First hurling shots -advice for next time.

mehfesto2

Hello, hello, hello!

Okay, so i was asked to shoot a hurling match for the DCU paper, there yesterday. I have never been to a hurling match ever before., so it was a new experience.

Anyway, I shot away and got the basic team shots and shots of the captain etc, but regarding action I was a little confused. My main idea was to wait for the keeper to puck it out and then anticipate where it was going to land and shoot the subsequent scuffle. I got some shots I was happy with, but there was not many shots with the ball in shot!

Anyway, what should I be looking out for in a hurling match? Im pretty happy with the shots given the circumstances and that, but I know I can do much better. Any advice would be great.

This is what I got, anyway:

1.


2.


3.


4.


5.


6.

Morrisseeee

Shots 3,4,5 for are the best here, they show good action. I suppose you would be looking for a shot that has maybe a couple of players in action, in focus, everything else out-of-focus, and have no distractions in the background.
I played hurling for 15 or so years, so......

....., but there was not many shots with the ball in shot!

...yes, its going to be difficult to get action shots with the 'sliotar' in view, hurling is a very fast game !

As regards looking for advice I'm sure others (sports photographers) will happily give it. My advice is to use a camera that has good FPS (frames per second), maybe shoot in JPEG mode, and have a good/fast autofocus zoom lens ! ....sounds simple really !

Zxc

I think shot #5 really stands out. Action, expression, the ball well placed in the shot, unfussy background, position of the players & all the players' eyes on the ball.

Really good shot, Mehfesto, in a good collection.

mehfesto2

Cheers so far lads.

I have one question though - having shot in RAW for the first time at this match, I was amazed how much I could alter the shot in PP. If I wanted to use a faster speed on my 7-300 f5.6 lens, could I do so and then brighten these shots in Photoshop without affecting the final result much?

Oh and one more, is it a general no-no to post-process the 'sliothar' into shots, if they're going to be used for a paper?

mrboswell

mehfesto2 wrote: »

Cheers so far lads.

I have one question though - having shot in RAW for the first time at this match, I was amazed how much I could alter the shot in PP. If I wanted to use a faster speed on my 7-300 f5.6 lens, could I do so and then brighten these shots in Photoshop without affecting the final result much?

Oh and one more, is it a general no-no to post-process the 'sliothar' into shots, if they're going to be used for a paper?

Hi mehfesto,
Generally for sports you will need a shutter speed of at least 1/400 to catch the action - however to freeze a sliother thats just been whacked by a stick you will need to be much faster.
If you have a look of some of my rugby shots Link you will see placed kicks where the ball is not fully frozen. In darker conditions you may not be able to increase the iso without sacrificing picture quality, meaning that you may have to stick with a lower shutter speed. Try to read the game so you know where the sliother is going to come down and zoom out a little to make sure you get the relevant players in the frame - you can always crop in during post-processing.
Raw is good as you can change the image by 2 stops to brighten or darken and you can adjust the white balance.

With regard to the post-processing of the sliother - you would want to be magic in photoshop for someone not to notice it on a digital copy - particularly if your getting paid for it!

Practice doing it the right way....

Colm

LeoB

Well there is plenty of action in your shots. Its practise and practice. Eventually you will time it better. The best advise I got here on Boards was to keep shooting and fill the frame. Done my first Hurling match last Sunday and posted some for C&C.
I would suggest a tighter crop in #2 and #5. Thats a good first attempt.

bocha

you've got to be happy with 3 and 5!