Polo

[hasuin038]

I did not post here for long so I would like to share a few pictures taken at the North Polo Club of the Philippines on February 21st. It was my first time to attend a polo match. I found it very challenging to photograph but here it is.

Best to all!

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2


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4

[Shadowman]

Nice series.

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Antoine,

These are technically very good, with good focus, DoF and nice bokeh.

I'd only suggest that with more practice, you'll get better at timing the shots so that we can see faces as well as action - although I accept that you're at the mercy of how and where on the pitch the action develops and those peaked helmets don't help; often hiding the face when they're taking aim for a hit.

Over all, great results.

Well done (and welcome back), Dave

[mugge]

Good action shots especially #1
Cheers Ole

[bnnrcn]

Very nice set, I especially like the last one as the expressions show the excitement better

[Geoff F]

Good fast action real life scenes.

[rpcrowe]

Nice series..

I especially like this one but cropped it a bit and added some slight sharpening...



I have only shot one polo match but learned a lot about placing myself at a point for the best light and the best for seeing the faces of the players. I like to shoot when I am seeing the right side of the horse since most players hold their mallets in their right hands...

The background also has a lot to do with the quality of the imagery. You have blurred the backgrounds which helps isolate the subjects. I with the camera in manual (at least 1/1,000 second @ f/5.6) and auto ISO. F/5.6 allows separation between the players and the background with my 300mm lens but, gives a little bit of DOF to cover the riders. I would suggest leveling the backgrounds in PP wherever needed...

Catching the ball in the image is a great plus. I shoot in slow burst mode with my Canon 7D. This gives me a longer burst. I have updated the firmware to provide the added number of shots in continuous burst.

Next time I shoot a polo match, I will also shoot some from behind the goal posts to get the riders charging towards me...

Additionally, the spectators can make some good images; especially the females in fancy dresses and hats...

[dbmurrell]

Nice shots, Antoine. Polo is extremely difficult to shoot well, and I like your series. As others have pointed out, the typical rule of thumb is to capture faces and the ball for action shots -- but in polo, if you intend to get "point of contact" shots, the player's head is nearly always tilted down toward the ball. I think such shots still make interesting photos, even if you have to forego the face rule.

I'm also finding that shots of the polo players charging down field (toward me) with the ball not far in front of the pack make for good images. Positioning yourself near the goal area will improve your chances, but will also necessitate using a long lens (especially for field polo).

Be mindful of the horses' postures in the shot as well. I like to see the hooves and legs nicely "collected" (i.e. tight rather than stretched too far out so the horse looks out of balance in his stride).

Final bit of advice I would offer is shoot with back-button AF and stick to RAW (if you're not already doing so). RAW covers a multitude of sins