Capturing the "moment" (1)This is inspired by a request in the forums for sports/action photography resources.
One of the things that help to make a photograph is the "moment".
It doesn't just apply to sports, it applies to people, street and nature photography at the very least.
A camera/lens that has minimal shutter lag and fast accurate focussing will make life a lot easier.
A lot of moments are just that, so you will not have any time to be playing and adjusting dials etc. Have your camera always ready to go (turned on, lens cap off, and set up with the approximate settings for the conditions, and in your hand) with a charged battery and enough free space on your memory card.
(1) A friend of mine missed this as he was replacing his battery during a motor cycle race. Another three, including myself, photographers got the accident sequence.
Part of a sequence
Camera Canon EOS 40D
Exposure 0.002 sec (1/500)
Aperture f/10
Focal Length 400 mm
ISO Speed 400
Exposure Bias 1/3 EV
------------------------------------------
You really do know how to use your camera so it just becomes an extension of your brain. A lot of practice helps.
Focus is almost always set: centre focus point only, and focus tracking is on.
Unless I am shooting in a situation where the "action" may be a bit slower and I want to focus & recompose.
I always shoot RAW (to give me more flexibility when PPing) and continious shooting is on.
I usually set up in shutter priority with a shutter speed set;
a) high enough so camera shake is not a problem.
and
b) at a speed where I can have motion blur or freeze the action.
and at an ISO to give an aperture of around F8-F11
(2) Where I want to freeze the action.
Camera Canon EOS 40D
Exposure 0.001 sec (1/1600)
Aperture f/5.6
Focal Length 400 mm
ISO Speed 200
Exposure Bias -1/3 EV
-----------------------------------
(3) and where I want to show the feeling of motion.
Here caused by panning and the shutter speed is not high enough to freeze the wheels which is a good thing in motor sport photography, otherwise you may as well be shooting parked cars..
Camera Canon EOS 40D
Exposure 0.01 sec (1/100)
Aperture f/20.0
Focal Length 100 mm
ISO Speed 100
Exposure Bias -2/3 EV
------------------------
Where I want to isolate the subject from the background I will be shooting aperture priority with the lens fairly wide open.
However if I want to have a fair amount of DOF, especially for close ups I will be using a small aperture.
The ISO will be high enough so that camera shake is not a problem.
I only use manual if shooting in difficult lighting conditions (and then i will just meter for the scene and not adjust it whist shooting.
Or
When using flash to capture the moment.
(4) Taken with a flash. The lighting conditions are difficult with dappled sunlight coming in through the leaves. I feel this is a good example of a "moment" with both butterflies looking at me.
Camera Canon EOS 40D
Exposure 0.004 sec (1/250) : Max synch speed
Aperture f/16.0 (to give me at least a bit of DOF)
Focal Length 390 mm
ISO Speed 400
Exposure Bias 0 EV
Flash On, Fired
Exposure Mode: Manual
One of the things that help to make a photograph is the "moment".
It doesn't just apply to sports, it applies to people, street and nature photography at the very least.
A camera/lens that has minimal shutter lag and fast accurate focussing will make life a lot easier.
A lot of moments are just that, so you will not have any time to be playing and adjusting dials etc. Have your camera always ready to go (turned on, lens cap off, and set up with the approximate settings for the conditions, and in your hand) with a charged battery and enough free space on your memory card.
(1) A friend of mine missed this as he was replacing his battery during a motor cycle race. Another three, including myself, photographers got the accident sequence.
Part of a sequence
Camera Canon EOS 40D
Exposure 0.002 sec (1/500)
Aperture f/10
Focal Length 400 mm
ISO Speed 400
Exposure Bias 1/3 EV
------------------------------------------
You really do know how to use your camera so it just becomes an extension of your brain. A lot of practice helps.
Focus is almost always set: centre focus point only, and focus tracking is on.
Unless I am shooting in a situation where the "action" may be a bit slower and I want to focus & recompose.
I always shoot RAW (to give me more flexibility when PPing) and continious shooting is on.
I usually set up in shutter priority with a shutter speed set;
a) high enough so camera shake is not a problem.
and
b) at a speed where I can have motion blur or freeze the action.
and at an ISO to give an aperture of around F8-F11
(2) Where I want to freeze the action.
Camera Canon EOS 40D
Exposure 0.001 sec (1/1600)
Aperture f/5.6
Focal Length 400 mm
ISO Speed 200
Exposure Bias -1/3 EV
-----------------------------------
(3) and where I want to show the feeling of motion.
Here caused by panning and the shutter speed is not high enough to freeze the wheels which is a good thing in motor sport photography, otherwise you may as well be shooting parked cars..
Camera Canon EOS 40D
Exposure 0.01 sec (1/100)
Aperture f/20.0
Focal Length 100 mm
ISO Speed 100
Exposure Bias -2/3 EV
------------------------
Where I want to isolate the subject from the background I will be shooting aperture priority with the lens fairly wide open.
However if I want to have a fair amount of DOF, especially for close ups I will be using a small aperture.
The ISO will be high enough so that camera shake is not a problem.
I only use manual if shooting in difficult lighting conditions (and then i will just meter for the scene and not adjust it whist shooting.
Or
When using flash to capture the moment.
(4) Taken with a flash. The lighting conditions are difficult with dappled sunlight coming in through the leaves. I feel this is a good example of a "moment" with both butterflies looking at me.
Camera Canon EOS 40D
Exposure 0.004 sec (1/250) : Max synch speed
Aperture f/16.0 (to give me at least a bit of DOF)
Focal Length 390 mm
ISO Speed 400
Exposure Bias 0 EV
Flash On, Fired
Exposure Mode: Manual
No comments:
Post a Comment