Summer Softball- photography lesson
Last week I had full permission from my daughter to take my camera (Canon Rebel XS) out at her softball game. So I did, and did I ever experiment with night action photography. Not easy, but I finally did get the hang of it. I set my camera on manual and just played until I got it right.
The above picture was taken with at 1600 ISO, 5.6 F stop, and a 1/160 shutter speed, 75 mm zoom with a continuous burst with the camera file size at small for a faster response. With the exception of the graininess at the high ISO I’m pretty happy with the results.
Pitcher concentration
Again graininess with 1600 ISO, but right now I can’t see anyway around it, 800 was too dark with the needed shutter speed. The second photo was on large/RAW file size and was a little dark in the original image. With the lens resting on the fence I shot through the chain link at 300mm focal length, 1/160th of a second at a 5.6f
I increased the exposure in Lightroom, cropped the original horizontal shot to vertical, decreased the white and decreased the shadows. Don’t like how the grain distorts the background player, but couldn’t figure out a way to compensate.
400 ISO, 1/125 sec, f10 focal 105mm Aperture Priority
The last photo was obviously taken earlier in the night before the sun went down. All I did here was decrease the exposure, increase shadows, and warm the white balance. My camera tends to shoot cool (blue) and a the sun was glowing on all the players. I try really hard for realism in my editing and this is what my eye saw.
My daughter has played softball since T-ball in preschool starting at Elmwood-Murdock, then Lincoln Y-league, Eagle, and the past three years for Louisville. They joined the Omaha leagues a few years ago and the first year they didn’t win a game, the next was about a 50:50 record and this year it’s a little tougher.
A lot of the girls play on two teams, most of the teams are Select and have the intimidating matching travel bags, and “muscle” jerseys. Most play school ball, but it doesn’t matter what they look like, can they play? My daughter loves the game, she only plays during the summer and she has a mean steal and isn’t afraid to use it and slide to where she wants to go.
Related articles
- Understanding ISO Sensitivity (nikonusa.com)
- Photography and the “Big 3″ (joshmsmith.wordpress.com)
- ISO – What is it and how do I use it? (joestechthoughts.wordpress.com)
- Aperture Priority and Shutter Priority: Exposure Lesson #1 (digital-photography-school.com)
Good shots and nice story. I think you are being a little hard on yourself re: grainyness. Goes with the conditions. You could possibly do better if you don’t have the fastest lens available, but that tends to be pretty expensive on the equipment side.
Thanks for the comments, I was pretty happy with what I accomplished that night, last year I couldn’t have achieved half the results. I’m trying to push the limits on my camera and work with what I have.
Great shots.
Thanks for the compliment and visiting, it’s greatly appreciated.