Shooting Baseball Tommorow. Tips/Advice?

[alexniedra]

Hey everybody


I'll be representing my school's media (I'd rather say that than slideshow club, yearbook, newspaper, and athletic council []) at one of our baseball games. The forecast seems fine for tommorow, so my EF-S 55-250 should do me fine in terms of speed.


What I'm bringing:


- 40D


- 430 EX flash (fill for team/individual shots)


- Tokina 12-24 f/4


- EF-S 17-85


- 55-250


- 50 1.8 II (aka Plastic Fantastic)


I plan to mainly use the 55-250 most of the time, but I'm sure I'll find use for the thrifty-fifty and Tokina zoom too. Yes, the guys at Getty have the 400's, but I can't afford that.[]


Anybody have good advice to share? Where should I shoot from? I frequently see the pros in the MLB shoot from the side by 1st base.



Any help would be really appreciated.



Thanks in advance,


- Alex

[Brendan7]

alex:


I would shoot from the 3rd base side, next to home plate for pitcher shots and near the dugout for batter shots. Either the 1st or 3rd base sides are the best places to shoot from. Stick with your side aperture lenses and a really fast shutter speed. do you have a telephoto lens, maybe 300mm? that would help.





Good Luck!!

[Brendan7]

Just a suggestion


If you are shooting baseball/sports often,


you might want to check out the 100-400l is. if you are not then never mind

[Dallasphotog]

Sorry, this one is a little noisy, but the lights were beyond bad. I get a lot of good images of pitchers and of the hitter right at impact. Those seem to provide the most opportunity for drama in an image.

[alexniedra]

Hey Brendan...


It's been an interesting few months for me: My restless mind has always seeked a new "something" for my 40D. I had a careful eye on the 70-200 lenses, but now, with 5 outdoor sports on the go at my high school, I have been seriously looking at the 100-400.


I've seen 200mm. That's some reach.


I've seen 300mm. Now we're talking.


What will I have to say about 400mm? [H]





PS. I've seen 200mm. That's some reach. - Relatively speaking []

[Dallasphotog]

Hey Brendan...


It's been an interesting few months for me: My restless mind has always seeked a new "something" for my 40D. I had a careful eye on the 70-200 lenses, but now, with 5 outdoor sports on the go at my high school, I have been seriously looking at the 100-400.


I've seen 200mm. That's some reach.


I've seen 300mm. Now we're talking.


What will I have to say about 400mm? [img]/emoticons/emotion-11.gif[/img]





PS. I've seen 200mm. That's some reach. - Relatively speaking [img]/emoticons/emotion-1.gif[/img]
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I've been using the EF300 F/2.8L IS USM and the EF400 F/2.8L IS USMa lot the last few weeks. You have to love the 400, it's just such a big beast, but good lord it shoots nice images.


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[devsalvi]

HI Alexniedra,


Not sure when the game is , but if you have sunlight to your aid, the 55-250 might just pull it off. Although, to get properly composed pictures and yet sharp are going to require strategic post cropping . I would say, if its during the day, shoot at aperture 6.3 or narrower to get the pictures sharp enough to endure the cropping. If its during the night, you will need as much ISO as possible and that mean a lot of noise. You have to figure out how much noise is tolerable.


Or else you can use one of the expensive lens out there...


Obviously, you wont be going lens shopping tomorrow. But if there is a local lens rental place nearby, i would suggest you make a quick stop at their place and grab a telephoto usm L lens for a day. For sporting events i would suggest a zoom lens and cheap (affordable rental) but good zoom lenses that come to my mind are the 100-400 USM L and the 28-300 USM L and finally the most loved 70-200 USM L. With a 40D your reach should extend even with the 200 as a long range.


For portraits you will do fine with the 50 f1.8 set at f2.8 atleast + the flash for fill in. Have not used a tokina, so cannot comment about it.


I am sure, this has left you more confused. Sorry!


Dev

[peety3]

Is this high school or college? Who is your true audience? What I mean is who will get the pictures, what paper(s) will it run in, are you shooting games regularly or is this your only assignment? For the paper, at HS or college level, I assume that they just want A picture, and won't need THE picture.


To some degree, it's not about the equipment. Follow the game, think about what's the most important thing that'll happen next, and be ready for it. Is there a runner on third? Prefocus on home plate and stay there. Runner on first who might steal? Pick whether to follow the pitcher, catcher, 2B, or runner. Slugger at the plate? Stay on the hitter. If you have the access, go for a walk - pick a different location each inning. I force myself to keep walking during "assignments", to scout those odd/unique shots that the campers don't get. Put your 12-24 or 17-85 on before going for a stroll.


Consider a monopod, or a tripod with the legs kept together. Don't be surprised if your nifty fifty never comes out of the bag, and don't fret about it either. Don't fuss about getting a lens that covers 400mm any time soon - learn the gear you have. I suspect you'll realize a need for a "fast" telephoto (135/2 or 70-200/2.8) long before you have a need for a "slow" supertele (100-400, 400/5.6). A crisp, loose shot is usable AND croppable. A blurry tight shot doesn't need cropping, but isn't usable either.


This next section is purely my opinion: set your drive mode to single, and LEARN the timing of your camera. You'll never learn it when you machine-gun away, and you'll rely/hope for success when you'll actually get luck (if at all). AI Servo AF mode, center point only. White balance on K, set to the "right" temp, maybe 100-200 higher than ambient neutral (see below for how I do this). NO CHIMPING!!! Glance at your LCD to verify that you're getting good shots, but don't review them all and miss a shot because you were erasing a shot you didn't like. Exposure mode Av, lens set wide open to one stop below wide open. JPEG if you have tight deadlines, RAW if you want some leeway to recover some "off" shots, JPEG+RAW if you have the card space.


White balance, the Pete Templin way (disclaimer: work in progress!): you'll need a gray card. Shoot the gray card at 5000K, review the image, bring up the RGB histogram. Is the R further right than B? If so, dial a lower K. Is the R further left than B? If so, dial a higher K. Repeat until you at least have R and B vertically aligned with each other. If you're feeling ambitious, use the WB Shift functionality to get the G aligned with R/B. Then, boost your K by 100-200 for more pleasing skin tones; if you've fiddled with WB Shift you may need to boost your G a little for a good balance. Why do I do this? Simple: if I know the color temperature of the ambient, I have an immediate clue which gel belongs on my flash so it matches the color temperature of ambient. Custom WB would be fine (and easier) if you aren't using flash at all, but this method is easier to document for future gigs.


Most importantly, enjoy the game.

[Bill W]

Here's a "Cliff Note" link for you alexneidra.....


http://photo.net/learn/sports/overview


Just remember people are vertical.....shoot vertically when you can.


Good luck and enjoy


Bill

[alexniedra]

Thanks for all of the replies...


Dallasphotog: Oh dear. I don't even know what to say about the sharpness. If the player had a stray thread on his shirt, we'd see it.[H]


Dev: This time, I'll have to hold on the rental - I've been really busy the last few days. By the way, a shop near my house rents the 70-200 2.8 IS L and a shop downtown rents the 300 2.8 IS - But as awesome as the 300 is, I think the 70-200 should be used for a little while first.


Peety3: This is high school - So any shot would be sufficient. But, I don't play by that rule. I want to get the best shot possible. My audience is the student body, and the paper is just a student paper that sometimes gets sports photos. I can bet for atleast another game this year. Your take on the slow supertele/fast tele situation is good. The 135 and 70-200 are very good lenses, and I'll consider them the next time I rent. Thanks for the help.