Soccer Splashdown
One of the things I’ll hear anytime when the weather turns for the worse – like it did at the 2010 Athens Invitational Tournament – is that people can’t believe I still photograph games in the rain.
I’m all-weather – and I’ve found some great photographs are there for the taking when the weather turns bad. This series was immediately after the tournament resumed following a one-hour long downpour that left the fields a little flooded!
35th Athens Invitational – August 21, 2010
≈Dennis Murray Photography was on-site at the 35th Athens Invitational Soccer Tournament in Athens, Georgia to provide action photography to participants.
All photographs posted represent only proofs of the final product. All will be cropped and color corrected prior to printing or digital file presentation for best quality.
A variety of sizes are available, as well as Digital Image Collections. Digital Image Collections contain all of an athlete’s photographs from the tournament presented on disc with a custom printed cover. Digital Image Files are at original resolution, without watermarking, suitable for reprinting at any size.
For assistance in finding the best of your athlete, please contact Dennis Murray.
Soccer, No Vuvuzelas
Looking back over my work from the spring, I found a couple of photos from Greater Atlanta Christian School’s playoff match against Eagles Landing Christian Academy. Good action, no vuvuzelas.
I’m also pleased to announce I’ll be working with the Athens United Soccer Association (Athens, Georgia) this fall to photograph games during their three tournaments this fall. More details to come on this relationship and the events!
Corner Kick
Photographers are always seeking to capture drama, conflict and tension in their photographs.
The field changes from being still and waiting to a battle in a matter of moments on a corner kick. (St. Pius X failed to convert this one for a goal.)
Back Outdoors!
Last week was not only the official start of Spring, but was also what I mark Spring with: returning to Outdoors sports after several months of indoor sports. My first assignment this spring was back to Greater Atlanta Christian School to photograph a Boys’ and Girls’ Soccer doubleheader.
Studio Portraits
As I blogged about last spring, I want to create unique portrait experiences for athletes that move away from the ordinary sports portrait that so many young athletes get.
I’m also now working on the studio experience – as the field of play is not always available, it makes sense to also provide a studio experience that has a twist versus the conventional sports portraits. I’m trying to do away with the well used looks and develop new ideas.
This is my son Aidan, who plays U6 Soccer at Atlanta Soccer Academy this fall.
Working the Backlight
I recently heard a parent at a soccer game talk about preferring to photograph only when the sun was to his back – and in the faces of the players. While there are certainly advantages to using a light source to the front of your subjects, a backlit situation is still manageable and can even be advantageous.
Let’s start by defining a backlit situation: it is one where the primary light source is behind your subject, putting your subject’s face and front of their body in a shadow (cast by their own body).
Personal Project Subjects Needed
While I’m investing a lot of time this fall on Football, I am always working to expand my skill set and find new photographic subjects.
The personal project I’m currently planning is a series of Editorial (Magazine) style portraits. Subjects needed include:
- A beach volleyball player capable of getting above the net
- An indoor volleyball athlete capable of getting above the net
- A high level Double Dutch team or group
- Soccer player who can perform a bicycle kick
- A high school level (9th grade/JV/Varsity) quarterback
- A wakeboarder who can get air and can perform various tricks
- A boxer or mixed martial arts fighter
Subjects will receive copies of the images and prints.
Please contact me if you meet any of the categories above. All photo shoots would start in the Atlanta metro area.
A Tale of Two Athletes – Part II
On the other end of the field, Senior Chris Thomas has been an impact player for his full career in a Spartans uniform. He will be playing at Elon next year as a result.
Boys Soccer Takes a Win
The Spartans Boys Soccer team fared better against AAA St. Pius, taking home a victory.
Britton and Colette’s Portrait Session
Saturday evening at the beautiful Stars Soccer Club in Milton, Georgia I photographed Britton and Colette. Britton and Colette are long time teammates and agreed to be photographed for Dennis Murray Photography’s 2008-2009 advertising campaigns. There are more photos to come from this shoot – stay tuned to the site.
Several big thanks to some partners and vendors for making this possible:
- Stars Soccer Club for making available part of their incredible campus in Milton. Simply put, there are not many facilities of this size or beauty in the Southeast.
- Willow Lloyd of Lloyd’s Promos and Lloyd’s Soccer in Charleston, South Carolina for pulling together a quick, small quantity apparel order for my athletes to wear.
- PPR Atlanta for having the best stock of any Photographic rental house, anywhere. PPR Atlanta provided Honda’s fantastic EU2000 generator for the shoot.
- Nick Jennings for the big assist Saturday night with all of the lights, generator and bags.
- Most of all, Britton and Colette for volunteering to model for the shoot, and persevering through two hours of shooting. Also a big thanks to Britton’s parents for driving both of the athletes to Stars for the shoot.
Kids Soccer
Late June has proved to be quiet after the busy Spring season. I had a chance to take in my own son, Aidan’s, Summer Soccer clinic last week.
The program is about one per week and is offered through Forsyth County’s Parks and Recreation department.
Game Faces
Sometimes, the photos with the most impact aren’t the ones with the big header or game winning kick.
Without further delay, I introduce game faces.
Soccer at All Ages
After covering a lot of high school soccer lately, I started my engagement with Norcross Soccer Academy this weekend. My coverage Saturday included Under 6, Under 12 Boys, and Under 14 Girls Select. I had additional games scheduled, but thunderstorms moved through the area just after lunchtime and caused the cancellation of most games during the afternoon.
The morning was filled with three sessions of Under 6 soccer. The kids show a lot of enthusiasm for playing and the coaches do a great job of keeping the game moving and keeping everyone in motion for the full length of the game.
The other important shot at this level – celebration!
As the day went on, I moved over to the full size fields and worked two Under 12 Boys games. I worked some from midfield, as the fields had a significant crown to them which allowed the ball to be lost on the other side of the crest. I caught this moment as a pair of players went for a header, which I thought was a unique view.
After the storms moved through, one game was allowed by the county to be played – a match between the Under 14 Girls Select team and the Savannah Shockers. The girls on both squads showed a lot of talent and intensity in their play of the game.
Soccer Doubleheader
Spring means Soccer. Luckily, since the change to daylight savings time it also means more light later in the evening on the Soccer pitch.
As always, the evening started with a girls game. The girls get the benefit of at least half of the field in daylight, and a beautiful rim light when shot from the spectator’s side of the field.
Starting out in photography, most everyone fears shooting a backlit situation. It means generally that you have too much light coming into the camera and the faces will be shadowed. However, it is very manageable and has the positive effect of creating a nice rim light that helps separate subject and background.
The header is the king of soccer action shots. So much to it – in many cases bodies crashing into each other at great heights, and great facial expressions on the players.
The Boys’ later start has the effect of less light and needing to push to a higher ISO equivalent. However, you can still get good stop action early in the evening.
Another header from the Boys this time – with the Providence Christian Academy defender trying to crash the party.
Welcome to Spring: Junior High Soccer
A great part of my affiliation with Martin Photography, and by extension, Martin Photography’s affiliation with Greater Atlanta Christian School, is the opportunity to shoot many different sports at several levels. In the fall, this means shooting Varsity Football all the way down to Eighth Grade Football. In the winter, it means Varsity Basketball down through Seventh Grade Basketball.
In the Spring, Soccer is king at Greater Atlanta Christian. The Spartans have a strong history of fielding competitive soccer teams at the Varsity Level, with Coach Jacquet’s Boys Varsity Spartans winning the A/AA State Championship in 2007. Participation in soccer is strong down through the Junior High teams, which were my subject Thursday night.
My goals in shooting soccer is action, and faces all while framing the subjects tightly. A lot of the action involves handling the ball, but there are some variations.
On a throw-in, the potential recipient and her defender help frame the thrower:
As always, I try to take advantage of the natural lighting and the shadows it creates.
The challenge with soccer is the majority of the time you need a full length shot – so when the action moves close you need to be ready with a shorter lens to catch it. My normal combination is the 300/f2.8 on my primary body, and a second body with the 70-200/f2.8 mounted. This lets me catch the closer action in full length.
Using the 300/f2.8 also lets you get some great shots further away – with plenty of separation of the player and his background.
Soccer Teaser
After shooting indoors since January, I had a few minutes to spare before Tuesday’s girls basketball state tournament game at Greater Atlanta Christian and caught the last several minutes of a Junior High Girls Soccer match against Walton Academy. The weather was definitely not spring: windy and temperatures in the low forties. However, it was great to be outdoors under blue skies.
I wasn’t there with enough time to really shoot the game, so I spent some time experimenting with the light. GAC’s pitch is lined on the west with a tall treeline that creates uneven shadows across the field – which I did my best to catch the brightly lit areas against the dark shadows.
The result is a rim-lit subject as she moves from the darkness into the light.
Kids’ Soccer – Basic Techique
My shooting philosophy can be summed up fairly easily: shoot low, shoot tight, and follow through the end of play.
All of this really comes in handy when shooting kids soccer. My featured model here is my son Aidan in his recent mini-Kickers game.
Getting low with kids, in sports or any other situation, changes the perspective. Most people take pictures (or videos) from a standing up position – which enables a great view of their children’s heads. Shooting from a kneeling or sitting position gives more of the facial emotion than standing up.
Shooting tight helps eliminate distractions in the picture and focus the viewer’s eye on the subject. Working on the very small field, I’ve used a 70-200mm zoom lens to work as tight as possible with my subject. I’ve also included the ball in the foreground to help illustrate what is happening.
Finally, shooting through the play brings you naturally to the celebration shot following a goal!
