Lakewood Varsity Football vs Jordan

Homecoming finds us up against the Jordan Panthers. Now normally I would take a ton of shots of pre-game activities for homecoming, but this year I actually spent the time talking with friends along the sidelines and relaxing prior to the game.

Once I saw our team suited up in all black I knew I was going to have issues with light since I left my off camea flash set-up at home, so again I would have to shoot this game without a flash. I knew in advance that I would have to slow down my shutter more than I like, but thats what I get for not being prepared and having my proper gear with me.

For starters I set my camera to manual with the following settings. ISO 3200, f/2.8, and a shutter of either 1/250 or 1/320. I have to say I wasn't really happy with what I got this game, but did find some keepers to share with you all.

The below shot is what I put together for our Homecoming football program cover.

Lakewood JV Football vs Jordan

Not a lot to say about this game other than I really hate going to cover a game at Jordan High School. I understand all about school security and the safety of the students, but man do they make it completed to get into the school and then get on the field. I made the mistake of leaving an extra battery in my car and wouldn't you know I needed it by the end of the second quarter, so during half time I had to walk all the way out through the front of the school and then through a side parking lot to the back of the school where my car was parked to get it. Thank goodness someone on the school's staff was going onto the campus when I was ready to come back in.

Any hoot, since out team was on the side facing the sun I shot from Jordan's side, which helped a bunch and allowed for much better shots.

Although it was a bright sunny day, I did end up shooting manual during this game due to the high contrast difference from the two teams uniforms. Lakewood was in all white while Jordan had navy blue jersey's and black pants. I wanted to balance the exposure for both uniforms and was very happy with what I ended up with.

A few shots I thought had that b&w look to them.

Lakewood Varsity Football vs Cabrillo

There was no doubt in my mind that our boys were going to close this night with a win, but in high school football you simply never know. Lakewood was going against Cabrillo who is undefeated for the season and coming into this match up with one thing on their mind - destroy Lakewood.

For the start Lakewood's defense dominated Cabrillo's offense stopping both their run and pass game. Although our boys put some good points on the board, we have a long way to go to be ready for the playoffs. Our offense has been slow to start and not very consistent, which is what their going to need when it comes time for the CIF playoffs. I have faith in our boys and know that have what it takes, they just need to be consistent on each drive and play.

Enjoy the below pictures which were taken with a Canon Mark IIn and a 300 f/2.8L. My camera was set to manual at ISO 3200, f/2.8, and a shutter of 1/400 - no flash was used.

Today I'm going to talk about the non-action shot. Although football (especially high school football) is packed with non-stop action full of big hits and bigger plays, it's also full of kids giving it everything they have to win a game. Whatever their reason (hopeful college recruitment / school pride / cross-town rivals / or simply for the love of the game) they get suited up each and every Friday night to play. Just prior to each play each athlete on the field gets set for the play to come. On offense they know their assignment and where the ball is going, they've identified their target and are ready to eliminate them to move the ball. On defense their watching the ball and reading the play. For them it's all about anticipation and knowing their opponent. Now I can't tell you what's going on in their minds prior to the ball snap, but I try to capture a shot that shows their intensity (without the action) and especially their focus. The below shots I hope display this and gives you something to strive for when shooting football at any level.

Lakewood JV Football vs Cabrillo

I was set to cover the JV game at home, but once I got to the school I found out the team we were playing didn't have a JV team, so I took the drive to the other school to cover the freshmen game.

I had terrible back light, but I did what I could to capture the best shots. Since I had such a high contrast in uniforms (white and a dark green) I decided to take a reading off of the white uniforms and then set my camera to manual to slightly overexpose the shots. For those shots where I had real bad back light and almost a haze on the shot, I simply increased my black clipping in Lightroom to bring back my colors and shadows.

Our defense was really getting through Cabrillo's offensive line so when Cabillo had the ball I would position myself down field behind the line of scrimmage to capture the D-line rushing. In the below shot of #71 he initially made the hit on the quarterback and while attempting to bring him down got ahold of the ball and ran it in for a touch down.