Softball

ToddnTN · Feb 25, 2014

My daughter has started playing softball again so I thought I would give it a go.
All are taken with my Nikon D7100
Comments for each picture are listed below the picture.

GCS_Softball_1-46 by Toddn_us, on Flickr

Shot through an opening in the dugout with my Nikon 180mm f2.8 (1/500 at f4)

GCS_Softball_1-39 by Toddn_us, on Flickr

Shot through and opening in the dugout with my Nikon 180mm F2.8 (1/500 at f5)

GCS_Softball_1-30 by Toddn_us, on Flickr

Shot through the netting behind homeplate with my Tamron 28-75 f2.8 (1/500 at f5)

GCS_Softball_1-13 by Toddn_us, on Flickr

Shot though a chain link fence with my Nikon 180mm f2.8 (1/500 at f5.6)

GCS_Softball_1-36 by Toddn_us, on Flickr

Shot though an opening in the dugout with my Tamron 28-75 f2.8 (1/500 at f5)

Comments and suggestions are welcomed.

Thanks for looking

Kate_616 · Feb 25, 2014

These are really nice. You did a great job of isolating the action. I am always impressed with the pitching motion in softball, it looks like it would hurt their shoulders!

I have a 13 year old who plays baseball and also have a D7100, and I've been trying to take some fairly similar shots to yours. I have the 55-200 f4-5.6 zoom. I seem to be having some problems with autofocus - sometimes I give up and just shoot manual focus, which works well in a set place like home plate or second base but tough for the running shots. I'm not sure if it's me or something with either the settings I'm using or the camera or lens (I did notice someone in the Nikon section of the forum mention issues with continuous focus on the D7100). If you have any tips for what you are using to get a good autofocus I would appreciate them. Thanks!

ToddnTN · Feb 25, 2014

Kate_616 said:
These are really nice. You did a great job of isolating the action. I am always impressed with the pitching motion in softball, it looks like it would hurt their shoulders!

I have a 13 year old who plays baseball and also have a D7100, and I've been trying to take some fairly similar shots to yours. I have the 55-200 f4-5.6 zoom. I seem to be having some problems with autofocus - sometimes I give up and just shoot manual focus, which works well in a set place like home plate or second base but tough for the running shots. I'm not sure if it's me or something with either the settings I'm using or the camera or lens (I did notice someone in the Nikon section of the forum mention issues with continuous focus on the D7100). If you have any tips for what you are using to get a good autofocus I would appreciate them. Thanks!

Thanks for the kind words.
Everything I shot was in AF-S mode. I would compose my shot, hold the shutter button down halfway to get focus lock and then wait for the right time to finish depressing the shutter button. My DOF was deep enough that the subject was always in focus even if they moved a little. I did not take a lot of running shots, most of what I took was batter and pitching.

Hope that helps

Tony S · Feb 27, 2014

These are a good beginning. Shooting on school fields can be tough because of distracting backgrounds and fighting fencing.

When I shoot softball, or any sport, there are three things I'm mainly looking for. The first is the face, second the action, and third nice tight compositions showing the other two. Take some time to really look at these objectively, it's hard to do when you are trying to watch your daughter play, but I think you will start to see some things going on here.

First, when shooting through a fence, line the lens up so the center of the lens is lined up with the diamond opening in chain link (with a lens hood you get right against the fencing), shoot wide open and that fence completely disappears. A good angle is from the fence somewhere between the plate and first or third base. You are shooting subjects far enough away that at 180mm wide open will still give you a decent dof to get your subject in focus. Don't be afraid to go over to the other side of the field to get your shots. You want to be in a position to see the faces with the action, and with a few exceptions for the lefties that means shooting from the right side of the field so you get the hitters at the plate and the left side of the infield, left side of the field for pitchers and most infielders from the same position, the catcher from either side to get the face in the shot. With the catcher it just depends on your preference on whether you want the inside of the catching arm with the chest protector or not.

These are just a quick couple of thoughts. There's tons more to think of, but this gives you a good start. You will find you will be your best critic when you start to look at pictures and ask yourself... can I see the face/eyes/expression? Can I see the action?

If you want I can give you some examples of what pictures from these angles can look like.

ToddnTN · Feb 28, 2014

Thanks for the help Tony.
I have some pics with faces and expressions, I just did not think they were as good as the 4 shots above. Hopefully I will do better at the next game.
That is the best part about photography, you can always learn something.