Frequently, I like to shoot sports from eye level or lower. It isn’t unusual to see me kneeling or sitting on the sidelines of any game to capture the action. I like the low angle perspective because it gives the viewer the feeling of actually being on the field and part of the action. Of course, this angle isn’t always ideal. For instance, during this Leeds vs Calhoun County prep sports baseball game, I quickly decided that there were too many distractions behind short stop Rie Falleetta and that the higher angle from the press box would eliminate the yellow fence line, the house, and the occasional vehicle that drove through the background. I knew that the clean (almost) green canvas of the field would make a nice background for this baseball player throughout the game.

So, as I trudged up the stairs to the press box to get that higher angle, I was already mentally writing this blog entry about how changing angles can really improve image quality. The only problem is that the shot from the lower angle–one of the first shots of the game–was the best portrait of Rie (go figure; I could have left the freezing cold game an hour earlier than I did had I known THIS would be the shot that I would ultimately send to The Birmingham News).

Instead, I will just mention how framing and selective focus can help an image. The left part of the frame just happens to include the out of focus torso of an umpire. It improves the image by forcing the viewer’s eye to the tack sharp player and by obscuring some of the noisy background. I like when this happens. I certainly didn’t plan on it happening, but when editing, I look for serendipitous framing such as this.