At the wicket

[MoggyLXIX]

Hi All

This is a picture of my friend Sateesh, it was taken yesterday at our cricket practice.
I have only started taken photography as a real hobby since last week.
Points I would like is in the composition and how..if possible...I could lighten the face in the shadow of the helmet.
I have cropped the image as I had too much above Sateesh.



I am still unsure how to get the EXIF data but if I check the properties of the pic is is as follows.
Camera: Nikon D60
Focal length: 165mm
F-stop: F/5.3
ISO: 200
Shutter : 1/1000

I tried to attach the image but all I get is a red cross

[windrider86]

on your image in flickr click on the medium size option, then underneath your image you will see a box with html codes, copy and paste that into your post here

[Palladius]

Yes! Let's get some sports I know in here!

I love all the shots of American football and basketball and so on, but it's nice to see some familiar games

Compositionally, I quite like the balance of your shot. The eye gets drawn towards the figure in the background. If that was your intention, it's nicely done, although I'd prefer to see him slightly to the left.

I get the impression from the raised front foot that your friend is just about the play a stroke. It would be really nice to see the ball in the shot, and if you could get the moment of impact between bat and ball that would be brilliant. Timing on this is a pain, but your camera should have a burst-mode which will give you better odds at capturing that critical moment (I'm not very good with Nikons)

Keep posting cricket pics, it'll distract me from England getting embarrassed in the T20!

[MoggyLXIX]

@Windrider - Thanks, I think I have got it.

@Palladius - I do have a few shots where the ball is in frame, just before playing and after the stroke.

[SydneySnapper]

Sports photography is always so much fun! The trick is to let the image tell a story though, get the viewer thinking about what happened next...

Here are a couple of images from a recent game I photographed for some mates.

This one I like as it shows the team celebrating and also has the stumps, missing a bail...



Or this one, which gives the impression that despite the obvious effort on the bowler's face, the other end of the wicket just seems so far away...



And finally... success!!



Trial and error and learning from instinct how to position yourself to use the light, that's the best way to capture a good sports photo. Just remember that the best image might not always be what you first think of, it could be someone doing something out of character in the field, the reaction of a batsman inbetween overs or maybe the wicketkeeper's face after the bowler gets hit to the boundary.

[Palladius]

My small contribution... obviously a rather lower grade of cricket on display here!



I think this was a rather extravagant swing-and-a-miss, as opposed to the impressive hook* it might look like...


* Or, indeed, sweep... as it appears I generously titled the photo when I put it up....

[MoggyLXIX]

Here is another one from this weekends practice...
I have cropped the image and put a border on. I think it would have looked more impressive if we were using bails but it was too windy.
Critique is more than welcome especially in the post processing.

[ebeard2802]

As far as composition goes (since I'm one of those basketball loving, football playing americans and I don't know the sport too well) I like your second picture's composition better, with your subject more off center, not to mention the fact that the photo catches a swing and a miss (I think) telling a better story. The first picture I think is brilliant with the subject's foot raised (as mentioned by others) creating a little bit of anticipation for the swing. Yeah, it would be cool to catch him as he contacts the ball, but I like it this way. As far as the composition goes, I would like to see more out in front of the hitter (?) leaving him 1/3 in from the left and creating more space where he is looking.

Great shots!