> No idea if it will come to fruition, but .... > there's a major league soccer all-star type of game here in July. > I'm going to try to get a sideline press pass > Would 300mm be enough for soccer? 400mm? > Would a zoom be more suitable? What range? > > Collin
If you're shooting digital, 300 will be plenty. If film, you'll still find 300 okay, maybe a bit short when the action is at the other end of the pitch. Where to place yourself? If you're concentrating on a particular team, then get yourself positioned so that your team is attacking towards you. You want to see the faces of the strikers. Not behind the goal, but towards a corner (doesn't matter which as you can't be in two places at once). You need to be closer to the corner than the goal, so you can get a bit of a view across the goal for attacks coming from the opposite side of the pitch from you. Helps if you know your striker is left-footed or right, and if the midfield is left or right. A midfielder will cross the ball (kick it from one side of the pitch about 3/4 the way towards the oppositions goal) to a forward (a player whose job it is to score goals, AKA a striker) who will be either in the middle or heading that way from the opposite side of the pitch to the midfielder. You'll catch this nicely on a 300. An 80-200 zoom is handy on another body if the actions getting too close to you, which it will. If there's a corner kick, concentrate on the goal area, not the dude kicking the ball. It will arrive in the goal area very quickly and ideally be headed (knocked in with a head rather than a foot) into the goal. Makes for great shots. The ideal positioning is after the ball has contacted the head, and is going straight in past a diving goalie (goalkeeper). A 400 will be very useful to get a full frame shot of action at the other end of the pitch, goal mouth area. A nice shot is 'the wall' during a free kick. This is a line of players defending their goal, sometimes uncomfortable close to it, when an opposing player is fouled. He gets a 'free' kick with no hindrance until he has touched the ball. The 'wall' will be 3 or 4 players creating a barrier, all facing the action, and all holding onto their prized possessions, lest a large spherical object doing the nest part of 70 mph connects with them and brings tears to the eyes..... Enjoy! Cheers, Cotty ___/\__ || (O) | People, Places, Pastiche ||=====| http://www.cottysnaps.com _____________________________
