
2,448 Images entered
Congratulations on the winning image! Great focus. Great context. Interesting position with the ball. Full of character & great connection with viewer ...&photographer. Excellent lighting. Looks like a very well planned shoot. Beautiful work totally on point for advertising. Super congratulations again - great work not easy to achieve & demonstrates true skill!
Meet the expert judge
1,225 Photographers
This would have been an absolutely amazing image ....if the front subject was in focus. The settings look ok, might be worth moving the aperture up a little to 3.5. Perhaps a monopod might help a little too if not using already for this kind of image. Potentially a little wider frame may increase the impact as will add a natural frame around the red & black colours. Might be nice to include their feet too. If shooting raw can bring out the the front subject a little in the editing process to really make him pop. Excellent effort though!
70,301 Ratings
Love this - very cool! The one aspect which is a bit bothersome to me is that the bottom of the ball & fingers are cut off. Maybe an artistic decision & a little subjective. Potentially would be tempted to move the light around a little so there's a little less shadow on the subject's face. Personally I feel this level of shadow is better suited to a a more masculine gritty subject but again potentially a little subjective. If it were an advertising image (which it does have the feeling of), either as full stadium or an empty stadium in the background would be preferable but appreciate timing allowed for this shoot was probably a key aspect. Or is the image cut onto a backdrop? V well done if so. Potentially could remove the light box reflections to create greater connection between the subject & viewer. Overall an excellent image - very well done!!
Would have loved to commend this image! But oh nooooo the focus just isn't there I'm afraid. The eyes & face & whole body should all be in sharp focus at f/11. Not sure what's happened. The loghting needs a little correction too - it's mainly focussed on the chest & arm area - ideally needs to be a bit higher on the face. A little more negatve space above would be preferable too. Excellent starting effort though! Please do keep practicing a little more & enter another one :)
Oh noooooooo! The focus just isn't there :((( But it is an absolutely epic photo in all other respects. The facial expressions on the subjects are all fantastic! So rare to get in a group. But the focus... Would've like a little more negative space around the subjects too. Have another go at practising focus under pressure in fast moving situations :)
Brief
See more contest details
We're used to sports photography showing action on the field of play, but here we're focussing on portraiture of sportspeople. For an interesting challenge, see if someone you know, or a local team, will pose for photos fresh from the field of play - the sweat and exhaustion of the game still on them. Or explore taking a portrait style image of someone whilst they're engaged in their sport, or with their sports equipment.
This is super super super cool! Love the colour palette. Love the poses. Love the positions of the players with each other & the feeling that they are really a team. I’m struggling to put this image in the top ten though due to a slight lack of focus / would have been up there if the focus was sharper on the subjects. Would’ve been nice for the player with eyes closed to have his eyes open - face swapping is good for groups of this size. Otherwise absolutely fantastic image!!
I love everything about the subjects in this image. Expressions, engaged energy, body position, synchronicity of stripey socks. Composition is wonderful! Would’ve like the focus a bit sharper. Also find the bag in the bottom left a bit distracting. Excellent interaction with subjects though & great image overall. Looking forward to seeing more of your work.
Facial expression & comp are fantastic. Agree the mud on face makes for an interesting aspect. Would have like focus sharp on the eyes! Focus seems to be on jacket. Also would’ve like a bit more light on subject’s face. Esp against the highlight of the sky. Could you have turned Dave to create a bit more light on his face? Or carry a small reflector to pop out for these kinds of images? Well done on on persuading him to pose those - it comes through in the photo he was was happy & comfortable to pose for you. Well done / nice image!
I kinda love it!! It's a beautifully artistic image. Thje kind which would be great framed & I really hope it will be. Love the 'Brixton' i& the ring n the background - nicely positioned & great contextually. Can't quite decide if the focs being on the boxer's side is wonderfully artistic & perfect as is or would be better on the glove? The more I look at this image the more I love it. Super well done.
I love everything about this image ...apart from the lack of focus I'm afraid to say. Lighting is amazing. Composition is amazing. Set up is amazing. Story telling is amazing. I wonder if the body posture would be a little stronger with one arm straight down. Potentially standing a little forwards onnthe grey part of the floor. If the focus wass sharp on the subject's face then this would definitely have been a top ten contender. Excellent work overall! Very well put together image. Looking forward to seeing more of your work!
This is a pretty cool image. I like the colour grading. I like the white strips on the closest subject's top & how it ties into the the rest of the image. Unfortunately the subject's aren't in focus, otherwise it would have achieved a higher score. The body positions of the team could have been a little stronger. Would be tempted to crop out the partial subject on the right. Plus tidy up the grass in the background. Overall great effort! Please do try a reshoot of this one :)
Amazing Image!! Strong story. Caught amazing facial expressions & great point in the match! Composition is pretty much perfect!! Excellent eye for catching the moment. Slight issue on the focus I'm afraid otherwise would have scored much higher. Usually boxing matches are low light & I'm assuming this was a big factor on why your settings are where they are. Aperture needs to be at least 4-5 here. Potentially may get away with 3.5 but tricky while moving. Shutter needs to go up to 300-400. Then of course ISO needs to go up much further to compensate. Unfamiliar with the Nikon D40X & how high the ISO can cope on this model. Sony A9 can cope very well in the 6000-10000 range. Worth playing around with the settings & very much looking forward to more of your work!!
Composition great. Action great. Nody positions great. Settings look fine but the focus is a little off & subjects are a little blurry I'm afraid. If the focus was on point this would have scored higher. Potentially slightly overcooked on the contrast. Lovely work overall. Looking forward to seeing another entry with sharper focus! Well done.
Gone with a commend. Would be worth experimenting with a couple of aspects with this type of portrait to improve the image. Firstly I'd be tempted to put a 2.8 aperture focus on the eyes rather than the side of head. It's the eye focus in a portrait which really makes the subject pop. OR use a higher aperture & have eyes + head in focus. Also would be tempted to make the crop a little wider to add greater context. The neck tattoo would be nice to play a larger role in this particular image & would with a wider crop. Overall great though!!