A Gentlemens Game

[emadigan]

A few shots of HS rugby. I find the game exciting to watch and follow, curious if the shots convey the mood and tone of the game. Pictures shot with a Canon XSi.

Originally Posted by emadigan

A few shots of HS rugby. I find the game exciting to watch and follow, curious if the shots convey the mood and tone of the game.

Nope, sorry it doesn't.

This photo is a bit wide and doesn't show any faces. Get a shot of one of the guys grasping for a tackle or punting the ball and then maybe we'll talk. Until then, this photo doesn't really speak to me or convey a whole heck of a lot.

[Jim Bryant]

Rugby is hardly a gentlemens game. You need to show dirty, bloody faces, dirty uniforms, and action like kicking the ball, tackling, running, scoring and such......a scrum doesn't say too much of anything. Must have been the opening scrum. All the uniforms are nice and clean..pretty boring shot.

[GSter]

Originally Posted by Jim Bryant

Rugby is hardly a gentlemens game.

I believe you are quite incorrect Sir !

[Jim Bryant]

Originally Posted by GSter

I believe you are quite incorrect Sir !

that's considering that all Englishmen are considered gentlemen What about the Scottish & Irish rugby and U.S. teams? It's hardly a gentleman sport.

[Palladius]

Judging by your EXIF information (it's always helpful to post this along with your photo, btw), I'm guessing you had a reasonably long telephoto lens, probably up to 200mm? It doesn't look like low light is too much of a problem so you want to be using that end of your lens, get in much closer.

If it were me (and if I had the couple of minutes to think about it that I just had, rather than the couple of seconds you had at the time!), I'd have got in a bit closer to the flanker in blue and gold... he's got a good body position there (much better than his opposite number) and a nice determined flankerish expression, like he really wants to hurt someone. I'm a flanker, and I'd be quite pleased with a shot like that of me.

In all, this looks like an interesting scrum to me... Blue have clearly got the nudge on, their tighthead's turning his opposite number inside out. Yellow's hooker looks like he might pop out. That's to me though, and I'm weird and a little bit obsessive... scrums, generally speaking: not interesting. It pains me to say it, but it's true. Not to the players, unless you're in the front row, and definitely not to people viewing your pictures. Instead, think about what's going to happen next... is the number eight going to pick and go? Him charging down the blindside flanker would be a great shot. Is the scrumhalf going to pass? Does he dive pass? That would be a fabulous shot. Are they going to go blind (your side) or open (the other side)? If it's open, you want an angle where the scum and all those fat forwards aren't going to get in the way of whatever trickery the flyhalf might pull off. As Jim and many others have pointed out in other threads, the trick to sports photography is anticipating what's going to happen next... and loving the sport itself is a brilliant first step to that, so you're doing well there!

This one is better.... a line out (not line in, btw, at least not where I'm from!) is interesting, even to non-players and non-fans... it's all soaring majesty and aerial acrobatics, and it's quite clear what's going on, even if you've never seen a rugby match before. This one has more potential.

Still, though, you need to get tighter... why did you choose 55mm for this, if you don't mind me asking? You've included a lot of material I'd consider extraneous. The guy in the orange hat is particularly distracting and ruins what would otherwise be a pretty decent shot. Try a portrait orientation... you want to include the ball (which you've captured very well indeed here, I'd say) and the two locks competing for it and, pretty much, nothing else. Get low to increase the feeling of height and find an angle where there's not too much in the background, use a wide aperture (small number) to blur what background is there and use burst mode to increase your chances of nailing the shot.

In all, I'd say the scrum was your least impressive of the four shots on your photostream. I reckon the tackle is best and the line-out has the most potential. Tackles are definitely the kinda thing you want to shoot, especially if you can get their expression as they get pounded. Also passes, hand-offs, line-outs, kicks at goal, reaction shots of players' expressions and, obviously, players going over for tries.


Eeek... that dragged on a bit. Was only meant to be a couple of lines! Just excited to see some rugby shots, I guess... keep posting them, I'm really interested seeing what you do. Sorry if this comes across as harsh and/or patronising as well!


Also, for those who aren't aware of the quote, it's a comparison between rugby and football (or soccer, if you're that way inclined). It's generally said that rugby is a hooligan's game played by gentlemen, whereas football is a gentleman's game played by hooligans. It tends to be very, very true, sadly enough.