Looking for some feedback/C&C on NEXL/NEPL photos

[the sneakiest panda evar]

hey guys, i work freelance for the NEXL (new england xball league) and the NEPL (new england paintball league) my current situation with them is if i provide them with photos to use on their website/facebook page/etc to promote the league i get onto the field free/free media access/etc. great opportunity for because of that iv been offered to go national and work some PSP events for a few pro teams. anyway, looking for some feedback on my latest event, always looking to hear what people think so i know how to improve the shots.

a little background on the limitations and hardships of what i do. there are only 2 areas for photographers, that is the snake side OOB and the dorito side OOB areas. the lighting is normally extremely harsh its a very high intensity game, you dont really have the opportunity to think about every shot before you take it, mostly act on instinct. there IS paint flying at you all the time the out of bounds area is maybe a foot wide on some fields, to 3-4 feet wide on others. anyway enough background if you want to know more you can always google it to understand.

here are a few of my favorites, ill post NEXL first, then NEPL after (not all the pictures you see in the album i really like, but i had to put them in there for the teams that wanted them...its hard to make interesting pictures with teams that are boring)


NEXL






















NEPL

[sonicGLI]

I think the color, composition and clarity are great. One thing that is lacking, however, is motion. I'd slow your shutter speed down on some of the shots and get a bit creative. If you can pan a guy while he's running-n-gunning with a slower shutter, it'd be a great shot.

[the sneakiest panda evar]

I think the color, composition and clarity are great. One thing that is lacking, however, is motion. I'd slow your shutter speed down on some of the shots and get a bit creative. If you can pan a guy while he's running-n-gunning with a slower shutter, it'd be a great shot.

thank you, im always worried about things coming out clear, i shoot a 70-200 vri +d7000/grip'd


panning isnt really possible here. you cant really tell where people are going to move. that isnt the hard part though, its the gun that makes panning hard, since its an extension of the person the farther away it is from the person the more distance its going to move. iv tried panning before but it just doesnt work out. the bare minimum to shoot paintball is 1/800 and even then you will get blur. i try to shoot at 1/1600+

iv looked for ages to find a shot with someone panning a player but they dont exist as a good picture.

this is the closest i have found but it just makes my head hurt looking at it. any ideas on how to keep the whole body sharp?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ninafurunes/4940950874

[MattV-Dub]

...
panning isnt really possible here. you cant really tell where people are going to move. ...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ninafurunes/4940950874

Those are some fantastic shots!!

I know that you only have limited areas to shoot from, but I disagree on not knowing where people are going to move. I played paintball for years and, while every team plays a field a bit differently, there are almost always key bunkers that guys are going to run for off the break. You can also see the bunkers with the most paint on them - those are going to be your hot spots.

Of course, the snake. Guys diving into it and crawling.. popping up to snap shoot.. those could be some pretty cool shots.

If you want to try panning... maybe practice with the guys running for the back stand-ups. You can almost always tell the path they'll take.. they usually run a bit more slowly (some even walk and shoot).. and you can practice those shots at the start of every game.

Another thing that might be cool is... try bringing a small step-stool (or just grab a folding chair or something) to get a more birds' eye view. Raising your lens just 2 or 3 feet could open up a whole new world of angles.

There's also the candids. Walk around and shoot guys filling pods.. cleaning gear.. getting air.. laughing.. fighting.. walking fields.. whatever. There's always awesome stuff to see at these events.

Keep up the great work!!.. and post more pics when you can.


- Matty

[sonicGLI]

I'm not sure why you would want to keep the "entire body" sharp in a pan that is meant to show motion... does not compute! Of course, there will always be movement on part of the body, but you normally want to get the upper torso (head at the least) fairly sharp. I have quite a few car shots where the entire backend is in movement but the front is sharp and they look pretty cool. This is where photography meets art, a good photograph does not always mean a sharp photograph. I just spent five minutes on google images and found quite a few without much effort:

Legs are in motion:




This whole page has some really awesome motion shots: http://fostersnellphoto.blogspot.com...1_archive.html

Examples:




This one is just plain badass, even though it's only showing a little bit of motion:



Never say never in photography!

[the sneakiest panda evar]

Those are some fantastic shots!!

I know that you only have limited areas to shoot from, but I disagree on not knowing where people are going to move. I played paintball for years and, while every team plays a field a bit differently, there are almost always key bunkers that guys are going to run for off the break. You can also see the bunkers with the most paint on them - those are going to be your hot spots.

Of course, the snake. Guys diving into it and crawling.. popping up to snap shoot.. those could be some pretty cool shots.

If you want to try panning... maybe practice with the guys running for the back stand-ups. You can almost always tell the path they'll take.. they usually run a bit more slowly (some even walk and shoot).. and you can practice those shots at the start of every game.

Another thing that might be cool is... try bringing a small step-stool (or just grab a folding chair or something) to get a more birds' eye view. Raising your lens just 2 or 3 feet could open up a whole new world of angles.

There's also the candids. Walk around and shoot guys filling pods.. cleaning gear.. getting air.. laughing.. fighting.. walking fields.. whatever. There's always awesome stuff to see at these events.

Keep up the great work!!.. and post more pics when you can.


- Matty

well i know what bunkers they are going to run to, but what i mean is you might know where a guy is running, then he will stop and move another direction. you cannot bring other equipment onto the field, so no stools or chairs its a safety hazard. i dont have time to get into the pits to shoot, im normally booked straight through the whole day

I'm not sure why you would want to keep the "entire body" sharp in a pan that is meant to show motion... does not compute! Of course, there will always be movement on part of the body, but you normally want to get the upper torso (head at the least) fairly sharp. I have quite a few car shots where the entire backend is in movement but the front is sharp and they look pretty cool. This is where photography meets art, a good photograph does not always mean a sharp photograph. I just spent five minutes on google images and found quite a few without much effort:


Never say never in photography!

most of those pictures over all the whole bodies as fuzzy, i personally just dont like the look where almost the whole body is fuzzy. the first one is really the only one i like. the last id like if all of him wasnt fuzzy, and that paintball wasnt fake. i mean i would like to make it work i just hate fuzzy pictures its a big pet peeve of mine. i mean ill give it a shot at the next event.




aside from panning, another other ideas and options?

[sonicGLI]

Well, that's kind of the point I was trying to make, though. If there is a serious lack of "motion" shots in your photography market and you end up mastering that skill, providing the most unique photos out there, guess who people will be turning to for photos that aren't like every other paintball photographers'?

Otherwise, if you're not allowed to bring any more equipment, or move into the pit, or do anything else... I'm not sure what other advice we could offer? I mean, you're basically zooming in on the player with decent composition and exposure @ the highest shutter speed you can get; what other options could we offer if you can't bring in lighting equipment, or you don't want to slow down the shutter, or open up the aperture... etc? In that respect, the shots are good, just not unique.

Others may have better advice though.

[sonicGLI]

You could also do some other tricks like quick zoom in/out while taking the shot (I do it all the time in wedding photos, I'll post an example when I get home this evening). But you don't like "fuzziness" at all it seems, so I doubt you'd like these either.

[the sneakiest panda evar]

Well, that's kind of the point I was trying to make, though. If there is a serious lack of "motion" shots in your photography market and you end up mastering that skill, providing the most unique photos out there, guess who people will be turning to for photos that aren't like every other paintball photographers'?

Otherwise, if you're not allowed to bring any more equipment, or move into the pit, or do anything else... I'm not sure what other advice we could offer? I mean, you're basically zooming in on the player with decent composition and exposure @ the highest shutter speed you can get; what other options could we offer if you can't bring in lighting equipment, or you don't want to slow down the shutter, or open up the aperture... etc? In that respect, the shots are good, just not unique.

Others may have better advice though.

You could also do some other tricks like quick zoom in/out while taking the shot (I do it all the time in wedding photos, I'll post an example when I get home this evening). But you don't like "fuzziness" at all it seems, so I doubt you'd like these either.

im allowed in the pits, im allowed to be anywhere i want to be. the problem is i just dont have the time to hang out in the pits im running between the fields all day long. cant bring lighting to the field because its distracting to the players. its tournament stuff so its really important not to mess with anyones games.

like i said ill give panning a shot, as long as i can keep the torso in focus and sharp ill be happy with them. i spend a lot of time talking to the players trying to find out what type of pictures they like so i try to follow those guide lines as well. but i figured it wouldnt hurt to ask if you had any other suggestions. the reasons i make everything to stop the motion is because players like to see the images of the game frozen because its so fast and so intense. i have an event the 2nd/3rd of june and im going to hit up a few pro practices between then that il give it a shot

[sonicGLI]

Cool, I always try new 'ish at just about every event I shoot. I just setup my custom functions slots before hand so I can click back and forth between creative and standard modes. And yes, you should definitely provide what your market demands and if the majority of paintballers don't like motion shots, then don't do them. I'm betting you could come up with some great shots with enough practice, though.

[the sneakiest panda evar]

Cool, I always try new 'ish at just about every event I shoot. I just setup my custom functions slots before hand so I can click back and forth between creative and standard modes. And yes, you should definitely provide what your market demands and if the majority of paintballers don't like motion shots, then don't do them. I'm betting you could come up with some great shots with enough practice, though.

everyone i have spoke to want crisp, clean, motion stopping pictures. thats why i have been sticking with those. there is a practice next weekend though so im going to try some panning out there. maybe ill try a deeper DOF with a lower SS and zoom out as i take the picture like you said see if i can get a blur in the background that doesnt effect the player

[shottabwoy5]

this just looks like so much fun

[the sneakiest panda evar]

this just looks like so much fun

its scary as hell at the same time, paint flying at 300fps towards camera gear isnt fun

[sonicGLI]

My group of friends like to do the big woodball-style events every year, very large areas, nothing like arena paintball... yes, we're tools, but it's fun as hell. Yours truly:



My gun in its current form

[MattV-Dub]

I was thinking.. maybe a way to find some new shots / angles...

I know you have limited space to shoot from and you can't ever mess with the game (flashes.. aiming your camera at a player who's sneaking down the snake, etc..), but...

Have you tried focusing on players on the other side of the field from where you're standing? Wider shots with maybe 2 or 3 guys you can see working together? Can you shoot a game from outside the field so you can get right in the lines of fire?

Also... shots of guys getting hit (paint exploding off a mask or elbow...) are cool too. Just sell those shots to the opposite team

Also Also... I see you mentioned that you'll be hitting some pro practices soon. Maybe the guys will let you shoot on the field while they play and you can try all kinds of new angles.

Good luck!!

- Matty

[the sneakiest panda evar]

I was thinking.. maybe a way to find some new shots / angles...

I know you have limited space to shoot from and you can't ever mess with the game (flashes.. aiming your camera at a player who's sneaking down the snake, etc..), but...

Have you tried focusing on players on the other side of the field from where you're standing? Wider shots with maybe 2 or 3 guys you can see working together? Can you shoot a game from outside the field so you can get right in the lines of fire?

Also... shots of guys getting hit (paint exploding off a mask or elbow...) are cool too. Just sell those shots to the opposite team

Also Also... I see you mentioned that you'll be hitting some pro practices soon. Maybe the guys will let you shoot on the field while they play and you can try all kinds of new angles.

Good luck!!

- Matty

cant shoot outside the field, the fields are surrounded by nets, and in NO circumstances is ANYONE aside from refs allowed on the field, nor would i ever want to be on the field during game play. 15bps 300fps...thats stupid for camera gear. paint breaks are awesome to shoot, i do have a few of them they are also VERY hard to get.