PUNCH in the face?

[Sime]

Tonight was my first shot (boom boom) at Boxing photography - I did it for a friend (The guy on the left, George Groves) for his website // a mate's website.



Critique please on composition, feel. I had the choice to use flash, I had it with me, but felt it made the whole experience toooo sterile. There's more on my website.

Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Exposure: 0.003 sec (1/320)
Aperture: f/5.0
Focal Length: 190 mm
Exposure: +0.58
ISO Speed: 2500
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Off, Did not fire

[candleman]

very cool shot Sime,
i just did a boxing shot myself.. i'll post it in a week or so

for me, the composition leaves a tad too much head room behind the puncher, the guy blocking as a "reasonable" amount of space, and i like that the spectators entire face is in the frame, especially seeing as its so bright/well exposed.
i'd give it a very slight crop, taking some space pff the left of the image.

another possibility would be to darken the spectators a little, some of them are almost as bright as the boxers themselves, especially thse ringside.

what a cool opportunity, i love the motion blur on the glove.
well done

[ecate78]

G-o-o-d!

[citylights591]

Your clarity is amazing.
I love how you can see the action from the glove as he is punching the other guy. A lot of people are afraid to leave motion blur with the pictures.

THe framing of the picture is also above par. I love how the wires of the cage lead your eyes directly towards the actual subject and how both punches lie on the rule of thirds line(s)

I think you did a great job with this, you have a great style. I would have loved to see a picture of the guy actually punching the guy down.

[Sterling]

I think the boxers themselves are captured very well. I also love the motion blur on the glove. I think it would pop more if there was more separation between the boxers and the crowd.

[gturner]

Ahh, boxing, the purest form of sport. 2 men & referee, no where to run. Beat or be beaten.

The image is perfect IMO. The crowd at a boxing match are part of the action, I don't think it detracts at all.
Viewing the image it made me suck in my gut and wait for the thud...

[jdepould]

Something about the composition bugs me. I think it might be the fact that I can't see any eyes. The side-on perspective doesn't put me in the action enough.

[btedesign]

love the shot, im glad you left the flash in the bag it would have pulled out so much of the blue and red. My favorite of your 3 is the first one on your web page. It really just shows dominance in boxing.

[joe_r]

This is a great shot, The colors turned out great, and you can see the intensity in the punch being thrown. The shadows under the boxer's arms are pretty dark - maybe lighten the shadows there, but leave the crowd a bit darker? That might help them stand out a bit more.

How far were you from the ring? I don't see any evidence of the near ropes, I'm just wondering how you avoided them. Were you in a balcony?

How was the lighting above the ring? I just shot a boxing event Thursday, but the lighting was extremely poor and I had a lot of problems with color and white balance. I didn't want to use my flash, since I didn't want to distract the boxers.

[DuckieLauren]

Cool shot!
Could you blur the background more?
The crownd is still fairly in focus and is almost taking away from the punch being thrown.
Just my opinion though.
Again I'll say it, that is a really cool shot.