rug-rat soccer

[satire23]

Here are a few morepicsfrom theteam that my son coaches, taken earlier today.














Even though the kids are young, I'm finding it more challenging and difficult to shoot than the olderones. They are very small, very fast, and never do whats expected.

[k1par]

Keep it up! I sat and chuckledat couple of the shots and I like them all. The only real things I would change it the first shot I would try to center the kids a little more and on the second one a little tighter crop would be good to get rid of the "empty" sides of the shot but as far as I am concerned the photos are .

[JohnG]

These are some really good shots. Sharp, good colors and you got nice and low. The only thing I would caution is watch your backgrounds. Try not to shoot with the parking lot as a backdrop. It's evident from your photos you had other angles with less distracting backgrounds. So, keep the background in mind when you choose your shooting position.

[airbrushjohn]

really great pictures, i hope i can get mine that sharp!

[vIZnquest]

JohnG wrote:

These are some really good shots. Sharp, good colors and you got nice and low. The only thing I would caution is watch your backgrounds. Try not to shoot with the parking lot as a backdrop. It's evident from your photos you had other angles with less distracting backgrounds. So, keep the background in mind when you choose your shooting position.

Good advice on the background JohnG but there are times when one just can't avoid it or they will omit or not include other team mates or coach.

The coach and substitute players are on one side of the touchline all game (parents and fans on the other - as it should be but not always adhered to), hence it may be the only backdrop there is.

[Mark1616]

I agree these are great shots and other shooters could learn at how good shots can be made to look by getting to the right angle in that you are shooting at their level and not down on the game.

style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #000000"As for the background it depends what the shots are for. I'm in a difficult situation where I shoot hockey as there are car parks on 2 sides of the field and the lighting does not allow easy shooting in all directions. If you can get a better background then do it but not if it means losing the shot.

[JohnG]

vIZnquest wrote:

Good advice on the background JohnG but there are times when one just can't avoid it or they will omit or not include other team mates or coach.

The coach and substitute players are on one side of the touchline all game (parents and fans on the other - as it should be but not always adhered to), hence it may be the only backdrop there is.

For the most part, I disagree with the notion you can't avoid it in soccer. The only reasons to shoot from only one side of the touchline or from one end is: there is either no physical access for you or if the sun is playing a part (i.e. you don't want to shoot into the sun). But good sports shots are the result of planning and not reacting. There is a minor degree of luck. But let's take the first shot - a nice concept. Are you telling me you couldn't get a similar shot if positioned down at the other end of the touch line so you were shooting with something else as a backdrop?If yousee that type of shot and like it, then plan for it - position yourself better and get it the next time the coach is interacting with the players.

No you won't catch the exact same shots but if there are no physical constraints and sun isn't an issue - if you position yourself in such a manner that you havebetter backdropslike shots 4,5 & 6 Or you are using enough focal length to blur the backgrounds you'll still get plenty of shots. And if there's a parking lot behind the touchline with the coach you want pictures of - go for profile shots so you have the whole length of the field as a backdrop.

But if the sun or physical barrier doesn't prevent you from shooting from all 4 lines then there's nothing preventing you from getting the TYPES of shots you want while minimizing the background's impact. But with that concept you have to be willing to accept that from a given vantage points you're going to have to pass on certain types of shots - you take those types of shots when you change positions. That's why I mention you have to plan and not just react. Let's say you want to shoot defensive players - you have your choice of two touchlines you can shoot from. You also have the choice of the angles you shoot at. Let's say the area behind the goal has the best background. Well then, you take your shots from closer to the midline so you're shooting at an angle towards the goal. If the one touchline has trees and the other a parking lot - shoot from the parking lot side. If you're not getting shots of a particular defender because your lens isn't long enough then go to the tree side BUT USE ANGLES so you're shooting toward the goal and not accross (although with shallow dof having cars across the field should not be an issue - the key is when you're shooting on the tree side - don't try to capture the action on the opposite side - you then get the cars. So, think about the types of shots you want and where you need to be and what angle will it take to get those shots.

Does that make sense?