Why didn't this score better in Sports IV?

Sigma 12-24mm f/4.5-5.6 EX Aspherical DG HSM for Nikon

05/12/2010 08:20:01 AM · #1

So this wasn't a bad finish and actually one of my better scoring entries but I really thought this would score much higher. So if you voted it a 4 or below would you care to say why? I thought this really nailed the challenge and I got a few great comments but I can't understand why so many 4 and under votes. So what do you think? What could of been changed to make this shot better?

SaraR

Sony Alpha a7R III

Sony FE 24-70mm f/2.8 GM

05/12/2010 08:27:06 AM · #2

I didn't vote on this challenge, but would have probably scored you a 4 or 5. There is very little 'texture' to the photo, and detail seems to have been snuffed out, perhaps by too much Neat Image? It is particularly apparent on the face of the player that is on the floor, and looks quite strange. Baseball is a sport that isn't followed in the UK - if the nuances of a sport aren't familiar to the viewer, then I think some of the effect of the image is lost - I suspect a number of the cricket shots (a sport which is really hard to photograph) suffered in the same way.

bohemka

Nikon D700

05/12/2010 08:29:52 AM · #3

I gave it an 8. Loved it. It probably deserved a 9 though. Sorry! Seriously, I thought it was a classic baseball shot, well executed. Maybe people were baseballed out. I know that hurt a lot of folks in the other challenge.

cpanaioti

Canon EOS-40D

Canon EF 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 DO IS USM

05/12/2010 08:33:31 AM · #4

I think with shallower DOF it would be a stronger image. As it is, to me, the background is distracting and there isn't enough engagement between those being photographed and the photographer / viewer.

david_c

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4.0L USM

05/12/2010 08:34:18 AM · #5

Yep, way too much noise reduction, the result is very soft. 3200 ISO was probably unnecessary, you could have got away with something between 1/640 and 1/800 for the shutter. Great action shot, though!

hopper

Canon EOS-80D

Canon EF 35mm f/2 IS USM

05/12/2010 08:50:53 AM · #6

i agree

Originally posted by david_c:

Phocal

OM System OM-1 Mark II

Olympus 300mm f/4.0 IS PRO M.Zuiko Digital ED

05/12/2010 08:56:00 AM · #7

I gave it a 5, my standard score for a photograph that meets the challenge but does nothing to wow me. Looking at now I should have given it a 4. Way to soft because of the high use of noise reduction. As others have said you should have lowered the ISO and the shutter speed. No need for that high of a shutter speed. The crop is also very strange. Like the photo was taken at an extreme range and the only way to make it work was a strange crop. By strange crop I mean it is not at any standard ratio for a photo, almost looks like a pano. There is also no detail in the shadows, to me that is just as bad as blown highlights but most people don't pick up on it.

05/12/2010 09:06:15 AM · #8

There was actually only noise reduction applied in LR, and as far as the crop goes it really isn't that extreme of one I did it in a way to isolate the action and got rid of the rest of the frame. This may be 2/3 of the original frame. It was quite dark and the high iso was needed even at f2.8. I was shooting a lot of action shots that night and most required the high shutter speed. So to keep from missing other shots I kept the shutter speed and iso up. I couldn't get a better depth of field as this was the best place to shoot from and wasn't allowed in the better spots. My big problem is all the staged or studio shots that scored higher. Those imho should be dnmc.

eta I do appreciate the comments here, thank you for taking the time. This was my first game I shot so hopefully I can only go up.

Message edited by author 2010-05-12 09:12:20.

hopper

Canon EOS-80D

Canon EF 35mm f/2 IS USM

05/12/2010 09:16:45 AM · #9

We're playing a game ... and part of the game is understanding how the voters are going to vote. I liked my image and it was difficult to get, but most of the staged images were better than mine, and the voters rewarded that ... I can live with that. They were sports related images ... and most of them were very, very good.

Originally posted by jminso:

My big problem is all the staged or studio shots that scored higher. Those imho should be dnmc.

Nikon AF-S Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II

05/12/2010 09:21:15 AM · #10

Originally posted by hopper:

I agree the staged and studio shots were extremely well done. And I knew they would likely score high. And not like I can complain lol, my highest score was with a staged shot. Oh, well. I do appreciate the comments and I have learned from this shot and will put what I learned into practice the next game I shoot.

MattO

Nikon D4

05/12/2010 09:26:27 AM · #11

I voted your image a 5. Here is my reasoning behind it. Normally an image like this would score lower for me however.......I added points to the score simply for the content of the image. It's a great action shot the crop is good, however there is little to no detail in it, most likely from an extreme crop. I read in your notes your were using a 2X on the 70-200 but had dropped it due to losing light. That tells me this is a huge crop most likely causing the lack of detail. It also appears to have front focused quite a bit. If you look for the sharpest point of the image it is the white line of the batters box our in front of the player sliding in. IMHO that is what hurt the image the most. Catching the action is the hard part of sports, however it's also very important to catch the details with sharp focus, this image lacks that.

Matt

JaimeVinas

Canon EOS-1D Mark IV

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4.0L USM

05/12/2010 09:28:48 AM · #12

I like it, and I think the problem with most people on here is that they don't understand sports photography. It is almost impossible to blur out the backgrounds unless youre standing like 6 feet away from the action. And in most cases youre not. You're at least 100 feet away and to accomplish a low DOF is difficult unless you can shoot at 2.8 or below and most hobbiest dont have a 2.8 500mm lense

Not to mention the high ISO that one must shoot at to keep the 1250 Shutter. So detail and noise will not come naturally in a sports game unless you have perfect lighting which is impossible unless you can manage to stage it.

Message edited by author 2010-05-12 09:50:54.

MikeO

Fujifilm x100

05/12/2010 09:49:30 AM · #13

I gave it a 5. I liked the action but because the figures in the background had the top half of their bodies chopped of it was distracting for me and spoilt the overall effect of the photo. It's a middle of the road photo for me.

Sony 24-70mm F4 Vario-Tessar T* FE OSS

05/12/2010 09:53:22 AM · #14

Originally posted by Sevlow:

Thank you. My original had the players in the back all in frame then I chose this as to isolate the action. I thought the players all staning in frame would be distracting but I suppose half of them is even more so lol. Thanks again.

Bear_Music

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra

05/12/2010 10:00:22 AM · #15

While I agree with comments regarding noise reduction (excessive) and distracting BG, here's another observation: to score well in a sports action photo, it helps a LOT if you have visible eyes, and you don't have that here.

R.

05/12/2010 10:46:17 AM · #16

Originally posted by Bear_Music:

Thanks for that. Kinda hard with some shots but I completely agree. Just started pursuing the Sports photography so this challenge and comments were most useful. So I get aggravated at my score but I usually learn from it, well, as long as I want to learn from it. Thanks guys.

kleski

Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM

05/12/2010 03:35:43 PM · #17

Originally posted by jminso:

My big problem is all the staged or studio shots that scored higher. Those imho should be dnmc.

Really? You think that the staged photos should be DMNC? The shots were all executed very well and had a sports theme which fell into the right criteria for the challenge. Whereas your 7th place in Stop Motion (also staged) fooled voters into thinking you stopped the motion. Come on, give those people who have the time, talent and tools the credit they deserve too. Your shot was brilliant and you should be saying the same about theirs!

05/12/2010 06:02:26 PM · #18

Originally posted by kleski:

Originally posted by jminso:
My big problem is all the staged or studio shots that scored higher. Those imho should be dnmc.

Really? You think that the staged photos should be DMNC? The shots were all executed very well and had a sports theme which fell into the right criteria for the challenge. Whereas your 7th place in Stop Motion (also staged) fooled voters into thinking you stopped the motion. Come on, give those people who have the time, talent and tools the credit they deserve too. Your shot was brilliant and you should be saying the same about theirs!

You missed my other comment...

Originally posted by jminso:

I was feeling a bit grumpy at my score but I have since taken another look, reviewed the comments and have decided to suck it up, learn from it and do better next time.

kleski