Week #13 – Sports
By: Maggie Red
Tags: black and white, black and white filters, good sport, model, photoblog, photography, racquetball, sports, sports photography, weekly photography
Category: Photography, Weekly Photography
| Aperture: | f/4.5 |
|---|---|
| Focal Length: | 30mm |
| ISO: | 800 |
| Shutter: | 1/0 sec |
| Camera: | Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XS |
Okay, so I was going to cheat and do another still life that really just involved the idea of “sports” but then my photography partner specified “or any action” and I was put into a corner (no sports pun intended).
So, while she was in town this week I made her help me.
Modeling is not part of her English Master’s degree, but she is super at it!
Some of my favorite and most helpful tips that I gleaned for sports photography from Scott Kelby’s book The Digital Photography Book Volume I:
– Choose a point where you’ll want your focus, use auto focus, and then turn it to manual so your camera’s autofocus doesn’t get in the way of your shooting.
– Use your camera’s continuous shooting mode and set the quality to a JPEG setting (as opposed to RAW) so it will shoot faster.
– Try portrait instead of landscape to add a different perspective and interest.
– To better your composition, leave your subject somewhere to go in the frame instead of crowding it.
If you want more tips and tricks that are simple like this for every kind of photography, buy or borrow this book because it is the go-to source for bettering your beginner or amateur photography.
My photos this week turned out much better than I expected. I tried the black and white for my choice photograph on a whim, and after some tweaking of the red and yellow filters, I liked it that way. I think it conveys a better sense of shadow and silhouette.
The second photo here captured my attention due to its original composition. She’s half in, half out of the frame and yet her whole body fills the photo because her limbs are outstretched. I also like that this photo shows the movement involved in her attempt and shows the movement of the racquetball.
P.S. Models don’t have to be expensive. Just find a good sport! (That pun was sort of intended…)
Cheers!
Photography by MED 
I really like how the shadow one turned out!
The black&white really made the difference. Also, customizing the b&w filters was key for this one. Auto b&w was blah. Maybe I should blog about it…
[…] much I need to learn before I try something like this again. [Update: I learned more! Check out my Sports blog post!] I’m sure my camera has the capability when it comes to capturing these images, but I felt […]