(Nikon D90, 35mm DX, f/2.8, 1/40, ISO 400)
It's a Wednesday, so naturally there's some downtime involved. Necessarily so especially given the past weekend. Rather than throw you - kind reader - another desk or laptop photo, I figured I'd toss you some slightly different filler material. It might actually be useful.
It's occured to me that while I've dropped notes on how I shoot softball here and there, I've never really formally "talked" about it. Thus, a concise post on just how I get what I get on the diamond, for those of you who haven't been reading my previous posts (you probably should, if you haven't to avoid missing any golden nuggets of information; and by that I mean... gossip material... for when you have nothing better to do than gossip about me... erm... okay I'll stop now).
Firstly, two things to remember everytime you step onto the field:
1. Never ever interfere with the play, even if it means missing the shot. The umpires and players are most likely cutting you slack by letting you on there in the first place.
2. Stay alert. Plays happen all the time, and while it's easier to setup a shot in softball than most sports, unpredictable things can still happen. Additionally, you'll want to keep a watchful eye for the safety of both you and your equipment. No sense going out there if you're going to fall asleep and get taken out by a bad relay from the outfield or a missed throw to first.
Lets start off with a (probably not-so-useful) visual aid.
(Nikon D90, 35mm DX, f/5.6, 1/50, ISO 800)
Perhaps one of the most important things to consider is placement. After several close calls and one hit, I now do all of my shooting from the infield, where it's generally much safer, sans the occasional foul ball that comes slow enough towards you for reflexes to kick in. Specifically, if given the choice, I'd choose the middle space between home and first/third. This is highly dependant on the field though, as such a position could potentially put you dangerously close to the running path.
Shooting from first allows for a good view of the left fielder, third baseman, shortstop and right-handed batters (aka most hitters). If you've got a mid-range to wide lens you can also get some pretty good angles on first. Shooting from third allows for great angles of the right fielder, second base (where most slides will probably occur - something to consider when an aggressive player is on first), first base, and left-handed hitters. Speaking of batters, I generally like to get the moment of contact (or very close to after it), or the immediate follow-through. To do so requires you focus on the batter, and await press the shutter just before or as soon as you hear the 'ping!'. This isn't really required if you can gun it at high frame rates (8+ fps). If you shoot right eyed (that is, your right eye looks through the viewfinder) from the third base line, you can help yourself by keeping your left eye open and watching the picther throw his pitch to help with your timing. Vice versa for left eyed shooters from the first base side.
As mentioned, mental alertness is key. Take notes during the game on player habbits. Who's aggressive? Where did he/she hit last time? How is the defense playing him/her? Knowing these things gives you that extra split second to pre-focus (hope you've got a fast focusing lens!) on the spot where the play is going to happen.
About the only drawback with where I stand is that I can't get very many good shots of outfielders. Sadly, you'll have to find alternative means with longer (and probably more expensive, since you'll need fast lenses) lenses beyond the still somewhat affordable 70-200. If the park isn't fenced all the way around, you could stand in foul territory out in right and left field, but you'll have to stay very aware of fly balls and line-drives that are coming your way.
Equipment and settings wise, it's a simpler game. I generally shoot with two bodies, which at present are my D90 and D60, the former being my primary camera and the latter my secondary. I have a Sigma 70-200 HSM II on my D90, and depending on the time of day either an 18-55 VR or 35mm f/1.8 on my D60. Don't bother with flash, it'll just get you kicked off the field faster. I generally shoot in Aperture Priority to maintain constant depth of field (I'm not too anal about shutter speeds. Somewhere past 1/500 is generally good enough. The faster the better), with AF-mode set to AF-C(ontinuous). My AF-area mode is set to Dynamic on Nikons, meaning if the subject momentarily moves out of my selected focus point then the camera will adjust focus to follow. My cameras are both set to Continuous shooting, in the case of the D90, Continuous-High, so that when the need arises you can just gun it and usually come out with at least one frame that's in-focus.
That's about it. Make sure to keep an eye on your memory card and swap out before it gets full. The rest is all timing, a little luck, and mashing that shutter. Happy shooting!
Shooting from first allows for a good view of the left fielder, third baseman, shortstop and right-handed batters (aka most hitters). If you've got a mid-range to wide lens you can also get some pretty good angles on first. Shooting from third allows for great angles of the right fielder, second base (where most slides will probably occur - something to consider when an aggressive player is on first), first base, and left-handed hitters. Speaking of batters, I generally like to get the moment of contact (or very close to after it), or the immediate follow-through. To do so requires you focus on the batter, and await press the shutter just before or as soon as you hear the 'ping!'. This isn't really required if you can gun it at high frame rates (8+ fps). If you shoot right eyed (that is, your right eye looks through the viewfinder) from the third base line, you can help yourself by keeping your left eye open and watching the picther throw his pitch to help with your timing. Vice versa for left eyed shooters from the first base side.
As mentioned, mental alertness is key. Take notes during the game on player habbits. Who's aggressive? Where did he/she hit last time? How is the defense playing him/her? Knowing these things gives you that extra split second to pre-focus (hope you've got a fast focusing lens!) on the spot where the play is going to happen.
About the only drawback with where I stand is that I can't get very many good shots of outfielders. Sadly, you'll have to find alternative means with longer (and probably more expensive, since you'll need fast lenses) lenses beyond the still somewhat affordable 70-200. If the park isn't fenced all the way around, you could stand in foul territory out in right and left field, but you'll have to stay very aware of fly balls and line-drives that are coming your way.
Equipment and settings wise, it's a simpler game. I generally shoot with two bodies, which at present are my D90 and D60, the former being my primary camera and the latter my secondary. I have a Sigma 70-200 HSM II on my D90, and depending on the time of day either an 18-55 VR or 35mm f/1.8 on my D60. Don't bother with flash, it'll just get you kicked off the field faster. I generally shoot in Aperture Priority to maintain constant depth of field (I'm not too anal about shutter speeds. Somewhere past 1/500 is generally good enough. The faster the better), with AF-mode set to AF-C(ontinuous). My AF-area mode is set to Dynamic on Nikons, meaning if the subject momentarily moves out of my selected focus point then the camera will adjust focus to follow. My cameras are both set to Continuous shooting, in the case of the D90, Continuous-High, so that when the need arises you can just gun it and usually come out with at least one frame that's in-focus.
That's about it. Make sure to keep an eye on your memory card and swap out before it gets full. The rest is all timing, a little luck, and mashing that shutter. Happy shooting!
