UTEP softball

[jefft]

Got these last weekend. Would love some feedback please, and thanks for looking.

[John Godwin]

You have the timing down for the bat on the ball, that is a good thing.

I would concentrate on getting the face in the shot. While your access may have been limited other than the bat on the ball the photos are lacking in some technical details.

The exposure if off in the first and third and in the second shot you may have done as good as can be expected with the dappled sunlight.

I am not a fan of shutter priority. I want as small an aperture as possible and adjust the ISO as necessary to get the shutter speed up. With a large aperture you cannot separate the subjects from the backgrounds. Try to make the backgrounds so that they do not subtract from the subjects more than they already do.

[jefft]

Thanks for the feedback. I'm shooting more this weekend.

[Bob_S]

Check out those catcher's eyes. Or is that paint? lol

[throdown]

Ok, I'm gonna ask a dumb question. I have yet to capture bat on ball. So the question...does one shoot a single shot, or does one shoot a high burst to capture bat on ball? Thanks, and sorry for my ignorance.

[LSCSN.com]

Howard its much easier to capture it with a single shot timed right than trying to catch it with a burst. I've also found it's easier to get a BOB shot with softball than baseball. And it seems to be easier to get them the higher the level of play.

[John Godwin]

Timing is the way to get the bat on the ball. Even at 10 frames per second a 65 mile per hour softball which is possible at high school and higher levels the ball will move about 9.5 feet between shutter actuation's. So one would have to be pretty lucky to consistently get the bat on the ball depending an frame rate alone.

After some practice learning the batters and your camera the bat on the ball will come. I start by watching the hands. when they clench or start their movement I press the shutter button. Another tell would be to watch for a shoulder or hip movement and try to use those movements for when to press the shutter.I find that the bat speed is pretty consistent for each player no matter the speed of the ball. Once I get one ball on the bat or at least close then the ball is consistently in the frame.

[throdown]

Thank you John and Jason. I had been using the burst on my camera to achieve this, but I will try the single tap method.
I had been starting my burst on the pitch when it left the hand.
Now I know better! Thanks for helping!

[MT Stringer]

Sorta like John, I start my burst when I see the batter flinch (start the swing). Then I shoot through the swing. Some of the best shots are after the swing when they are looking at the flight of the ball. That is if they hit it! :-)

[throdown]

Thank you for responding Mike. Good advice. It's clear I was starting the sequence of burst too early.

[throdown]

Great seeing you in Victoria Mike.
I noticed that you all were using your own wifi zone there at the stadium, and if I'd had more time, I would have liked to figure out your operation.
Sent you an email.
Look forward to seeing you on the boards!
Howard

[jefft]

Bob S- those are black stripes with a white logo under the catcher's eyes.

throdown- I haven't mastered the single shot BOB but like the others here I start shooting when I see the batter flinch. When shooting batters I use the eye opposite the pitcher on the camera so I can see her in my peripheral vision.
Here's one from the last homestand, a little better compositionally I think.

[MT Stringer]

Howard, that was a Clear Hot Spot up in the press box. I was pleasantly surprised to see my Smart Phone was still connected down on the field. Pretty cool, huh?

[throdown]

Yes Mike, I was amazed that I had wifi on the field...
So my question is, were you actively transmitting the photos you took on the field to a computer back in the press box? How is that technology used in particular?

Jeff...I actually had a BOB Friday night, but it was foul tipped, and super grainy...see my thread Shiner v Thrall from last night. I haven't mastered shooting in the evening under stadium lights as of yet with my Sony A33. I want to be able to capture the ball, just like I can during the daylight hours...but I'm not sure that I can with the rig that I have...but I'll keep trying!
I've had a couple of shots this baseball season published, and while I'm happy about that, I'd love to do better.
About the BOB, I used the tip that was suggested earlier, to snap the shutter on the first move, and I've lessened the amount of frames captured, but one thing I'm doing which actually helps me is to shoot with my left eye and I keep my right eye on the pitcher to know when the pitch will be delivered. I feel this actually helps me a little bit, so I'm going to try to keep using this technique going.

Thanks to all.

[MT Stringer]

So my question is, were you actively transmitting the photos you took on the field to a computer back in the press box?

Oh, no. Just using the wi-fi to make the phone respond faster. I used my laptop to work on the pics on the way home (I wasn't driving!). Sorry about the confusion.