any tips? (photos attached)

[livin4lax09]

how do these photos look? I realize that some of them look pretty washed out in the whites, but that's because I was using a photo paper in the darkroom that I wasn't familiar with. I reprinted them on some ilford paper and they are much better. the low image quality also has to do with my scanner, which isn't that great. But you get the general idea.

[livin4lax09]

nothing? no tips? I'd appreciate anything you guys have, just spit it out.

[livin4lax09]

OK cool, thanks for all the help.

[mjs1973]

OK cool, thanks for all the help.

Ok, I will give you my 2 cents worth. Overall, I think your pictures are OK. Nothing really stands out for me. It the first one, I like your composition, but the exposure is off. The top of the pic and the post on the left are blown out, and the players seem blured. Photo #2: A great use of DOF with the blured background and I think you captured some emotion with the looks on the runners faces, but again the exposure seems off. No detail in the white shirt, and the runner on the right being cut off bothers me. Photo #3, another great use of DOF. I might suggest cropping a little off the bottom of this photo tho. Photo #4: I think this is the best shot of the bunch. Great DOF, great emotion on the face, and a good exposure. I would like to see the rest of the hand tho, and the picture seems kind of soft, not much contrast, but I think that could be tweeked in post processing. Photo #5: I think this shot has pretty good exposure, DOF, composition, and you captures some very strong expresions on their faces. I like this one also.

There is my 2 cents worth. Welcome to the forum and keep shooting, and keep posting.
Michael

[livin4lax09]

First off, thank you for your comments. I agree that some of the details on the whites seem to be washed out, and I attribute it to the developing paper I was using; I wasn't used to it at all. I reprinted a few of those and they were much less washed out. as the 4th picture goes, I had no more hand to print. that was the edge of the negative. same for the 3rd picture. I actually reprinted that horizontally, but I don't know how I feel about it. It feels too cramped.as far as picture 2 goes, do you think that it is better to focus on the whole race or just the runner in the white jersey? my project is "John Stark Sports" but I don't know if its better to show the whole frame instead. I'll post the other pictures I did when I get them back.

[livin4lax09]

look any better? I like these shots a lot more than the first ones, and I feel much more comfortable with the paper I'm using. I'll let you know what I feel could be improved affter I get some responses, because I want to see if my thoughts match up to yours, and then I will know if I'm looking for the right stuff when developing. Thanks.

[livin4lax09]

here's another one I forgot to add that I like

[Photo-John]

In general, I'm thinking you might shoot or crop a little tighter. The photo I like the best is the one of the girl runnning by herself. Most of the photos feel to me like the timing is a little off and/or they're too busy. I think you're doing pretty good, but I think you need to refine what you're doing. Of course, you probably know that and that's why you're asking for opinions. I shoot mostly bicycle stuff so I'm having a hard time identifying what could be improved in your images. Still, they do feel a bit vague to me. Like you're just missing the moment or just a bit outside the action. Does that sound on-target to you? Maybe if we all talk about it some more we can start to identify some areas for improvement. I'm interested in talking about it more because it bothers me that I can't articulate what's missing.

I realize my post is sort of rambling and vague. But I hope it helps a little. And like I said, I'd like to continue this discussion. I think it might help me to understand your photography better.

[livin4lax09]

In general, I'm thinking you might shoot or crop a little tighter. The photo I like the best is the one of the girl runnning by herself. Most of the photos feel to me like the timing is a little off and/or they're too busy. I think you're doing pretty good, but I think you need to refine what you're doing. Of course, you probably know that and that's why you're asking for opinions. I shoot mostly bicycle stuff so I'm having a hard time identifying what could be improved in your images. Still, they do feel a bit vague to me. Like you're just missing the moment or just a bit outside the action. Does that sound on-target to you? Maybe if we all talk about it some more we can start to identify some areas for improvement. I'm interested in talking about it more because it bothers me that I can't articulate what's missing.

I realize my post is sort of rambling and vague. But I hope it helps a little. And like I said, I'd like to continue this discussion. I think it might help me to understand your photography better.

yeah, I feel the same thing. I think that it's because I'm on a tight budget and I'm worried about wasting film, so I wait for the action then snap the shot. But I read "if you see the action, you missed the shot." and thats the way that I feel about some of these. I like the runner a lot because it's easy to judge runners and where they're moving to. I have some more pictures that I'd also like you to check out. But I definitely agree with you, It annoys me whenever I am checking my proof sheets to find the soccer ball nowhere in the frame. I actually have put some money aside from working and will be ordering a 300d this weekend, so hopefully this will get me over my fear of wasting film, and I will not be so hesitant to snap that shot. It will also help me to get my predictions and timing down so that I will be able to use film and get those crucial shots. It's all practice, and it makes it hard since I have only been shooting for a couple of months now. It's quite a lot to take down, and a lot of it is just experience and learning what to look for when shooting, and what positions to take. Anyways, some of my better pictures are at http://community.webshots.com/album/245777224gXdLwh if you want to contact me other than posting here, my e-mail is livin4lax09(at)gmail.com. Thanks a ton.

[Ryguyinlj]

Action-wise I like the one of the soccer player with the ball in the foreground. It's a hard shot to get and I can appreciate that

One of the things that originally got me into sports photography is the fact that you can see things that you could not normally see or capture things that the human eye might not notice register. You can now see a whole scene in front of you. The guy in the background looks on as the other player had just kicked the ball and is now in a follow through, and both are fixated on the soccer ball in mid flight.