I am going to an air show in a couple of weeks and wanted some suggestions for taking photos of the planes and jets. What ISO and shutter speed do you recommend?
Unless it's at night, you'll want to shoot ISO100, because it will be plenty light. Adjust ISO last, though... you'll probably want plenty of DOF so f5.6 or so is a bare minimum. Shutter speed will depend on what effect you want...
- for prop planes, most people want to see a good amount of blur on the props, but still see the blurred props. A completely still prop isn't "natural" on a flying plane.
- use 2 different techniques, but mostly the follow-shot... follow the plane, hopefully with a treeline or something behind that can motion-blur behind it. You can try to do a stationary camera and allow the plane to slightly blur, but that's not as common or as "accepted".
once you have your f-stop and shutter speeds where you want them, adjust ISO if needed... but I really doubt you'd need higher than ISO100 or 200.
My personal taste for airplanes on the ground is to use a very wide lens and get very close. Shots from 1/4 or 3/4 angles and low work well, and the distortion caused by a wider lens (IMO) adds to the shot.
It's going to be outside so maybe use a polarizing filter, and dont' worry so much about exposure of the sky - expose the plane itself correctly - you'll blow out the sky most likely but there's not a lot you can do about that. It's not like you can expose the sky and use fill-flash!
Las Vegas Wedding, Family, and Special Event Photographers.
Canon 7d
2 Canon 40d
70-200 f2.8L IS, 50mm f1.4, 50mm f1.8, 28mm f1.8, Tamron 17-55 f2.8, ProOptic 8mm Fisheye
And a bunch of other stuff
If you do shoot in a mode other than manual, shutter priority would be best. Experiment a little as you want a blurred prop. With jets, not so much of an issue. As a general guideline, keep your shutter speeds at or above 1 over the focal length of your lens to avoid blur caused by hand holding the camera. For example; shooting at 200mm focal length, the minimum exposure would be 1/200 of a second--this is only a guideline. You will need to go below this to get decent blur on a propeller driven plane and this should help you learn how slow a shutter speed you can hand hold.
For setting exposure, the sky is a very large part of your image and will dominate meter readings--be aware of that and adjust accordingly--the focus is aircraft and in auto modes, you will need to adjust EV accordingly. If you are a histogram reader, this also means in bright light, it well will be stacked to the right. Again, exposure of the aircraft is what's important so take a couple of sample shots and check.
ISO and shutter speeds. Most Canon cameras work best at an ISO of 200. I'd start there. For shutter and aperture, it will depend on the lighting at your venue.
Focus. Best to shoot around f/11 so that your DOF covers the plane. Check focus points so that AF is tracking the plane and not something else.
When panning. Set AI servo mode (on Canon cameras), half shutter and track your subject. Once you click the shutter, continue panning through the shot.
Be sure to visit the static displays. Look for interesting angles and photograph the small details. You can use Wide Angle for this or even telephoto. Sometimes a telephoto is nice because it allows you to open the aperture very wide thus burring the background--if you do, be sure to set the focus point correctly!
Lens selection. You'll be walking around for some time and will be carrying everything. You might want to limit the amount of stuff you're carrying by using zooms. A comfortable backpack helps too.
Wear comfortable shoes
Enjoy the show and we look forward to seeing the results.
Moderator Journeys/Sports/Big Picture :: Need some help with dgrin?
- for prop planes, most people want to see a good amount of blur on the props, but still see the blurred props. A completely still prop isn't "natural" on a flying plane.
That's the single biggest mistake I see people make when photographing a flying prop plane, and yes it looks very odd. Take a shot, chimp, adjust shutter speed. For prop plans I definitely shoot in shutter priority mode and I believe you'll want a shutter speed around 1/100 to get reasonable prop blur. At those speeds the props should blur, but not completely. This is a nice effect because you should also be able to still count how many blades the plane has. This will not be easy, you'll be shooting 1/100 at focal lengths of 300mm or more. You will need to accurately pan with the plane as it flies through the air.
For jets, I'd just go for a fast shutter to insure a crisp shot.
The other comments about watching the exposure are good as well. When the planes are flying you'll be photographing a lot of their undersides, which are in shadow, and unfortunately you are more concerned with the detail there than you are with a properly exposed sky. The camera will tend to do the opposite on you. You might need to adjust the exposure compensation as a result (maybe +1 for example).
Wow........excellent snap...great work,.,,commonly a good suggestions and feedback by all...........but who take this pic will be excelllent photographer
I took this photo using a Canon Rebel and a Canon L 70-200/2.8 without IS.
For prop plans I definitely shoot in shutter priority mode and I believe you'll want a shutter speed around 1/100 to get reasonable prop blur. At those speeds the props should blur, but not completely. This is a nice effect because you should also be able to still count how many blades the plane has. This will not be easy, you'll be shooting 1/100 at focal lengths of 300mm or more. You will need to accurately pan with the plane as it flies through the air.
When I tried this, I found that I wanted something slightly faster than 1/100 -- more like 1/125 to 1/160.
Panning with the plane is definitely hard, the above shot isn't as sharp as I'd like it to be. The IS on the lens (Canon 70-200) helped, although the pan mode is only supposed to work horizontally and the aircraft were moving diagonally relative to the camera.
Why?
Exactly what part of my post do you believe is incorrect?
Or is it just not what you like to read or do you think there is one setting that is applicable for every situation... Sun, cloud, morning, afternoon......?
If so, please specify what that is so we can all start using it.
Your response was snippy. Seriously dude, if they guy knew what shutter speed and aperture was going to be appropriate for a particular situation he would have never asked the question. You didn't answer his question at all, you just implied that his question was stupid.
When I tried this, I found that I wanted something slightly faster than 1/100 -- more like 1/125 to 1/160.
It will, of course, vary with the particular plane, the flying speed, etc.
Panning with the plane is definitely hard, the above shot isn't as sharp as I'd like it to be. The IS on the lens (Canon 70-200) helped, although the pan mode is only supposed to work horizontally and the aircraft were moving diagonally relative to the camera.
--Ian
The IS mode 2 on the 70-200/2.8 will stabilize in any direction, including diagonals. It will compensate for bounce in the direction perpindicular to the lenses primary direction of travel. That said, I've recently been steered away from using IS for panning and I'm beginning to get a technique where I don't need it quite as much. The benefit? Faster auto-focus aquisition.
Try sharpening your shot with a high-pass filter technique and you might find it helps this type of shot a bit better than USM will.
First of all I'll stop feeding the troll after I post this:
Your answer could be a stock answer for every single question posted on this, or any other, photo forum. If everyone replied like you did, then photography help forums would cease to exist. Your reply was snide, snippy, not-helpful-in-the-least, holier-than-thou, completely uncalled for. I personally think you did it just to get a rise out of people.
I'd suggest you take a look at the other replies (done long before you showed up to this thread) that DID give suggestions based on experience. There's nothing wrong with asking for help and to give someone help to get them started, or to help them get past a learning curve.
I can't really believe I am spending time to explain just how STUPID your reply was, that you've wasted the OP's and everyone else's time with your non-helpful post and general asshole-ish attitude. I guess if we have to explain it to you, you are a lost cause...
Which brings me back to my original, much shorter reply - which I'll "say" with a little more emphasis this time:
DUDE, PLEASE DON'T POST ANYMORE.
Las Vegas Wedding, Family, and Special Event Photographers.
Canon 7d
2 Canon 40d
70-200 f2.8L IS, 50mm f1.4, 50mm f1.8, 28mm f1.8, Tamron 17-55 f2.8, ProOptic 8mm Fisheye
And a bunch of other stuff
When I tried this, I found that I wanted something slightly faster than 1/100 -- more like 1/125 to 1/160.
Panning with the plane is definitely hard, the above shot isn't as sharp as I'd like it to be. The IS on the lens (Canon 70-200) helped, although the pan mode is only supposed to work horizontally and the aircraft were moving diagonally relative to the camera.
--Ian
Excellent photo! The speed of the props looks great. Thanks for sharing.
Glort, you're not contributing. If you have something that contributes to the OP's question then by all means, add your voice. Otherwise, just move on.
Moderator Journeys/Sports/Big Picture :: Need some help with dgrin?
Comments
- for prop planes, most people want to see a good amount of blur on the props, but still see the blurred props. A completely still prop isn't "natural" on a flying plane.
- use 2 different techniques, but mostly the follow-shot... follow the plane, hopefully with a treeline or something behind that can motion-blur behind it. You can try to do a stationary camera and allow the plane to slightly blur, but that's not as common or as "accepted".
once you have your f-stop and shutter speeds where you want them, adjust ISO if needed... but I really doubt you'd need higher than ISO100 or 200.
My personal taste for airplanes on the ground is to use a very wide lens and get very close. Shots from 1/4 or 3/4 angles and low work well, and the distortion caused by a wider lens (IMO) adds to the shot.
It's going to be outside so maybe use a polarizing filter, and dont' worry so much about exposure of the sky - expose the plane itself correctly - you'll blow out the sky most likely but there's not a lot you can do about that. It's not like you can expose the sky and use fill-flash!
Canon 7d
2 Canon 40d
70-200 f2.8L IS, 50mm f1.4, 50mm f1.8, 28mm f1.8, Tamron 17-55 f2.8, ProOptic 8mm Fisheye
And a bunch of other stuff
My suggestions are:
That's the single biggest mistake I see people make when photographing a flying prop plane, and yes it looks very odd. Take a shot, chimp, adjust shutter speed. For prop plans I definitely shoot in shutter priority mode and I believe you'll want a shutter speed around 1/100 to get reasonable prop blur. At those speeds the props should blur, but not completely. This is a nice effect because you should also be able to still count how many blades the plane has. This will not be easy, you'll be shooting 1/100 at focal lengths of 300mm or more. You will need to accurately pan with the plane as it flies through the air.
I have two example shots here:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/mercphoto
For jets, I'd just go for a fast shutter to insure a crisp shot.
The other comments about watching the exposure are good as well. When the planes are flying you'll be photographing a lot of their undersides, which are in shadow, and unfortunately you are more concerned with the detail there than you are with a properly exposed sky. The camera will tend to do the opposite on you. You might need to adjust the exposure compensation as a result (maybe +1 for example).
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
The day was pretty overcast.
http://wadesworld.smugmug.com/Photography/Blue-Angels/11815818_CXMJX#834964597_R8RPk
Nikon D300, 18-135/3.5-5.6, 70-300/4.5-5.6, SB800
I took this photo using a Canon Rebel and a Canon L 70-200/2.8 without IS.
Dude, please don't post anymore.
Canon 7d
2 Canon 40d
70-200 f2.8L IS, 50mm f1.4, 50mm f1.8, 28mm f1.8, Tamron 17-55 f2.8, ProOptic 8mm Fisheye
And a bunch of other stuff
When I tried this, I found that I wanted something slightly faster than 1/100 -- more like 1/125 to 1/160.
Panning with the plane is definitely hard, the above shot isn't as sharp as I'd like it to be. The IS on the lens (Canon 70-200) helped, although the pan mode is only supposed to work horizontally and the aircraft were moving diagonally relative to the camera.
--Ian
Your response was snippy. Seriously dude, if they guy knew what shutter speed and aperture was going to be appropriate for a particular situation he would have never asked the question. You didn't answer his question at all, you just implied that his question was stupid.
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
The IS mode 2 on the 70-200/2.8 will stabilize in any direction, including diagonals. It will compensate for bounce in the direction perpindicular to the lenses primary direction of travel. That said, I've recently been steered away from using IS for panning and I'm beginning to get a technique where I don't need it quite as much. The benefit? Faster auto-focus aquisition.
Try sharpening your shot with a high-pass filter technique and you might find it helps this type of shot a bit better than USM will.
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
Your answer could be a stock answer for every single question posted on this, or any other, photo forum. If everyone replied like you did, then photography help forums would cease to exist. Your reply was snide, snippy, not-helpful-in-the-least, holier-than-thou, completely uncalled for. I personally think you did it just to get a rise out of people.
I'd suggest you take a look at the other replies (done long before you showed up to this thread) that DID give suggestions based on experience. There's nothing wrong with asking for help and to give someone help to get them started, or to help them get past a learning curve.
I can't really believe I am spending time to explain just how STUPID your reply was, that you've wasted the OP's and everyone else's time with your non-helpful post and general asshole-ish attitude. I guess if we have to explain it to you, you are a lost cause...
Which brings me back to my original, much shorter reply - which I'll "say" with a little more emphasis this time:
DUDE, PLEASE DON'T POST ANYMORE.
Canon 7d
2 Canon 40d
70-200 f2.8L IS, 50mm f1.4, 50mm f1.8, 28mm f1.8, Tamron 17-55 f2.8, ProOptic 8mm Fisheye
And a bunch of other stuff
Excellent photo! The speed of the props looks great. Thanks for sharing.
I actually gave the guy concrete advice when I said "you'll want a shutter speed around 1/100". You gave him no help whatsoever.
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