Unigames Volleyball (possibly NSFW)

[Garbz]

This weekend were unigames where local and some not so local universities go head to head in beach volleyball, netball, soccer, and other indoor sports. Here's a few action shots from the day.

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[Puscas]

love the colors and light and sharpness in these, but being a bit of a volleyball-fan I also look at them with that in mind. And then I think these look as if they were taken by someone who doesn't really know the game. And that's too bad, because you really know how to take pictures.
#1 and #4 are the best, but I don't see what you're trying to show in 2 (and 5 too, I guess the girls just hit the ball?). And #3 looks strange: the ball and the person seem to be on different sides of the net.
But maybe I'm looking at these too much as sports photo's.



pascal

[Garbz]

Yes I see what you mean. I actually had a few more good photos of girl number #1 but I didn't want to plaster her all over the internet, especially without permission first.

I was trying to show the action side of the game a bit, and you're right I don't know the game very well. This was the first time I photographed volleyball, but I'll be doing it again in Sep for the second round of Unigames. Any tips for the future would be greatly appreciated.

Number 2 was the aftermath of a stacking, number 3 was hitting the ball just before ending in a cloud of sand (which I missed because I took my finger off the shutter too soon) Actually now that you mention it she does look like she's on the wrong side of the net, she certainly ended up there
#4 which I still think is a great moment was spoiled a bit by the angle it was photographed in.

I'll see if I can find some other good sporty ones like you are talking about and put them up a bit later. I was also trying to keep the photos as flattering as possible. A few of them were spoiled by the things you don't think of during the game like bad faces or stomachs hanging out. What can I say, portraits are much easier

[Garbz]

Here are some others that highlight action. Is this something more you typically expect from a volleyball game?

[Puscas]

#3 is a perfect volleyball shot! Because it shows a guy hitting (I think Americans call it spiking?) and a guy blocking.

#1 is nice too, it's like a portrait of the girl. Maybe the ball should be a bit higher (out of her face). But I would love to have a pic like that of me.
#2 is almost perfect, but I would suggest an attacker in the frame (because now it's not really obvious if he's blocking or tipping the ball)
#4: sorry, looks like two people on a campground.

But man, I wish I could take those pics. You really know how to convey the sunny beach feeling (the light is nice and warm). Makes me want to go out to the beach too.



pascal

[Garbz]

#4: sorry, looks like two people on a campground.

They played like it too .



I get what you are saying now. The photos should convey not just the action but what will happen too. If you have someone jumping for the ball you want to know where it came from and where it's going, either by the position of players / ball, or by expressions after they hit it with the ball going out or something similar. I'll keep that in mind next time and try to shoot a bit wider to get more of the action into the action.

The lighting actually worked pretty well. White sand makes a great reflector of harsh shadows. Half of these photos were taken at the worst possible time. Midday! Best thing about it is the lighting doesn't change. So I took 3 photos to figure out my exposure, set the camera to manual and left it there most of the day.