First Soccer Game

[lacogada]

First soccer game ... never realized how big the field is.

 

[Gary A.]

These are all nice. Remember that shooting wide open or close to wide open will minimize the detail and distractions of the background. A longer lens will also help in isolation of the your subject(s).

Your timing is very good.

Gary

 

[lacogada]

Thanks Gary

... was using a Tamron 70-300mm f/4-5.6.

 

[JoeW]

Gary A.'s comments are spot-on. Very easy with rec/amateur soccer (where there is no stadium) to have a lot of distractions. So a narrower DoF helps a lot in creating better pictures and more pleasing shots.

One of the things that I like about your shots is that it's very easy when shooting sports to freeze athletes in awkward positions that convey the grace or athleticism or movement of the respective sport. You end up with a picture that say "yep, they're playing soccer (or football or baseball or basketball) I guess." And good sports photographers manage to capture images that convey the movement or the grace. It's the difference between a bunch of people flinching while standing in bizarre positions around a ball in mid-air vs. a shot that shows someone heading the ball on goal as two defenders arrive too late to stop it. You've got a bunch of shots that convey that action and grace (#1, #2, and #3) where you can easily see what follows the picture.

 

[Gary A.]

Thanks Gary

... was using a Tamron 70-300mm f/4-5.6.

Okay. Then 300mm at f/5.6 is the best you can do. That focal length range on that lens is ideal for soccer.

 

[imagemaker46]

Try shooting from behind the net more up the field, it will clean up the background. I would also just stick with 300mm and between the 5.6-6.3, in that range will give you the separation from the backgrounds. The content is there, action is good, so no problems there. Just keep at it, and give the end a try, you will have to wait for the action to come to you, but you also can't cover the whole field.