Hi James. Welcome to the group, you will find a wide array of photos here in this group, very educational. Your soccer photo is well captured with the ball and players hair in the ideal place. The two players in white are struggling to compete with the heading player also well captured both with closed eyes and mouths grimacing. The background players also well captured all looking in the same direction show observational looks. F2.8 worked strongly in your favour as background players not sharp but recognisable but spectators are completely out of focus, another positive for the photo. This is a not so common sports shot and IMO worthy of competition status. The position you have taken this photo from I have been told by photogs is the best place to stand if possible for soccer photos between goal and corner, get ready when the cross happens. General photos throughout on field play just give you a lot of processing and deleting work. Well done Don.   Posted: 05/05/2023 01:56:30

Hey Don, Welcome the Group 59, it is great to see another soccer person in the group. I hope you can enjoy the posts by everyone and also learn from them. Your first image caught the peak action which is the most important in sports photography. It shows a story that the viewer wants to see more of and keeps interest. Most sports photographers like to see a tight crop to focus on the action so I tried cropping to a vertical format and adjusted the shadows a bit using camera raw in photoshop. Of course, the choice is always up the to person who took the photo. Again welcome to the group Bruce   Posted: 05/05/2023 15:30:41

Don, welcome to group 59 as another Nikon fellow user (I have your same gear). Your image is full of action and sharp. I am not sure that I like Bruce's crop, it amputated the players feet, and the ball is touching the frame. Indeed, the success of sports photography is to register the decisive moment, as is here. With the option of 20 frames/sec in raw, or 120 frames in .jpg, the possibilities are endless.   Posted: 05/08/2023 12:28:07

Hello Don, welcome to the Sports Group 59. You show a great soccer photo for the first time. Bruce has cropped your photo, but I think that the legs of the players must be seen in the picture, so I have chosen a new crop, it also emphasizes the jumping skills of the player in the green jersey.   Posted: 05/09/2023 04:53:23

Hi Don, welcome to Sports Group 59. Im sure you will find the comments beneficial; I am learning so much from these guys. Awesome first image, great action and expressions and very sharp. I like the crop Hans has provided, which included the players legs and I feel has really homed in on the action.   Posted: 05/18/2023 03:51:45

Your photo shows good technique, and you've captured the action at its peak. Showing all of the faces adds great interest for the viewer. I agree that the photo should be cropped a little more on the right and left, keeping all of the feet in the frame. I would also crop on the left and right to eliminate all of the skin mergers on the left and right.
  Posted: 05/24/2023 18:49:47