Swimming pic help
I am new to this but I am having a terrible time with "grainy" photos of my daughter during her swimming meets.
I am shooting in moderate lighting (indoor pools), with high ISO and at times, in sequential shots, sport mode.
No flash allowed by most of the facilities.
What am I doing wrong??:dunno
My camera is a Sony a350 and at times, I do use a telephoto lens
I am shooting in moderate lighting (indoor pools), with high ISO and at times, in sequential shots, sport mode.
No flash allowed by most of the facilities.
What am I doing wrong??:dunno
My camera is a Sony a350 and at times, I do use a telephoto lens
0
Comments
Hey! Welcome. You've chosen a great place to get some help with your problems.
First and foremost. You need to post a couple examples. Make sure you put a number next to each example and also include the data for each photo (i.e. ISO, Aperature and Shutter Speed, Lens, Focal Length and since this a Sony please include the crop factor of the camera).
I realize you said you are shooting in "sports mode" but the camera still sets some, if not all, of those 3 settings and knowing them will help everyone give you better and more focused advice.
#2 If you don't understand the relationship between ISO, Aperature and Shutter speed, you need to Google it or Wiki it and begin to learn how each one effects the other and what effects they have on the final image.
#3 I can't speak for Sony cameras but with Canon you quickly discover that the "modes" (especially sports) simply just fall short and you need to learn to use your camera in either Aperature priority mode, manual mode or both.
However, to answer your question very broadly and without seeing examples.
You must have a quick shutter speed above everything else. (1/500 or better...better means 1/640, 1/800, etc.). Simply put, shutter speed is what freezes the motion and eliminates any blur in your photos.
Next, when shooting in low light you almost always want your aperature as wide as it will go (lower numbers = wider, i.e 2.8, 4, etc.) Set your aperature to lowest number that the lens you are using will allow.
Finally, you then need to make your ISO number bigger until the pictures are coming out properly exposed (use your histogram if the camera has one). If you are maxed out on ISO (3200) and can go no higher and not acheive proper exposure, then you toss the camera in the pool.:D Just kidding of course. But if you do then you have no choice to but to slow down the shutter speed and try for "artsy shots" i.e. breast stroke coming right at you with blurred arms but a focused face. But let me tell you, the slower you go the harder it gets.
As far as grain.....we call it noise. Noise is always present in images but it gets progressively worse as you increase ISO. As a general rule, the number one best way to keep it reduced is to be SURE you are absolutely exposing correctly. The more you underexpose the more likely you are to introduce noise into your images.
I have no idea how the Sony a350 handles noise (grain) at higher ISOs. I briefly googled it and it looks like at least a prosumer camera, if not better. However, all cameras simply have a limit of how high you can push the ISO before the noises begins to bother you. (This is of course, subjective).
The key to eliminating noise is good post processing. However, at some point there is just nothing you can do to make the image look respectable. The problem is that more noise you remove the softer you make the images and you begin to lose detail. On my Canon 30D the upper ISO limit was 1600 for me. I've recently switched to a 50D and I'm guessing that I will be able to shoot at ISO 3200 and still live with amount of noise it produces at that ISO.
See this post to get an idea of my workflow:
http://www.digitalgrin.com/showthread.php?t=112755
I shoot in RAW mode but there are plenty of sport shooters who shoot in JPG, apply some noise reduction software and then display their images.
There are benefits and drawbacks to both shooting in RAW and JPG. It's an expansive topic and you should do as much research as you can and then choose which format best suits you.
Good luck!
Oh and keep in mind I'm no authority on sports shooting, just a fairly knowledgable amatuer. There are other posters who know much much more.
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Welcome to the Grin....
I'm no pro but have taken over 4k with about 2k keepers
You really need a flash, but if you cant try iso 800 go with at least 1/80 at the lowest f stop, if your lens allow go faster on the shutter.
I've taken some nice photoes at the slower shutter speed without the flash. Some turned out to be quite interesting with a touch of motion blur. practice on the others till your daughters up, get as close as you can and fire away.
good luck
It's not what you look at that matters: Its what you see!
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I'm not sure how your Sony does with high ISO either, so can't comment. If the action is moving perpendicular to you, you need to be moving the camera with the subject to get sharper photos (not a true "panning" shot, but it will help). If the action is directly coming at you, you just need to time the shot for when they are out of the water.
Here's one of my pics that was shot at ISO 3200, f/2.8 and 1/200th of a sec. This was with my D300, and I recently got a D700, which works better at high ISO, but haven't shot swimming with it yet.
1
And this was a different pool with ISO 1600, f/2.8, and 1/400th (2 stops better... double the shutter speed, half of the ISO)
2
http://www.jrowphoto.com
http://www.maxpreps.com
Did I mention that I new at this?
I was only able to load one of the pics and as they were 14meg, I had a little trouble sizing it down for the site to accept.
I added the second one to the first response.
My ISO is 3200 and Aperture is 8.
I am shooting in the Sport mode b/c in the A mode, it won't let me shoot without the flash.
I will have get back with you on all the other numbers. I am still learning the basics of photography and my camera!
I am a master in the medical field but a beginner with all of this. I knew you all were experts by the shots I previously viewed. When I grow up, I want to be just like ya'll!
Do you have an online storage space so you can link your photos (picasaweb, shutterfly, flicker etc etc)? If so, link to your photos instead of attaching them - you can have any number in a post that way. You click the little yellow 'picture" icon and then insert the url of the linke, and... presto - they're embedded in your post!
Hth.
Thanks for the help. Do you recommend any in particular? I have only used the Kodak programs. Again..I am an newbie.
I personally like picasa. I use the desktop version to catalog and organize my photos (even though I own Lightroom, the Adobe product which does something similar), and I've been using the online galleries to link stuff to here.
Free, has been reliable, I haven't noticed an increase in spam since using the web version, and super easy to use - I'm a fan
Thanks so much for your assistance!