I also resorted to using a flash for the older guy's basketball game. I have been getting better photos with what I've learned and with the new lens, but everyone else is using a flash in there so I wanted to try it.
I would say mixed results. Definitely sharper pictures because I could up the shutter speed, but I didn't like the shadows and the red eyes are awful. I have spent a little time trying to fix them, but JST has huge blue eyes and practically his entire eyeball is red. Sometimes when it is corrected he has two entire blobs between his nose. I am hoping for my copy of Photoshop to arrive soon and hoping that its red eye correction feature is much better than Lightroom - has to be, right?
Ok, now to the pics.
I've been playing with the Lightroom standard presets again. I think I've said it before, but I really love the warmth that Direct Positive addes to the gym pictures. (I have found that I like it best when I clean up the original, ie, get the White Balance corrected and get the Exposure where I like it.)
The flash definitely helped with the crispness. The photo has more of that "flash" look than the first. It also really picks up any reflective clothing, shoes, etc, which can be very distracting.
I found another preset that helped with a couple of pics from the other game. They weren't quite a crisp, but weren't too bad. I adjusted the White Balance using Auto White Balance in Lightroom, adjusted the Exposure slightly and used the Aged Photo preset. I really liked the effect, especially for the second picture. CBT was being announced at the beginning of the last game (lights were lowered, smoke, loud music and he ran out with little spin moves - hopeless with no flash). His face is in focus, but everything else is a blur. Using this preset seems to draw more of the attention to his face. I think I'm going to do an entire scrapbook layout using this effect.
I am ready for the sunshine, I think.
