Need advice on technique

Cary Smithson

Hi, this is my first post here on DG. I'm trying to improve my technique, but not getting the results I'm hoping for. I like to shoot air shows, but past photos typically have been under exposed and very grainy (always used full auto setting). Now I'm using Tv (shutter priority) and my photos have improved substantially (pats self on back), but are still not up to my camera/lens combination's potential. I also compare my "best" photos with those on airliners.net, and every time end up feeling disgraced. I've been practicing for the upcoming air show by shooting airliners at my local airport. My biggest issue is with how my photos still seem to be grainy. A good example is the photo below. It seems OK, until you zoom in. BTW, I've not done any post processing.



Canon 30D
Canon 70-200 2.8L IS
Canon 1.4TC

Exposure time 1/500
Aperture f/20
ISO 800
Focal length 105mm (168mm in 35mm)

PS. Please ignore the spots. My sensor or lens was dirty. But that issue will be addressed in my next post.

Sam

Next time you go out to practice try shooting at f5.6 to f11, and see if you can keep the ISO down to 200 with a reasonably fast shutter speed. Say 320 to 640. Watch your histogram, you may need to put some negative compensation in and allow the sky to be overexposed in order to get the plane properly exposed.

Maybe some of the bird shooters will chime in.

Sam

Cary Smithson

Thanks Sam. I'm going out to practice again this afternoon. I'll definitely give your suggestions a try.

Art Scott

nothing to do with technique...but you really need to clean your sensor filter........there is a lot crude on there...... :-}}

Cary Smithson

Sam wrote: »

Next time you go out to practice try shooting at f5.6 to f11, and see if you can keep the ISO down to 200 with a reasonably fast shutter speed. Say 320 to 640. Watch your histogram, you may need to put some negative compensation in and allow the sky to be overexposed in order to get the plane properly exposed.

Maybe some of the bird shooters will chime in.

Sam

When you say "put negative compensation in", do you mean lower my exposure compensation by one or two thirds? Because I've been raising it by one or two thirds. I thought that might help alleviate the dark undersides of the airplanes that I've been getting, and it seemed to do the trick. I've also been going back and forth between spot metering and partial metering. But when using spot, since every airplane has a different color scheme, the point on the plane I measure may differ, so my results can vary wildly.

Qarik

I would think the 30D is not going to be the best at 800 iso. Also f/20 is approaching diffraction point on most lens so that may reduce sharpness.

try shooting at iso 200 and f/8ish while trying to keep shutter speed < 1/500s.

pathfinder

Shooting planes in flight presents a challenge in capturing a correct exposure, as you are experiencing. If you expose for the sky, the plane may be under exposed. If you expose for the bright white sunlit portion of the plane, the belly of the beast may be in deep shadow. If the sky looks good, the plane may be way too dark. What exposure is st by yoru camera will depend on how your camera is set to meter, and and what the AF point is pointed at.

You will find more consistency, and accuracy in exposure if you switch your camera to Manual Mode, and dial in the proper exposure in terms of ISO, aperture and shutter speed. This will let you choose a more favorable combination. Shoot in RAW so you have more ability to pull out shadow detail later in Adobe Camera Raw. Use your histogram to identify the correct exposure. Learn to use the Sunny 16 rule as well
.


As pointed out, f 20 is way too small an aperture to use for the sharpest image files - you will be approaching the diffraction limits and lose sharpness of your image with a crop sensor camera. Like Qarik suggested, f8 will provide sharper images, and offer enough depth of field for airplanes in flight. If possible stick between f5.6 and f11, and you will be suing the sweet spot in your lenses resolution. Use an ISO between 100 and 400 unless it is pretty cloudy as they will provide all the speed you need. Try to keep your shutter speed between 1/250th and 1/1000th if possible. Up your ISO if need be to stay within these parameters.

If you are uncomfortable shooting in Manual Mode, then I suggest using Av mode, with as small a central metering spot at the 30D will provide. I do not remember the specific metering modes for the 30D as I never owned one.

I have a few shots of planes in flight in these galleries and you can check my exif data for each image to see if what I am suggesting is what I actually did at the air shows - http://pathfinder.smugmug.com/Airplanes

Sam

The others have explained it better then I. I typed too fast, follow pathfinders advice. I would expose for the subject (plane) and let the sky fall where it will.

Sam

kevinpw

as pathfinder said, use lower ISO, and larger aperture. no reason to use ISO800 in broad daylight. good luck!

Cary Smithson

I went out yesterday afternoon and shot some more airliner take-offs and came back with a much lower "throw-away" rate than usual. I set the ISO at 250, varied the shutter speed between 500 and 800--depending on if it was a jet or a prop airplane--and varied the white balance between normal and -1/3 or -2/3 stops. I'm very pleased with the results. Are my photos perfect and worthy of uploading to airliners.net? No, far from it. But I'm extremely pleased with the results that the changes in settings made. I noticed that the airplanes are sharper and in focus from much farther away than usual, and that when they're nearly abreast of me at their closest point where I have to actually zoom out a little, they're much sharper than usual. I'm still getting a few not so sharp photos mixed in with the really sharp ones, but I chalk that up to needing more practice with panning. I have noticed that all of my photos still have a blue sky. Not that that is necessarily a bad thing. I think it looks natural. But when compared with the extremely sharp airplane photos I see on this site and others, they more often than not have a light gray, sometimes almost white sky. I think that looks unnatural, but I guess you can't have everything, right? Thanks everybody for the advice and suggestions.

Here's a sample photo from yesterday's shoot. No post-processing except cropping to center the airplane better.
Same camera and lens set up as before. And yes, I know my sensor is STILL dirty.
Exposure time: 1/640
Aperture: f/11
ISO: 250
Focal length: 280mm (448mm in 35mm)

Oh yeah, this other info might be useful;
Metering: Pattern
Exposure program: Shutter priority
Exposure bias: -1/3 EV
Exposure mode: Auto
White balance: Auto

Icebear

Well, one thing you certainly have figured out: shooting the sky is DAMNED unforgiving of a nasty sensor