Help with soccer photography and CF4-3

I'm new to this forum and have read the excellent sticky by Nill Toulme on sports basics. Can someone explain the CF4-3 option he discusses? Do you hit the * with the center focus on your subject and then quickly hit the shutter after quickly recomposing? Does the focus in AI Servo keep changing or is it locked now as you fire off a burst? I guess I need the idiots guide to that feature.

I have a 30D and 70-300 IS that I just received this week. I'm going to try it out at my 6 year old nieces soccer game. Any advice on where to stand? I presume I don't want to use the IS feature and will use Av at the max lens opening. Thanks for the help.

Warren

Welcome Warren. Yes AI servo keeps changing — more specifically, actively tracking your subject — during a burst or even when you're not shooting at all as long as you keep AF active, which you do with a half shutter press under CF4-0 or -2, or by holding down * with CF4-1 or -3.

This means when you're shooting action with AI servo, you have to keep your focus point on the subject and you have to keep AF active. With CF4-3, that means you hold down * as long as you're tracking the subject, and you keep the center focus point on the subject, and you hit the shutter button as the urge strikes you.

Personally I never focus and recompose when shooting action, because if you do you'll lose focus. If you want to compose off center, you have to use an off-center focus point to do it. I don't do that either, but some sports shooters do, even choosing their focus point on the fly. I'm not that quick (by a long shot).

You *can* focus and recompose for static shots though, such as sideline reaction shots etc. CF4-3 (or -1) comes in handy for that because you can effectively use AI servo just like one shot — hit * briefly and then get off it to lock focus, recompose and shoot.

Make sense? As I mentioned in the sticky, using * to activate AF takes some getting used to, but most (but not all) sports shooters prefer it once they get the hang of it.

The best single place to stand, assuming nobody objects, is behind the endline, just in from the corner. If the refs don't want you behind the endline then just park yourself on the touchline (that's soccer-speak for sideline) close to the corner, so you get them coming at your. You won't have line refs to knock you down in a U-6 game so you can get pretty close to the line. For six year olds you shouldn't be standing though, but sitting or kneeling on the ground. It's better to shoot from their level rather than down on them.

As for IS, I don't think it makes much difference one way or the other when you're shooting action, assuming you have sufficient shutter speed in the first place.

Nill
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www.toulme.net

p.s. Also see this thread.

Nill
~~
www.toulme.net

Nil,

Thank you so much for your help. The only option I'm not sure of is the metering mode? Evaluative, Center weighted or Spot? The link http://doug.kerr.home.att.net/pumpkin/20D_CF04_chart.pdf is a little intense for a newbie.

PS The thread on CF4 was great, I'm starting to understand it finally.

Warren

I always use Evaluative and have had good luck with it. But then I also always shoot RAW and typically do a bit of levels tweaking in the conversion.

Nill
~~
www.toulme.net

My First Attempt

Nil,

My nieces game was cancel due rain earlier in the day but I went to the soccer fields and tried my hand at some action shots. 8/56 I didn't take more as the game ended.

Here are some sample shots for C&C. Sorry I can attach the pics.

http://home.comcast.net/~wbuc/Soccer1.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~wbuc/Soccer2.jpg (focus was on sign and not player)

http://home.comcast.net/~wbuc/Soccer4.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~wbuc/Soccer5.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~wbuc/Soccer6.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~wbuc/Soccer7.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~wbuc/Soccer8.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~wbuc/Soccer9.jpg (straightened)

It was hard to crop tightly and still follow the ball and keep it in the shot. Particularly when zoomed in at 300mm. It seems based on your pics that portrait mode is the best way to go. Do you look with the eye not on the viewfinder to find the ball?

I was standing midway between the goal and sideline, picture Soccer4.jpg shows my position the best.

Next time I'll increase the ISO to raise the shutter speed a bit.

Warren

You're off to a good start. May I edit one or two of them a bit for instructional purposes?

Nill
~~
www.toulme.net

Sure. I'm guessing you will crop them tighter. Is it better to shoot slighly wider and crop later so you don't run the risk of missing the ball in the photo?

Heh... no, it's better to work on your timing. ;-)

Nill
~~
www.toulme.net

Warren ... consider getting the camera lower to the ground ... when an adult shoots kids the camera is above the kids head pointing down ... kids are not as big and imposing ... BUT when camera is low and pointing UP ... the kids seem bigger !

Some folks shoot from small seats ... some simply sit on ground ... I use a pair of kneepads ... but I am also shooting larger kids now and want to get out of the way when the big kids come my way. With the pads attached to my knees the ref is less likely to make me move off the line (I get out of the way and not leave anything - players safety)... I tend to get as close to the line as I can ...

As for your goal line shot move up closer to the line .. the ref will be more tolerant of you if are a photographer, what i mean is DO NOT TALK TO THE PLAYERS (ref will consider you coaching and will move you)

As for shooting with both eyes open ... good luck ! this will take practice start now and it will be easier ... one eye to SEE the big picture ... one eye to keep everything framed in the view finder. It will take practice but you will be able to do it.

Quick formula for great soccer pics - simply get the following in the shot - two color uniforms, players eyes, the ball. Simple : )

Jim

Warren ... consider getting the camera lower to the ground ... when an adult shoots kids the camera is above the kids head pointing down ... kids are not as big and imposing ... BUT when camera is low and pointing UP ... the kids seem bigger !

Some folks shoot from small seats ... some simply sit on ground ... I use a pair of kneepads ... but I am also shooting larger kids now and want to get out of the way when the big kids come my way. With the pads attached to my knees the ref is less likely to make me move off the line (I get out of the way and not leave anything - players safety)... I tend to get as close to the line as I can ...

As for your goal line shot move up closer to the line .. the ref will be more tolerant of you if are a photographer, what i mean is DO NOT TALK TO THE PLAYERS (ref will consider you coaching and will move you)

As for shooting with both eyes open ... good luck ! this will take practice start now and it will be easier ... one eye to SEE the big picture ... one eye to keep everything framed in the view finder. It will take practice but you will be able to do it.

Quick formula for great soccer pics - simply get the following in the shot - two color uniforms, players eyes, the ball. Simple : )

Jim

Thanks Jim for you comments. I'm tall and will try to shot lower to the ground. As far as my position goes I was a little behind the goaline position 1 in the diagram. Your suggesting that I move up to the edge of the line. Would position 2 or another location be worthwhile?

http://home.comcast.net/~wbuc/Field_Diagram.gif

Do you think the ball is blurry in soccer8.jpg because 1/500th is not fast enough?

Position 1 is fine ... just closer to the line ... I do not like to shoot through the net because of the distraction it creates trying to look through it ... it also has a tendency to throw the auto focus off.

The problem with position 2 is you some times end up to close to the overzealous parent with the powerful set of lungs : )

But really # 2 will allow you to shoot the mid fielders and defenders. Just watch your back ground because as you move up the line you end up with the team on the other side lines

Shutter speed of 1/500 is plenty fast enough to stop this action ... notice the kids shirt - hair and flapping tongue have been stopped ?

It is more likely a depth of field issue to cause the ball to be out of focus. The kid is in focus and the ball is in frame.

Keep shooting ... by the way two question for you ... How many shots per game ... AND ... what Percent of shots that you take at the game do you expect to be keepers ?

400 and 10% ?

Jim

I took 56 photos and posted 8 of them. All 8 are not really great but it was my first try. Unfortunately the game ended and I could take anymore. I would probably be happy with a 10% keeper rate.

Don't you think F5.6 would give me enough DOF to have the ball in focus?

Warren

DOF ... Check out this page ...

http://www.bobatkins.com/photography/technical/dofcalc.html

the bottom of the page has a quick DOF calculator ...

What I can't exactly tell from the photo is how far out infront of the player is the ball ?

Also the DOF distance you get from the calculator will be split ... in front and in back ... and that is not an equal split

as for keeper rate ... 10% is not bad

keep shooting : )