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Feb, 2016Views
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken at a local Soccer game at the University of Redlands. I was a staff photographer for the student newspaper and was assigned to the sports section. I hadn't done sports photography before so I contacted the Redlands FC team and asked to take pictures at one of their preseason games to familiarize myself with the new subject matter. They happily obliged and we both benefitted! I got great experience taking pictures of athletes in motion and they got great pictures to use for their Facebook page and future advertisements.Time
This picture was taken in the later afternoon around 3pm or 4pm. I had to rush from class back to my room to pick up my camera so I arrived later than I would have wished to. You can tell that the sun is starting to set because of the strong shadows being cast on the field and the players. It was around 95 degrees so emotions were running high during the last minutes of the game. This made for increasingly physical tackles, which resulted in this picture.Lighting
Since I got to the game a little later in the day, the sun was casting really harsh shadows onto the players, which made for really dramatic looking pictures. This worked out perfectly as I wanted more emotionally provoking photos from the lighting I had been given. If I had owned a flash at the time the picture was taken, I would have probably missed this photo as I would have tried to light the faces of the players more adequately.Equipment
This was shot with a Canon Rebel T5 with a 70-300MM f/4-5.6 lens. I didn't use a tripod or monopod at the time because I had to constantly move up and down the field to compensate for the lack of zoom my lens had. I also didn't use such stabilizing equipment because I couldn't afford it.Inspiration
I knew that if I didn't practice taking pictures of fast moving subjects before I was given my assignments, I would miss out on special moments on the field. If you get caught up in the moment, you chase the ball around the field snapping pictures like wild trying to get that perfect action shot. But since I had a camera that had a very slow shutter speed, I would completely miss action shots more often then not. You could tell they were off by just a moment or two since my camera was a tad slow for such fast moving subjects. So I purposefully tried to focus on the players on the bench, the players and officials between plays, and players who were away from the action. It gave me more of a chance to get a better composed picture as well as one with clear emotion.Editing
I did very little post-processing for this particular photo. I increased the contrast and the saturation by a few points, but that's it. This was taken at a time when I was first getting into photography and had very little knowledge in editing or retouching. In hindsight, I am glad I didn't alter it too much because I like the dramatic shadows on the face of the player helping his teammate up.In my camera bag
Back when I used to take pictures like this one, I carried only the bare essentials. I packed my Rebel T5 because it was so light. The lack of weight helped me avoid fatigue in my hands while I ran around the field chasing players. I would also pack up my 70-300mm lens for it’s reach and my 18-55mm kit lens to get large group photos. In addition, I would always carry a small cleaning kit for my lens and an extra memory card. Nowadays, I pack up basically the same equipment with the exception of an external flash, a new 50mm prime, and an actual bag to carry all of this stuff in. I also pack the crucial extra supplies that I might need in case of emergencies. I carry a set of extra batteries for my flash and my camera, more memory cards, and a cleaning kit for my lens.Feedback
You have to constantly pay attention to the game. You can't just mindlessly watch the ball go from one end of the field to the other. It is much easier to get a good picture when you are familiar with the basic fundamentals of the sport you are shooting. To get my picture, I moved myself over to the side of the field that had more aggressive defenders near the center of the field. And as the heat was wearing on the players, their quick bursts of speed were slowing down. Aggressive players combined with noticeable fatigue was bound to result in some physical play. In this case, I caught the end of someone tackling another player.
