports mode

3) The Sigma was able to access a slightly larger aperture

4) Maybe the Sigma is just a sharper lens (Tamron 18-270 for first set, Sigma 50-150 f2.8 for the second set)

I don't just want better photos, I want to know WHY they were better so I can continue to learn.

Probably a combination of all 4. The first 3 choices pretty much affect each other (ie. having more sun and the larger f/2.8 aperture allowed you to use a faster shutter speed). But I'd guess it was the faster shutter speed that likely made the difference.

I would have guessed the AI Servo autofocus, but sounds like you were using automatically using AI Servo in your first set of pictures.

So in your case, I'd guess it was the faster shutter speed.

 

[mom2rtk]

Another week, another track meet. This week I found my way down to the back corner to get some less "busy" shots. I just love the way his feet never seem to touch the ground!

I completely forgot I was going to try some "panning" shots. Any suggestions on what shutter speed I would need to use to accomplish this?