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American Football
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Just a couple of shots from a game played (strangely) by my “local” Amercian Football team LOL… I find sports photograpphy very difficult … I know you can place yourself by the goal and certain action spots… but I confess I really struggle with the action and getting anything close to “planned” shots…so ot get anything I’m aiming for just sucks :)
Anyway – have fun with these … Critique, comments and tips gratefully appreciated
L
I can’t say I like the focal point of the third one (can’t shoot action shots huh? Looks like you’re pretty good at catching the action when you want to Lorraine! :lol: :D ) and yer man’s socks in the last one are classic…!
The first one’s the one for me, perhaps too tightly cropped on the left, but has the most ‘aggressive’ feel to it, very nice.
23, 47, Hut, hut!
Thanks Dave .. you’re being kind :)
There’s only one “action ” shot there mostly the others are set peices … and even for that one I was focused on … well … ehem … his lovely big red bum LOL
Lorraine
The first one is a classic Offensive Line shot.
I’ve never shot sports but I’m a huge American Football fan so ignore my tips if you want :-)
Some good shots to watch out for are when the quarterback (the guy who throws tha ball) is surrounded by this offensive line forming a pocket. A shallow DOF while he is in the motion of throwing (the ball about to leave his hand) will rock. Another cool ones might be if you zoom in on an outside linebacker (defensive guy near the middle) as he prepares to blitz (watch his feet because he will be on the balls of his feet ready to sprint behind the offense). Get a close up of the eyes if you can… a really eager beaver will have wide open eyes… think “Water Boy” here. And then a corner back (smaller defensive guy on near the sideline) as he gets ready to move backwards to cover his opponent. You’ll get lots of movement on these guys.
And a safety tip… do not kneel to take a shot from the side or end lines. These guys can come at you faster than you’ll be able to get out of the way. Some companies used to force their camera men/photographers to kneel at NFL/college games until guys started getting hurt and suing.
Thanks Aiden :)
Good advice all… (especially the stay out of the way bit :D)
I guess part of my frustration was that I don’t really know whats going on with the game… so tracking it was difficult. I guess its just a case of getting used to it. I’ve gone back to a few times – second time I got these
Lorraine
Lorraine,
That second batch you got are excellent. American Football is an emotional game. The guys playing it really do need to be wound up to play it safely… ironic that they need to be agressive to stay safe?!?!As you’ve probably seen, unlike Soccor/Gaelic sports, it’s sudden and the action stops very quickly. You’ll literally have to track one player through each play to hope to get a shot. Knowing who to track will depend on the situation in the game, the team and the players.
Given that’s it’s amatuer level, watch the guy on the offence at the very back… the tail/running back. He’ll have the ball most of the time. On 3rd Down with 5 or more yards to go, watch the Quarterback (be guy standing behind the offensive line who throws the ball). He’ll liekly be throwing the ball to a team mate downfiled. I mentioned the defensive players before to follow in this scenario too. In between plays the Qurterback will be quite demonstrative if things are not going well for his team, especially if someone drops one of his passes. You’ll get emotion there if he’s got any confidence in his leadership skills :-)
The hardest shot of all will be the long throw downfiled where a reciever (offense) and cornerback/safety (defense) are jumping up the air to get the ball. It’s a dream shot but from what I read ages ago, it’s tough to get unless you’re lucky enough to be following one of the two involved players. BTW, NFL Films have a team of guys there, each dedicated to certain players or spots on the field.
I just found this: http://www.nyip.com/tips/topic_football2002.php
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