Manual Mode: Day 2

Yesterday I took my kids to the driving range.  My oldest is part of a Junior Golf Academy and needed some swing time.  I figured it would be a great time to practice my photography... great areas to work on... bright sun = exposure, swing shots = shutter speed, composition, perspective... lots of things to consider.  I took 57 photos... yes, 57 almost identical photos of my one child doing the same thing...swinging a driver at a little white ball.  I did snap a few of AR and JS, so I will include those as well, just to keep it interesting. 

Before adding the images, let me say that apparently in my desire to keep the toddler safe from being hit in the head with a club, my brain mixed up shutter speed and ISO (light sensitivity).  I should have certainly shot these at 200 ISO (the lowest setting my camera will tolerate) because of the glaring sun, and adjusted my shutter speed accordingly to freeze the action.  But, I didn't do that... I shot at much too high an ISO.  Thanks to my SnapShop workshop, I knew to pay attention to my exposure measurement.  These images are sooo far from perfect, but worth sharing so you can learn from my mistakes. 

1/5000  f/5.0  ISO 800  28mm
settings are wrong, no other way to say it... but I love how the ball is frozen in mid-air

1/5000  f/4.5  ISO 800  28mm

1/5000 f/4.5  ISO 800  68mm

1/5000  f/4.5  ISO 800  68mm

1/5000  f/4.5  ISO 800  80mm

1/2000  f/5.6  ISO 800  80mm
almost identical shot to the previous, but with slower shutter speed and smaller aperture

1/2000  f/5.6  ISO 800  80mm
changed my position so I could see more of his face

1/2000  f/5.6  ISO 800  28mm
exposure is okay (setting still not optimal), but shot is boring... not simple enough

1/2000  f/5.6  ISO 800  31mm
a bit underexposed on his face, but MUCH more interesting shot...
like how the diagonal line of the club leads us to him - the main focus of the shot

1/6000  f/4.5  ISO 800  60mm

1/2000  f/5.6  ISO 800  31mm

1/6000 f/4.5  ISO 800  60mm
if it weren't for the absolute cuteness sitting in the chair, this shot would be trash

1/2000 f/5.6  ISO 800  80mm
overexposed, but happy with persective and use of thirds rule...
especially love his contemplative expression... that's so him

1/2500  f/5.6  ISO 800  80mm
this boy makes my heart smile, but the quality of the image leaves much to be desired

So, as you can see, there is much to be learned here.  The mid-afternoon sun presents so many exposure issues, and I didn't handle them well at all yesterday!  Everything except maybe the f/stop needs to be adjusted, but wow did I learn!  I learned, too, that golf is tough to photograph!  Achieving the correct balance and appealing cropping is not for the faint of heart!