Paintball C&C

[ultimadrift]

I play a lot of paintball so heres a few photos for you guys to look at All shot with my Sigma 70-200mm f2.8. I'm not so good at post processing so these were just converted to jpeg at upload...
#1

#2

 

[D-B-J]

I like the first one, except you clipped off the top of the hopper. The second one is.. ehh. A little too underexposed for me.

 

[Bynx]

It would be nice to get a shot with the ball splattering.

 

[Sammie_Lou]

Very cool pics! I see that you play speed ball...ever play any woods ball?? We have an awesome field nearby, here in Michigan, called Hell Survivors. If you wanna check out some of the pics that I took of my husband's team playing, I have them up on photobucket. The Invitational - 10-24-10 pictures by TheAlphaDogs - Photobucket

 

[Gaerek]

<---Used to play a lot, haven't in years.

Anyway, I love the first one, though getting the hopper completely in frame would have been nice. I really like the fact that you can what the player is looking at down the field in the reflection in the mask. Cool perspective.

 

[ultimadrift]

Thanks for all the comments. Thanks for the tips as well. I've never noticed I chopped off the hopper. I tend not to crop any of my images, so I get as close as possible to get those shots. Also getting paintball splatter is nearly impossible unless you are incredibly lucky...

Any tip on what settings I should use? I usually use aperture priority and matrix metering. Maybe I should switch to center weight metering to light up the people more?

 

[chaosrealm93]

cool shots

 

[gsgary]

Neither shot tells me a story because they are way too tight, i want to see what is going on and these tell me nothing about the game

 

[Gaerek]

Neither shot tells me a story because they are way too tight, i want to see what is going on and these tell me nothing about the game

Paintball is an odd game in the spectator sense. It's not like more common sports, football (American), football (European), basketball, baseball, etc, where a single shot of a player can tell a story. Players are very spread out, and 95% of the time they are doing exactly what you see in those pictures. They've tried (unsuccessfully) numerous times to get paintball on tv, but unless you are a player yourself, it's pretty boring to watch a game on tv, mainly because it's so difficult to see what's going on. Go check out a paintball magazine, or just look up photos online and most of them will be variations on what you're seeing right there. It's the fault of the sport, not the photographer.

Now, having said that, a shot of a player diving behind the snake after a break, or bunkering another player, or some of the more exciting things to watch in the game, might be something to try for next time. Work on positioning yourself near crucial points on field. If you can manage it, a head-on shot of a break can be amazing. Anyway, just some ideas.

 

[gsgary]

Neither shot tells me a story because they are way too tight, i want to see what is going on and these tell me nothing about the game

Paintball is an odd game in the spectator sense. It's not like more common sports, football (American), football (European), basketball, baseball, etc, where a single shot of a player can tell a story. Players are very spread out, and 95% of the time they are doing exactly what you see in those pictures. They've tried (unsuccessfully) numerous times to get paintball on tv, but unless you are a player yourself, it's pretty boring to watch a game on tv, mainly because it's so difficult to see what's going on. Go check out a paintball magazine, or just look up photos online and most of them will be variations on what you're seeing right there. It's the fault of the sport, not the photographer.

Now, having said that, a shot of a player diving behind the snake after a break, or bunkering another player, or some of the more exciting things to watch in the game, might be something to try for next time. Work on positioning yourself near crucial points on field. If you can manage it, a head-on shot of a break can be amazing. Anyway, just some ideas.

I know paintball, but i think there would be better angles to shoot from maybe from behind looking down the barrel or head on with a long lens catching the ball coming out

 

[djacobox372]

You need to crop the first shot to focus on the reflection in the mask--it will take it from a so-so snapshot to a "wow" shot.

 

[Gaerek]

Neither shot tells me a story because they are way too tight, i want to see what is going on and these tell me nothing about the game

Paintball is an odd game in the spectator sense. It's not like more common sports, football (American), football (European), basketball, baseball, etc, where a single shot of a player can tell a story. Players are very spread out, and 95% of the time they are doing exactly what you see in those pictures. They've tried (unsuccessfully) numerous times to get paintball on tv, but unless you are a player yourself, it's pretty boring to watch a game on tv, mainly because it's so difficult to see what's going on. Go check out a paintball magazine, or just look up photos online and most of them will be variations on what you're seeing right there. It's the fault of the sport, not the photographer.

Now, having said that, a shot of a player diving behind the snake after a break, or bunkering another player, or some of the more exciting things to watch in the game, might be something to try for next time. Work on positioning yourself near crucial points on field. If you can manage it, a head-on shot of a break can be amazing. Anyway, just some ideas.

I know paintball, but i think there would be better angles to shoot from maybe from behind looking down the barrel or head on with a long lens catching the ball coming out

I see where you're coming from. There are certainly better angles to shoot from. I'm guessing, just from experience videotaping games in the past, that he's trying to protect himself, and more importantly his equipment from a hit. They don't hit hard enough to do any real damage, but the paint filling gets everywhere. Not saying that's an excuse, but it may just be a reason. The best shots come from photographers who are willing to put themselves in the line of fire.

 

[ultimadrift]

The best shots come from photographers who are willing to put themselves in the line of fire.

Tell that to the war photographers...JK!