F/10 is way too closed. Because of this you are having to use longer shutter speed which is why everything is not in focus. You need to try and shoot somewhere around F/5.6 or F/4 with a shutter speed around 1/800. This will yield you better results and blur the background more so that there is seperation between the subject and background.
many thanks Erbeman. I knid of thought more F stop was the better way to go for depth of field. Don't forget I'm still being weaned off the D40:D
I think the one thing I learned on this outting was to bump up the shutter a tad in good light.
but it gets comfusing. I was getting good shots on the D40 in sports mode which was always a high shutter, and I was hearing a lot of "don't use sports mode"
I'm thinking its a real fine line between what you can get in sports mode and what you can get in manual but the differences are what I want.
having said that. if you were to look at the same shot you commented on. what would happen if you put good flash into the equation. I'm pretty close to buying a SB900.
would that then change your settings or would the flash just "help" the picture.
many thanks Erbeman. I knid of thought more F stop was the better way to go for depth of field. Don't forget I'm still being weaned off the D40:D
I think the one thing I learned on this outting was to bump up the shutter a tad in good light.
but it gets comfusing. I was getting good shots on the D40 in sports mode which was always a high shutter, and I was hearing a lot of "don't use sports mode"
I'm thinking its a real fine line between what you can get in sports mode and what you can get in manual but the differences are what I want.
having said that. if you were to look at the same shot you commented on. what would happen if you put good flash into the equation. I'm pretty close to buying a SB900.
would that then change your settings or would the flash just "help" the picture.
thanks again for the input.
Every situation is different. That is why it is so important to learn manual mode and truely understand how to adjust everything to get a proper exposure. Most times when I wander to a new spot, I will meter off the track where I'm planning on shooting, adjust my settings, take a pic of two of the next riders that come by, then look at them in my screen. I then can tell what needs to change on my setting to get a good pic. Because the ambient light is always different, there is no "put your camera on these settings and you'll have great shots." You are now at the crossroads of where you can become a good sports photog or continue to shoot in camera modes and hope that the camera does a good job for you. Practice is what is going to help you improve now. Good luck
having said that. if you were to look at the same shot you commented on. what would happen if you put good flash into the equation. I'm pretty close to buying a SB900.
would that then change your settings or would the flash just "help" the picture.
thanks again for the input.
The problem with using a flash on your D300 is the slow flash sync speed(1/250, 1/320FP). This will put you back at around the F10 to F13 you're trying to get away from. Russ's D700 will flash sync up to 1/2000.
For the times when I use flash on my D300, I pan, to blur the background.
The problem with using a flash on your D300 is the slow flash sync speed(1/250, 1/320FP). This will put you back at around the F10 to F13 you're trying to get away from. Russ's D700 will flash sync up to 1/2000.
For the times when I use flash on my D300, I pan, to blur the background.
I'm sorry man but that is incorrect. If you use the on-camera flash, you can only shoot up to 1/320. However, as long as you use a Nikon Hot Shoe flash such as the SB 600, 800, and 900, you can use the flash at whatever speed you are shooting. Here is a little blurb about that on a review of the D300:
If you're using the SB-600 or SB-800 Speedlight, then you can use any shutter speed offered on the camera -- even 1/8000 sec. Otherwise, the max flash sync speed is officially 1/250 sec, though you can actually go up to 1/320 sec, with a corresponding drop in flash range.
You are now at the crossroads of where you can become a good sports photog or continue to shoot in camera modes and hope that the camera does a good job for you. Practice is what is going to help you improve now. Good luck
thanks, I'm in it for the long haul so I plan on learning it as much as possible. my first session with the D300 on the track last week was actually pretty good all things considered. I was in manual exclusively. one plus for me, is that I like being at the track so much the pictures are almost a sidebar. these open practices when lots of guys show up and there is practicaly non stop motion going on around you is for me, surreal. I really like being there. add to that more and more kids are just saying hi and even thanking me for coming out, it really is quality time.
when you meter do you use the histrograms or whatever they call them or do you just look at the picture in the display. I was thinking I had some pretty good shots from what I was seeing in the display but not so much when I got a good look at them.
still got some I'm pretty happy with. there is an ongoing drama going on with this track. they posted on their website last Friday night that the track was perfect and then it rained buckets and all these guys showed up Saturday morning and they're kind of pissed because it was a total mud fest. guys were getting stuck on straightaways.
thanks, I'm in it for the long haul so I plan on learning it as much as possible. my first session with the D300 on the track last week was actually pretty good all things considered. I was in manual exclusively. one plus for me, is that I like being at the track so much the pictures are almost a sidebar. these open practices when lots of guys show up and there is practicaly non stop motion going on around you is for me, surreal. I really like being there. add to that more and more kids are just saying hi and even thanking me for coming out, it really is quality time.
when you meter do you use the histrograms or whatever they call them or do you just look at the picture in the display. I was thinking I had some pretty good shots from what I was seeing in the display but not so much when I got a good look at them.
still got some I'm pretty happy with. there is an ongoing drama going on with this track. they posted on their website last Friday night that the track was perfect and then it rained buckets and all these guys showed up Saturday morning and they're kind of pissed because it was a total mud fest. guys were getting stuck on straightaways.
being on the sidelines has its advantages.
Yea, I generally feel the same when I'm at a track. It's not work at all until the weather gets bad. As far as metering goes, you do that through your viewfinder. Focus on something and look towards the bottom of the viewfinder and you will see a scale. That is basically an exposure scale, too far one direction and your pics are overexposed, too far the other direction and your pics are underexposed. You have to find the sweetspot that you like and adjust ISO, aperature, and shutter speed to keep in that sweetspot on the scale. I personally like to stay 1 bar underexposed from the middle.
This is a pretty good pic you posted. With some PP it could be even better.
This is a pretty good pic you posted. With some PP it could be even better.
I think it definitely needs a black point set and a bump in contrast in the minimum. The colors are washed out, not much pop to it. But that can be fixed.
Here it is with about 1 minute of PP time from me. Learning how to PP is nearly as important as learning how to get a proper exposure. You can save images that aren't perfect and you can manipulate the pic into something that looks totally different.
Here it is with about 1 minute of PP time from me. Learning how to PP is nearly as important as learning how to get a proper exposure. You can save images that aren't perfect and you can manipulate the pic into something that looks totally different.
Very nice! Even a little PP does wonders. Back when I was shooting two races a month I got my RAW workflow down to the point that I would post-process every sold image. I would batch each image through Photoshop, cutting it down to 600 pixels on the longest side and applying a default conversion and a run through auto-levels, then upload it to Exposure Manager as a proof-only gallery. Then as orders came in I would hand-edit the ordered files. When you get a system like this down you find you can deliver higher quality images with less total work.
Very nice! Even a little PP does wonders. Back when I was shooting two races a month I got my RAW workflow down to the point that I would post-process every sold image. I would batch each image through Photoshop, cutting it down to 600 pixels on the longest side and applying a default conversion and a run through auto-levels, then upload it to Exposure Manager as a proof-only gallery. Then as orders came in I would hand-edit the ordered files. When you get a system like this down you find you can deliver higher quality images with less total work.
Man that's the way to do it, like a well oiled machine!! I bet folks were bummed when you quit shooting MX.
Here it is with about 1 minute of PP time from me. Learning how to PP is nearly as important as learning how to get a proper exposure. You can save images that aren't perfect and you can manipulate the pic into something that looks totally different.
I'm sorry man but that is incorrect. If you use the on-camera flash, you can only shoot up to 1/320. However, as long as you use a Nikon Hot Shoe flash such as the SB 600, 800, and 900, you can use the flash at whatever speed you are shooting. Here is a little blurb about that on a review of the D300:
If you're using the SB-600 or SB-800 Speedlight, then you can use any shutter speed offered on the camera -- even 1/8000 sec. Otherwise, the max flash sync speed is officially 1/250 sec, though you can actually go up to 1/320 sec, with a corresponding drop in flash range.
Well, I feel like a dumb***. How the heck did I not know that? I did read the manual. I guess I haven't missed out on much, since the only time I would use that would be at the track. (but I'll probably think of more uses now) I've only been able to make to the races once this year due to onflicts with my other sports. I missed last weekends race because I was shooting a softball tourney. (16 teams, 7-8 year olds $$) I plan to make it to the August race. Hopefully, I'll have my D300 back from Nikon by then:pissed,
assuming they get the part :pissed :pissed :pissed
Here are some i took on the weekend at Walton Ont Canada.
2.
3.
4.
I have a question ,I was using TV most of the weekend what do you guys and girls use ?
What settings should I try?
Thanks
Holy crap!!! I've never seen anyone jump a side by side. He caught some major air!! Pretty good pics man. As far as modes goes. I preach it to all aspiring photogs. The only way you are going to get better is to learn to shoot in manual mode. Depend on yourself and not the camera to make good shots.
In variable lighting, such as partially cloudy I prefer AV mode and set the aperture based on DOF I require/desire. That is my go to mode for ambient light shooting.
If I desire a specific effect, like panning or prop blur, I go to Tv and set a shutter speed I want.
Lately I have been going to manual when using flash, and have been using flash a lot more. Really not happy with the way Canon deals with flash and Av/Tv modes, so I leave those alone and put a lot of trust in E-TTL.
Soon though I plan on going cheap wireless triggers and learning to use off camera flash in manual modes... Constant learning
What I dream about though is the new pocket wizards.... RF E-TTL.....
In variable lighting, such as partially cloudy I prefer AV mode and set the aperture based on DOF I require/desire. That is my go to mode for ambient light shooting.
If I desire a specific effect, like panning or prop blur, I go to Tv and set a shutter speed I want.
Lately I have been going to manual when using flash, and have been using flash a lot more. Really not happy with the way Canon deals with flash and Av/Tv modes, so I leave those alone and put a lot of trust in E-TTL.
Soon though I plan on going cheap wireless triggers and learning to use off camera flash in manual modes... Constant learning
What I dream about though is the new pocket wizards.... RF E-TTL.....
We are of the same mind
If I am just out shooting a race (non ad work) I almost always shoot in AV mode at near wide open and choose a little open or a little closed depending on the lighting and the look I am going for.
I dont want to miss a shot, so AV always lets me shoot fast and not worry about getting the correct exposure in ever changing lighting conditions.
Ad work or flash I go manual.
I try to never use on camera flash if I can help it. Off camera gives such a better feel to the shot IMO
Here are a few old ones with a little off camera set up. Lumidine's work great for this type of stuff. Pack into your bag easy and have a really good recycle time and lots of power to darken the background.
Thanks
Some of these are supose to go in a magazine so we will see.
It just seems like my pics have just been a little off last couple weeks.
will try some manual stuff soon .
www.rmwphoto.ca
Canon XSI
18-55 AF IS
55-250 AF IS
Canon 430 EXII Flash
well first day today at a real race not an open practice. great bright sun all day long. I'm starting to conclude afternoon sun is stronger than morning sun but I don't know why.
shot most of the day on ISO 640 and got some shots I'm liking. I stayed away from F stops of 10 and above as I'm thinking (thanks to advice on this thread) that the longer F stop reduces my focus range. So having said that I was shooting high shutters all day. I REALLY need to learn how the camera meters light. The owners manual kind of takes things for granted when it comes to explaing things and there are so many damn settings.
But late in the day under very strong light I got this one which I like, focus seems off just a hair but I really like the dark colors given the strong light. I mean this was seriously strong light maybe 6:30 pm sun fairly low no clouds. I bought the SB 900 Friday but just didn't have time to play with it Saturday so I left it home.
heres another from today, again focus off just a touch. I'm thinking the dust played a part as there was definitely some in the air he was one of a 3-4 bike freight train. hes really on the gas here and flat out flying.
1/800 F 8.
Does anyone know how flash affects dusty shots like this?
due to right behind me was another part of the track there was a fair amount of airborne dust, not really bad but definitely present. these were experts and they were hammering this turn but I paid the price with the dust. any thoughts on dust welcome.
well first day today at a real race not an open practice. great bright sun all day long. I'm starting to conclude afternoon sun is stronger than morning sun but I don't know why.
Because all the morning haze has been burned away.
BTW the shutter/f stop = 1/2000 F8 ISO 640.
Way way way too fast a shutter. You have stopped all motion whatsoever. I used to use 1/640 as my primary shutter speed for most shots, which gives a touch of wheel blur to show some motion. Then for select shots I'd drop down to around 1/250 and even down to 1/125.
As per the dust it is possible that the camera focused on a dirt clump that was inbetween the bike and the camera. Or more likely, all that dust and clumps just confused the camera and it didn't really know what it should focus on. Really, that shot of yours is more than just a bit out of focus, it is REALLY out of focus. Its a good shot to ask a question of on a forum about technique, but its not a shot to put in a gallery for sale.
What will flash do with dust? It will reflect some of the light back at you. Dry dust will reflect a little, wet mud a bit more. This usually will create a bit of a washed out picture, but you can often salvage that in PP with a levels adjustment.
OK, are we talking Photoshop which isn't cheap or some other photo processing program as in one of the "free" ones.
Lightroom or Aperture will do the same for you, plus also will become your importing tool, your cataloging tool, etc. Both are cheaper than Photoshop. Hopefully you are getting some sales on these pics of yours. Take some of that profit and invest it in the tools you need to grow. Set your prices so that you have sufficient profits to make these investments.
shot most of the day on ISO 640 and got some shots I'm liking. I stayed away from F stops of 10 and above as I'm thinking (thanks to advice on this thread) that the longer F stop reduces my focus range.
If you are in bright sun, drop your ISO down to 100/200.
You are incorrect with your Fstop statement. It's the opposite. A higher fstop number increases your depth of field.
In the condition you described. shooting Av at F4 and ISO 200 or round about should of offered better exposed photos.
I'll go against what Russ has said. Shooting manual is great once one learns all the adjustments. I recommend shooting in Av most of the time and reviewing the photos to get an idea of what looks good and putting that in your brains memory banks and trying those settings out in manual mode and adjust from there.
If you are in bright sun, drop your ISO down to 100/200.
I'll double that and admit I'm embarrassed I missed that. I'm not sure why you would be shooting at ISO 640 in bright sun in the first place, but in bright sun use 100.
I'll go against what Russ has said. Shooting manual is great once one learns all the adjustments. I recommend shooting in Av most of the time and reviewing the photos to get an idea of what looks good and putting that in your brains memory banks and trying those settings out in manual mode and adjust from there.
I always shot motorsports in Tv mode, not in Av mode. Why? Because I was usually much more concerned with how much (or how little) motion blur I was getting in a particular shot, and less concerned about how much depth of field I had. But likewise, I never shot in Manual mode either. I'd set the ISO to a value I wanted based on light, and shutter speed to a value based on the amount of motion blur I wanted to get, and let the camera meter for the aperture.
To me, when it comes to motorsports, choosing the correct shutter speed is more important than choosing the correct aperture. Contrast this to stick and ball sports. When I was shooting youth football I was trained to go Av mode, lens wide-open. The key was to get as shallow depth-of-field, and thus maximum background separation, plus to get the fastest possible shutter speed. There depth of field was of prime importance.
Man that's the way to do it, like a well oiled machine!! I bet folks were bummed when you quit shooting MX.
Thanks! I used to be a JPG-only guy until I got tired of so many people telling me that a well-run RAW workflow wasn't any slower. And, you what, they were right. Batch the RAWs, re-sizing to a smaller image, apply a default conversion to JPG, a carefully chosen automatic adjustment to get each image decent though not perfect, then upload the small images.
The proof-only gallery option of Exposure Manager helped a ton there. Upload small file versions, which gets the gallery up for viewing and ordering MUCH faster. Then upload the final image only upon an order of a print or digital file. Thus also only post-processing the photos that actually sell. At the time Smugmug didn't have that. Even today Smugmug's proof delay feature is still "broken" in that it does not apply to digital file purchases, only to prints. Someone buys a digital file and they get exactly what you uploaded, rather than wait for you to retouch the photos.
I found I was delivering better final images, but doing less total work. This worked especially well for night race photography, as those images always required quite a bit of manual tweaking to get right. If I had to do that from JPGs, or had to do that for every image posted, it would have been prohibitively too much work to be worthwhile.
First Time at Motocross Photography
Wow! You guys have some OUTSTANDING photos here. I love looking at these. I have not raced in almost 30 years (since 1980) but I finally got to a race on Sunday July 5th and took my camera even in the rain. It was great fun watching the bikes and taking pictures.
Now, if I can get any help from you all it would really be great. I did get frustrated in trying to focus accurately, I tried it both with the shutter button and the back focus button and still not sure which is the best way to go. It was even worse capturing them on the jumps. Also I played around with AV and M modes and adjusting the ISO and speeds. I realize I need much more practice but would really love any comments and suggestions to help me avoid bad habits. I took a LOT of pictures. I mean A LOT - like 4000+. Spent 6 hours going through a bunch of them last night and still not half way done.
All shots were taken with Canon 50D and 70-200 non-IS Canon lens.
Anyway, I am posting a few below that looked okay but no where near the quality I see on this board. So please any comments and suggestions that can help me out are very welcome.
Anyway, I am posting a few below that looked okay but no where near the quality I see on this board. So please any comments and suggestions that can help me out are very welcome.
Thanks,
Andy
Look fine to me. A bit of post processing work and these will look a bit better.
I don't miss those 4K photo days either! Eventually, you'll get it down to 800 or less.
Look fine to me. A bit of post processing work and these will look a bit better.
I don't miss those 4K photo days either! Eventually, you'll get it down to 800 or less.
Thanks j-bo for the comments. Yep, I took way too many but it was so exciting I just kept shooting everything I saw. I really need to learn A) Better focusing and Post processing.
Comments
many thanks Erbeman. I knid of thought more F stop was the better way to go for depth of field. Don't forget I'm still being weaned off the D40:D
I think the one thing I learned on this outting was to bump up the shutter a tad in good light.
but it gets comfusing. I was getting good shots on the D40 in sports mode which was always a high shutter, and I was hearing a lot of "don't use sports mode"
I'm thinking its a real fine line between what you can get in sports mode and what you can get in manual but the differences are what I want.
having said that. if you were to look at the same shot you commented on. what would happen if you put good flash into the equation. I'm pretty close to buying a SB900.
would that then change your settings or would the flash just "help" the picture.
thanks again for the input.
Every situation is different. That is why it is so important to learn manual mode and truely understand how to adjust everything to get a proper exposure. Most times when I wander to a new spot, I will meter off the track where I'm planning on shooting, adjust my settings, take a pic of two of the next riders that come by, then look at them in my screen. I then can tell what needs to change on my setting to get a good pic. Because the ambient light is always different, there is no "put your camera on these settings and you'll have great shots." You are now at the crossroads of where you can become a good sports photog or continue to shoot in camera modes and hope that the camera does a good job for you. Practice is what is going to help you improve now. Good luck
http://www.RussErbePhotography.com :thumb
http://www.sportsshooter.com/erbeman
D700, D300, Nikkor 35-70 F/2.8, Nikkor 50mm F/1.8, Nikkor 70-200 AF-S VR F/2.8, Nikkor AF-S 1.7 teleconverter II,(2) Profoto D1 500 Air,SB-900, SB-600, (2)MB-D10, MacBook Pro
The problem with using a flash on your D300 is the slow flash sync speed(1/250, 1/320FP). This will put you back at around the F10 to F13 you're trying to get away from. Russ's D700 will flash sync up to 1/2000.
For the times when I use flash on my D300, I pan, to blur the background.
http://www.knippixels.com
A former sports shooter
Follow me at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/bjurasz/
My Etsy store: https://www.etsy.com/shop/mercphoto?ref=hdr_shop_menu
I'm sorry man but that is incorrect. If you use the on-camera flash, you can only shoot up to 1/320. However, as long as you use a Nikon Hot Shoe flash such as the SB 600, 800, and 900, you can use the flash at whatever speed you are shooting. Here is a little blurb about that on a review of the D300:
If you're using the SB-600 or SB-800 Speedlight, then you can use any shutter speed offered on the camera -- even 1/8000 sec. Otherwise, the max flash sync speed is officially 1/250 sec, though you can actually go up to 1/320 sec, with a corresponding drop in flash range.
Here is a link: http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/nikon/d300-review/
http://www.RussErbePhotography.com :thumb
http://www.sportsshooter.com/erbeman
D700, D300, Nikkor 35-70 F/2.8, Nikkor 50mm F/1.8, Nikkor 70-200 AF-S VR F/2.8, Nikkor AF-S 1.7 teleconverter II,(2) Profoto D1 500 Air,SB-900, SB-600, (2)MB-D10, MacBook Pro
thanks, I'm in it for the long haul so I plan on learning it as much as possible. my first session with the D300 on the track last week was actually pretty good all things considered. I was in manual exclusively. one plus for me, is that I like being at the track so much the pictures are almost a sidebar. these open practices when lots of guys show up and there is practicaly non stop motion going on around you is for me, surreal. I really like being there. add to that more and more kids are just saying hi and even thanking me for coming out, it really is quality time.
when you meter do you use the histrograms or whatever they call them or do you just look at the picture in the display. I was thinking I had some pretty good shots from what I was seeing in the display but not so much when I got a good look at them.
still got some I'm pretty happy with. there is an ongoing drama going on with this track. they posted on their website last Friday night that the track was perfect and then it rained buckets and all these guys showed up Saturday morning and they're kind of pissed because it was a total mud fest. guys were getting stuck on straightaways.
being on the sidelines has its advantages.
Yea, I generally feel the same when I'm at a track. It's not work at all until the weather gets bad. As far as metering goes, you do that through your viewfinder. Focus on something and look towards the bottom of the viewfinder and you will see a scale. That is basically an exposure scale, too far one direction and your pics are overexposed, too far the other direction and your pics are underexposed. You have to find the sweetspot that you like and adjust ISO, aperature, and shutter speed to keep in that sweetspot on the scale. I personally like to stay 1 bar underexposed from the middle.
This is a pretty good pic you posted. With some PP it could be even better.
http://www.RussErbePhotography.com :thumb
http://www.sportsshooter.com/erbeman
D700, D300, Nikkor 35-70 F/2.8, Nikkor 50mm F/1.8, Nikkor 70-200 AF-S VR F/2.8, Nikkor AF-S 1.7 teleconverter II,(2) Profoto D1 500 Air,SB-900, SB-600, (2)MB-D10, MacBook Pro
A former sports shooter
Follow me at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/bjurasz/
My Etsy store: https://www.etsy.com/shop/mercphoto?ref=hdr_shop_menu
Here it is with about 1 minute of PP time from me. Learning how to PP is nearly as important as learning how to get a proper exposure. You can save images that aren't perfect and you can manipulate the pic into something that looks totally different.
http://www.RussErbePhotography.com :thumb
http://www.sportsshooter.com/erbeman
D700, D300, Nikkor 35-70 F/2.8, Nikkor 50mm F/1.8, Nikkor 70-200 AF-S VR F/2.8, Nikkor AF-S 1.7 teleconverter II,(2) Profoto D1 500 Air,SB-900, SB-600, (2)MB-D10, MacBook Pro
A former sports shooter
Follow me at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/bjurasz/
My Etsy store: https://www.etsy.com/shop/mercphoto?ref=hdr_shop_menu
Man that's the way to do it, like a well oiled machine!! I bet folks were bummed when you quit shooting MX.
http://www.RussErbePhotography.com :thumb
http://www.sportsshooter.com/erbeman
D700, D300, Nikkor 35-70 F/2.8, Nikkor 50mm F/1.8, Nikkor 70-200 AF-S VR F/2.8, Nikkor AF-S 1.7 teleconverter II,(2) Profoto D1 500 Air,SB-900, SB-600, (2)MB-D10, MacBook Pro
We'll be on vacation back at my in laws and we're goin to the track! it would be cool to meet some of you guys if your in the area.
thats really sharp thanks for doing that. PP=post processing/photo processing I'm assuming.
OK, are we talking Photoshop which isn't cheap or some other photo processing program as in one of the "free" ones.
thanks for doing that I posted it on the Walden site hopefully he'll see it.
Well, I feel like a dumb***. How the heck did I not know that?
assuming they get the part :pissed :pissed :pissed
Thanks, Russ.
http://www.knippixels.com
Here are some i took on the weekend at Walton Ont Canada.
2.
3.
4.
I have a question ,I was using TV most of the weekend what do you guys and girls use ?
What settings should I try?
Thanks
Canon XSI
18-55 AF IS
55-250 AF IS
Canon 430 EXII Flash
Holy crap!!! I've never seen anyone jump a side by side. He caught some major air!! Pretty good pics man. As far as modes goes. I preach it to all aspiring photogs. The only way you are going to get better is to learn to shoot in manual mode. Depend on yourself and not the camera to make good shots.
http://www.RussErbePhotography.com :thumb
http://www.sportsshooter.com/erbeman
D700, D300, Nikkor 35-70 F/2.8, Nikkor 50mm F/1.8, Nikkor 70-200 AF-S VR F/2.8, Nikkor AF-S 1.7 teleconverter II,(2) Profoto D1 500 Air,SB-900, SB-600, (2)MB-D10, MacBook Pro
If I desire a specific effect, like panning or prop blur, I go to Tv and set a shutter speed I want.
Lately I have been going to manual when using flash, and have been using flash a lot more. Really not happy with the way Canon deals with flash and Av/Tv modes, so I leave those alone and put a lot of trust in E-TTL.
Soon though I plan on going cheap wireless triggers and learning to use off camera flash in manual modes... Constant learning
What I dream about though is the new pocket wizards.... RF E-TTL.....
We are of the same mind
If I am just out shooting a race (non ad work) I almost always shoot in AV mode at near wide open and choose a little open or a little closed depending on the lighting and the look I am going for.
I dont want to miss a shot, so AV always lets me shoot fast and not worry about getting the correct exposure in ever changing lighting conditions.
Ad work or flash I go manual.
I try to never use on camera flash if I can help it. Off camera gives such a better feel to the shot IMO
Here are a few old ones with a little off camera set up. Lumidine's work great for this type of stuff. Pack into your bag easy and have a really good recycle time and lots of power to darken the background.
Some of these are supose to go in a magazine so we will see.
It just seems like my pics have just been a little off last couple weeks.
will try some manual stuff soon .
Canon XSI
18-55 AF IS
55-250 AF IS
Canon 430 EXII Flash
shot most of the day on ISO 640 and got some shots I'm liking. I stayed away from F stops of 10 and above as I'm thinking (thanks to advice on this thread) that the longer F stop reduces my focus range. So having said that I was shooting high shutters all day. I REALLY need to learn how the camera meters light. The owners manual kind of takes things for granted when it comes to explaing things and there are so many damn settings.
But late in the day under very strong light I got this one which I like, focus seems off just a hair but I really like the dark colors given the strong light. I mean this was seriously strong light maybe 6:30 pm sun fairly low no clouds. I bought the SB 900 Friday but just didn't have time to play with it Saturday so I left it home.
BTW the shutter/f stop = 1/2000 F8 ISO 640.
1/800 F 8.
Does anyone know how flash affects dusty shots like this?
due to right behind me was another part of the track there was a fair amount of airborne dust, not really bad but definitely present. these were experts and they were hammering this turn but I paid the price with the dust. any thoughts on dust welcome.
no freaking way!
man that guy is one brave man. holy cow that must come down like a ton of bricks. ka boom!
Way way way too fast a shutter. You have stopped all motion whatsoever. I used to use 1/640 as my primary shutter speed for most shots, which gives a touch of wheel blur to show some motion. Then for select shots I'd drop down to around 1/250 and even down to 1/125.
As per the dust it is possible that the camera focused on a dirt clump that was inbetween the bike and the camera. Or more likely, all that dust and clumps just confused the camera and it didn't really know what it should focus on. Really, that shot of yours is more than just a bit out of focus, it is REALLY out of focus. Its a good shot to ask a question of on a forum about technique, but its not a shot to put in a gallery for sale.
What will flash do with dust? It will reflect some of the light back at you. Dry dust will reflect a little, wet mud a bit more. This usually will create a bit of a washed out picture, but you can often salvage that in PP with a levels adjustment.
A former sports shooter
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A former sports shooter
Follow me at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/bjurasz/
My Etsy store: https://www.etsy.com/shop/mercphoto?ref=hdr_shop_menu
If you are in bright sun, drop your ISO down to 100/200.
You are incorrect with your Fstop statement. It's the opposite. A higher fstop number increases your depth of field.
In the condition you described. shooting Av at F4 and ISO 200 or round about should of offered better exposed photos.
I'll go against what Russ has said. Shooting manual is great once one learns all the adjustments. I recommend shooting in Av most of the time and reviewing the photos to get an idea of what looks good and putting that in your brains memory banks and trying those settings out in manual mode and adjust from there.
I always shot motorsports in Tv mode, not in Av mode. Why? Because I was usually much more concerned with how much (or how little) motion blur I was getting in a particular shot, and less concerned about how much depth of field I had. But likewise, I never shot in Manual mode either. I'd set the ISO to a value I wanted based on light, and shutter speed to a value based on the amount of motion blur I wanted to get, and let the camera meter for the aperture.
To me, when it comes to motorsports, choosing the correct shutter speed is more important than choosing the correct aperture. Contrast this to stick and ball sports. When I was shooting youth football I was trained to go Av mode, lens wide-open. The key was to get as shallow depth-of-field, and thus maximum background separation, plus to get the fastest possible shutter speed. There depth of field was of prime importance.
A former sports shooter
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The proof-only gallery option of Exposure Manager helped a ton there. Upload small file versions, which gets the gallery up for viewing and ordering MUCH faster. Then upload the final image only upon an order of a print or digital file. Thus also only post-processing the photos that actually sell. At the time Smugmug didn't have that. Even today Smugmug's proof delay feature is still "broken" in that it does not apply to digital file purchases, only to prints. Someone buys a digital file and they get exactly what you uploaded, rather than wait for you to retouch the photos.
I found I was delivering better final images, but doing less total work.
A former sports shooter
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Wow! You guys have some OUTSTANDING photos here. I love looking at these. I have not raced in almost 30 years (since 1980) but I finally got to a race on Sunday July 5th and took my camera even in the rain. It was great fun watching the bikes and taking pictures.
Now, if I can get any help from you all it would really be great. I did get frustrated in trying to focus accurately, I tried it both with the shutter button and the back focus button and still not sure which is the best way to go. It was even worse capturing them on the jumps. Also I played around with AV and M modes and adjusting the ISO and speeds. I realize I need much more practice but would really love any comments and suggestions to help me avoid bad habits. I took a LOT of pictures. I mean A LOT - like 4000+. Spent 6 hours going through a bunch of them last night and still not half way done.
All shots were taken with Canon 50D and 70-200 non-IS Canon lens.
Anyway, I am posting a few below that looked okay but no where near the quality I see on this board. So please any comments and suggestions that can help me out are very welcome.
Thanks,
Andy
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http://andygriffinphoto.com/
http://andygriffin.smugmug.com/
Canon 7D, 70-200mm L, 50 and 85 primes, Tamron 17-50, 28-135
Look fine to me. A bit of post processing work and these will look a bit better.
I don't miss those 4K photo days either! Eventually, you'll get it down to 800 or less.
Thanks j-bo for the comments. Yep, I took way too many but it was so exciting I just kept shooting everything I saw. I really need to learn A) Better focusing and
http://andygriffinphoto.com/
http://andygriffin.smugmug.com/
Canon 7D, 70-200mm L, 50 and 85 primes, Tamron 17-50, 28-135