Cheerleading, Football and Soccer... oh my!

I have taken so many pictures that last 2 days that my camera is practically "on fire"!  I'm still always learning and these events were definitely challenging.  First off, Friday night I volunteered to take some photos of my friend's daughter who is a cheerleader and plays the flute in the band.  I have photographed her before for some "practice" photo sessions and she is incredibly beautiful both inside and out!  So, what's the challenge?  ...movement and nighttime lighting!  Eek!  As I stated before in my blog about my nephew's football game, I am NO sports photographer!  First, I debated whether or not to take my telephoto lens or the 50mm.  The telephoto allows me to zoom but the 50mm is better in low light... well, the 50mm won.  I figured I'd just park myself right in front of her and hope for the best.  I swear, I tried almost every setting on the camera.  The results were interesting.  While many shots were not the crispy focus that I love, there were some photos that I liked because they captured the moment.  Sometimes, perfect focus isn't the most important thing (hmmm, I keep saying that, but I don't really believe it - ha ha!).  There were some interesting effects due to the stadium lighting as well.  In the end, I just hope my friend's mom is happy with the photos and feels they captured this moment in her daughter's life.


Next up was Sat. morning soccer games for my niece (who is in 2nd grade) and my nephew (who is in Kdg.).  I hadn't planned on going to the games, but when I woke up Sat. morning (at a much more reasonable time than my work days!), my brother had sent me a text with the game times.  It was absolutely beautiful outside, so I "threw myself together" (sunglasses hide all evils, and a pony tail is acceptable for Sat. morning, right?!) and headed over to the first game.  My nephew was out there giving it his all!  He is a serious little athlete and was in control of the ball many times during the game.  I shot these photos with the telephoto... the kids are just too far away for anything else.  What does this mean?  Well, it means things are definitely NOT going to be crispy sharp. I just have to accept that going in.  The sun, while beautiful was really harsh.  I got some great shots, but really had to work on them in photoshop due to the shadows.  


Finally, I finished up the morning with my niece's game.  She is also a "serious" athlete NOW... and I say "now" because when I used to come to her games, she would stop playing and pose for pictures in the middle of a game!  It was really funny and I have some great pictures of her posing in front of the goal post.  When she was really little, I remember her running off the field in the middle of the game because she was hungry and wanted a snack (smile).  The sun was at a better angle for her game and I didn't have to work so hard in photoshop when I edited her photos.  You can tell she was playing her heart out and having a great time!


So, by Sat. at noon, I had hundreds of photos in my camera... and yet, I wasn't done.  ...but I'll save the next photo adventure for the next entry.  For now, I hope you enjoy the pictures below... even if they are all, what I would call, "learning" photos!  I learned a lot trying to get the right settings to capture those moments!