Lacrosse - Critique

[Beckerbulldog]

Working on improving my tecniques at my daughters Lacrosse games. Do you think I should crop out the girl to the left? Are the changes I made in APS7 making the colors look fake?
Still looking for that one great shot.

[sybren]

Please take some time to read the forum rules for the critique section. They explicitly state only one photo should be posted, and specific critique should be requested, not just "give me critique please".

[Beckerbulldog]

Fixed and added specific questions - Thanks

[sybren]

I like the shot! I would certainly keep the girl on the left, she adds a lot to the image. I'm more distracted by the referee sticking out of the main girl's head, and the messy cars in the background. The colours seem fine by me, although the muted colours do contrast with the intensity of the moment.

[wulf]

Presumably your daughter is the girl in front? I think you have caught a decently sharp image of her and I think the girl on the left doesn't detract. She is far enough back to be softened by the depth of field effect and demonstrates that there were other players involved.

More problematic to my eye is the presence of the referee behind your daughter. When you get that "one great shot" you are waiting for, I suspect there won't be such a sense of other people "growing" out of the main subject. It is difficult to follow the action and judge the background but it will help to keep it in mind. How much scope do you have for moving about at the games to find a good vantage point?

Wulf

[Beckerbulldog]

I can move around the field as I please. This is high school lacrosse and the fields are usually stuck in between softball and football field’s or homes, so It is hard to get into a spot that provides a view to get some good action shots yet has a clean background. Then there are the refs. They are usually where the action is – unfortunately. My equipment is limited by the fact that I am doing this for fun. I would love to spend thousands on a full frame DSLR and some great glass but then the kids won’t eat. I have a blast taking these shots and fixing them up but when I look at some of the posts here and see the quality of the images it drive me to do better……thanks for the advice.

Marc

[wulf]

How about a box? If you can get the camera higher, you can look down on the pitch, focusing more the players. A low position might also help (but probably with the sun behind you so the players are well illuminated and the sky has more chance of not being blown out).

Wulf

[jdepould]

Were you using fill flash?

Technically, it's fine, but there's not much of a moment. The people are just sort of there.