A good badminton photo

Discussion in 'Badminton Photography' started by kwun, Nov 14, 2003.

  1. indra81

    indra81 Regular Member

    Joined:
    Oct 1, 2005
    Messages:
    24
    Likes Received:
    0
    Occupation:
    owner
    Location:
    @RAGA SPORT
    my pic

    raga shuttlecocks

    raga cocks.jpg
     
  2. chrisnchips

    chrisnchips Regular Member

    Joined:
    Apr 17, 2008
    Messages:
    153
    Likes Received:
    0
    Occupation:
    Student
    Location:
    SF/BayArea, California, USA
    Are those shuttlecocks any good? Quality/Price?
     
  3. EdwinSunny

    EdwinSunny New Member

    Joined:
    Aug 6, 2014
    Messages:
    1
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    The Netherlands
  4. bestindigital

    bestindigital Regular Member

    Joined:
    Nov 17, 2014
    Messages:
    135
    Likes Received:
    11
    Occupation:
    Data Engineer
    Location:
    Saint Louis
    Lots of youngsters interested in it, it appears. That's good. :)
     
  5. jhirata

    jhirata Regular Member

    Joined:
    Aug 25, 2007
    Messages:
    2,431
    Likes Received:
    9
    Location:
    Wellington, New Zealand, New Z
    I remember that about 8 years ago I was some silly teenager and I was posting on this forum somewhere, saying "I think that the more background blur the better" and someone else bashed me for that comment. Can't seem to find it anymore.

    Gave badminton photography a today for fun, at the SKYCITY New Zealand Open 2015 with a bit of a "documentary" style take on it.

    Let me know your thoughts :)

    JHP_1709-Edit.jpg JHP_1646-Edit.jpg JHP_1259.jpg JHP_1246-Edit.jpg JHP_1581-Edit.jpg JHP_1834-Edit.jpg JHP_1598-Edit.jpg JHP_1483-Edit.jpg JHP_1723-Edit.jpg JHP_1337-Edit.jpg JHP_1938-Edit.jpg
     
  6. visor

    visor Regular Member

    Joined:
    Dec 7, 2009
    Messages:
    16,401
    Likes Received:
    2,001
    Location:
    Vancouver, BC
    We need to see the most photogenic of them all... Gronya Somerville... ;)

    But having blurred background is nice... just a product of having the aperture wide open and the zoom maxed out...
     
    #146 visor, Apr 30, 2015
    Last edited: Apr 30, 2015
  7. kwun

    kwun Administrator

    Joined:
    Apr 24, 2002
    Messages:
    41,043
    Likes Received:
    2,066
    Occupation:
    BC Janitor
    Location:
    Santa Clara, CA, USA
    well jhirata you have developed into an incredible photographer outside of the badminton court. very very impressive indeed.
     
  8. jhirata

    jhirata Regular Member

    Joined:
    Aug 25, 2007
    Messages:
    2,431
    Likes Received:
    9
    Location:
    Wellington, New Zealand, New Z
    You can tell that some of my preferences still haven't changed.. :p
     
  9. Cheung

    Cheung Moderator

    Joined:
    Apr 25, 2002
    Messages:
    23,818
    Likes Received:
    4,791
    Occupation:
    wannabe badminton phototaker
    Location:
    Outside the box
    Jhirata, what settings are you using? How good is the light?

    And are these the only photos you are going to give us?;)
     
    #149 Cheung, Apr 30, 2015
    Last edited: Apr 30, 2015
  10. jyeung

    jyeung Regular Member

    Joined:
    Mar 19, 2008
    Messages:
    274
    Likes Received:
    156
    Location:
    VANCOUVER
    It is always refreshing for me to see how other people approach badminton photography. Sometimes I get inspired and incorporate some of the techniques into my own.

    When I first started looking at photos here, I questioned whether angled, non-leveled, crops work! But my appreciation of angled shots changed to positive after seeing Anita's work. And now I use that in certain circumstances.

    And a maxed out aperture opening usually is a decision more related to the limited available lighting in the venue, in order to minimize noise and maximize clarity, and to obtain a higher keep rate. Background blur is sometimes a pleasant by-product!
     
  11. jhirata

    jhirata Regular Member

    Joined:
    Aug 25, 2007
    Messages:
    2,431
    Likes Received:
    9
    Location:
    Wellington, New Zealand, New Z
    Cheung, the light is pretty good, I'm shooting at 1/1000 (Doesn't give me purple flickering stuff), ISO1000, f/1.8, 85mm (on D700 full frame).
     
  12. jhirata

    jhirata Regular Member

    Joined:
    Aug 25, 2007
    Messages:
    2,431
    Likes Received:
    9
    Location:
    Wellington, New Zealand, New Z
    Here's a few more from the semi-finals day. I don't know if I can make it to the finals but I'll see...

    Some generic "big jump" "big fall" "big lunge" "ready to serve" kinda shots in here too, but I find them quite cliche. My preference is to capture the players' expressions in between the rallies: it makes me wonder how the players themselves must have felt/thought during that moment, and for me it's the best way to feel more immersed in the game :)

    What's everyone's preference?

    JHP_1957.jpg JHP_1969.jpg JHP_1980.jpg JHP_1987.jpg JHP_1993.jpg JHP_1995.jpg JHP_2039.jpg JHP_2078.jpg JHP_2106.jpg JHP_2141.jpg JHP_2159.jpg JHP_2180.jpg JHP_2184.jpg JHP_2205.jpg JHP_2226-Edit.jpg JHP_2238-Edit.jpg JHP_2289.jpg JHP_2298.jpg JHP_2354.jpg JHP_2452.jpg JHP_2459.jpg JHP_2579.jpg JHP_2582-Edit.jpg JHP_2605.jpg JHP_2620.jpg JHP_2674.jpg JHP_2687.jpg JHP_2690.jpg JHP_2759.jpg JHP_2779.jpg JHP_2802.jpg JHP_2820.jpg JHP_2844.jpg JHP_2866.jpg JHP_2876.jpg JHP_2926.jpg JHP_2978.jpg JHP_3018.jpg JHP_3053.jpg JHP_3057.jpg JHP_3067.jpg JHP_3163-Edit.jpg JHP_3175.jpg JHP_3185.jpg JHP_3205.jpg JHP_3267.jpg JHP_3300.jpg
     
    #152 jhirata, May 2, 2015
    Last edited: May 2, 2015
    kwun likes this.
  13. visor

    visor Regular Member

    Joined:
    Dec 7, 2009
    Messages:
    16,401
    Likes Received:
    2,001
    Location:
    Vancouver, BC
    Very good photos! Really captures the emotion of the moment...
     
  14. Cheung

    Cheung Moderator

    Joined:
    Apr 25, 2002
    Messages:
    23,818
    Likes Received:
    4,791
    Occupation:
    wannabe badminton phototaker
    Location:
    Outside the box
    That's pretty good. I am pretty positive you can do ISO 1600. I sometimes find fully wide open at f1.8 gives me eyes that are out of focus. So I end up using 1/2 stop smaller. Not sure if it really makes that big a difference but I feel a bit better about the pictures.

    I find it is very hard to capture the expressions. They are very fleeting. I remember one player who has a deadpan face and trying to work on her. Eventually, I got bored with the time wasted! Lo and behold, Achan came up to me later saying the same thing on the same player.

    I think in general, players are loosening up a bit more on court over the past decades. A good thing for photographers and for badminton.
     
  15. kwun

    kwun Administrator

    Joined:
    Apr 24, 2002
    Messages:
    41,043
    Likes Received:
    2,066
    Occupation:
    BC Janitor
    Location:
    Santa Clara, CA, USA
    Anita is the master of expression.
     
  16. jyeung

    jyeung Regular Member

    Joined:
    Mar 19, 2008
    Messages:
    274
    Likes Received:
    156
    Location:
    VANCOUVER
    It is always more fun to shoot emotional players, and at the winning moment, even the most deadpan face player, would sometimes show some release of emotion!
     
  17. jyeung

    jyeung Regular Member

    Joined:
    Mar 19, 2008
    Messages:
    274
    Likes Received:
    156
    Location:
    VANCOUVER
    Yes, I've been trying to learn that from her too! The difficulty for me is, I haven't yet make it a habit to stay on the player long enough to catch that emotion release after a long rally!
     
  18. jhirata

    jhirata Regular Member

    Joined:
    Aug 25, 2007
    Messages:
    2,431
    Likes Received:
    9
    Location:
    Wellington, New Zealand, New Z
    Oh yes... Lee Hyun Il was like that. Straight cold face, very gracious movements like he's thinking he's "been there and done that too many times" and probably thinking of retiring and going back to his family.

    Enjoyed photographing Boonsak Ponsana - entertaining rallies with a mixture of silliness and seriousness.

    The Chinese players had so much concentration. They looked like they were under a lot of pressure from whoever manages them.

    Nice to observe what's going on through photography at the sidelines of the court.
     
  19. Cheung

    Cheung Moderator

    Joined:
    Apr 25, 2002
    Messages:
    23,818
    Likes Received:
    4,791
    Occupation:
    wannabe badminton phototaker
    Location:
    Outside the box
    If you want want to catch expressions, younger players are better. But a lot is also the player's own personality. Lee Chong Wei and Kin Dan used to be very expressive on court. But if you get them now, you really have to choose the right moment of the event. And they don't really do it in a match anymore.

    Anita's shots are the standard that I aspire to. :)
     
  20. Cheung

    Cheung Moderator

    Joined:
    Apr 25, 2002
    Messages:
    23,818
    Likes Received:
    4,791
    Occupation:
    wannabe badminton phototaker
    Location:
    Outside the box
    Not all the time!
     

Share This Page