First time in full manual

LRussoPhotoLRussoPhoto Registered Users Posts: 458 Major grins
edited August 24, 2011 in Sports
Was at a race this past weekend and finally got up the guts to shoot all day in full manual. I was pleased with my result, to me it looks like the photos came out crisp and what I was most impressed with by shooting manual was the color. As many have said, the camera can be fooled by the color that comes into the frame right as the photo is taken which would leave me with flat colors sometimes. As I said I am happy with the results but would sure like some opinions and suggestions.
What I did was meter off the dirt, sometimes choosing the darker sections of the dirt to make my colors punch a little more.

Eyes!
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Love the color in these
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More eyes
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I would sometimes have trouble getting reds but, not this day, lol
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D300s D90
Nikon 18-105mm,Nikon 18-200mm,Sigma 24-70mm f2.8, Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8

http://LouRusso.SmugMug.com

Comments

  • ThatCanonGuyThatCanonGuy Registered Users Posts: 1,778 Major grins
    edited August 23, 2011
    Good shots, metering off the dirt is a great idea thumb.gif

    Shooting manual doesn't affect colors, it affects the brightness of the image. You did a good job with it.
  • jheftijhefti Registered Users Posts: 734 Major grins
    edited August 23, 2011
    ThatCanonGuy wrote: »
    Good shots, metering off the dirt is a great idea thumb.gif

    Shooting manual doesn't affect colors, it affects the brightness of the image. You did a good job with it.

    Very natural looking colors, both dirt and vehicles.

    Although manual does not directly affect colors, with some practice it does give better exposures, which in turn affects color. I am often surprised (well, not so much anymore) how the colors of a photo can pop out when just the exposure is tweaked in PP. 90% of getting good color and pop in a shot is, for me anyway, just a matter of adjusting exposure and curves in LR (oh, and WB of course). I rarely increase the saturation globally, though occasionally I will push up one or two of the colors a bit, just to get some added pop.

    Good job! Once you start shooting full manual, you're unlikely to let the camera make any decisions about the exposure anymore!
    http://johnhefti.com/
  • nipprdognipprdog Registered Users Posts: 660 Major grins
    edited August 23, 2011
    Congrats! Well done, and welcome to 'manual'. A couple things to think about, though.

    All of your shots have distracting backgrounds. Shooting sports is similar to resteraunts-"location, location,location".

    Second, you might want to back off from that 1/5000 SS. A little wheel blur goes a long way in expressing 'motion'. Just because you have 2.8 glass, doesn't mean you have to shoot at 2.8.mwink.gif

    My .02.
    Jim

    http://www.knippixels.com
  • JSPhotographyJSPhotography Registered Users Posts: 552 Major grins
    edited August 23, 2011
    Nice work Quad, you are showing great improvement. Keep clicking the summer is going fast.
  • ThatCanonGuyThatCanonGuy Registered Users Posts: 1,778 Major grins
    edited August 23, 2011
    nipprdog wrote: »
    Congrats! Well done, and welcome to 'manual'. A couple things to think about, though.

    All of your shots have distracting backgrounds. Shooting sports is similar to resteraunts-"location, location,location".

    Second, you might want to back off from that 1/5000 SS. A little wheel blur goes a long way in expressing 'motion'. Just because you have 2.8 glass, doesn't mean you have to shoot at 2.8.mwink.gif

    My .02.

    Yeah, but that 2.8 helps blur a distracting background. Yes, you can change your angle, but that 2.8 really helps sometimes. I guess you have to choose between wheel blur and creamy background. I'd shoot at base ISO (50 if you've got it, 100 if not), that will help you get a slower SS.
  • JeffroJeffro Registered Users Posts: 1,941 Major grins
    edited August 23, 2011
    I'm glad you gave manual a try. I knew you could do it. Pics look good. Try some panning next time, the background will be blurred for sure then.

    This is shot at f2.8...but at 1/250, ISO 100.

    i-D2T8GZ2-XL.jpg

    I like some wheel spin / motion to give that sense of speed, when possible.

    I really need to get back out to the track.....


    (PS...that shot was not done in manual)
    Always lurking, sometimes participating. :D
  • travischancetravischance Registered Users Posts: 642 Major grins
    edited August 23, 2011
    ThatCanonGuy wrote: »
    Good shots, metering off the dirt is a great idea thumb.gif

    Shooting manual doesn't affect colors, it affects the brightness of the image. You did a good job with it.

    I agree. You did an excellent job balancing color & contrast on these. Well done!
    Travis M. Chance
    twin Mark IV's & a bunch of "L" glass
    site ∙ facebook
  • LRussoPhotoLRussoPhoto Registered Users Posts: 458 Major grins
    edited August 24, 2011
    Thanks for the positive feedback helpful comments, I will give a lower iso and panning a try next time, thanks again!
    Looking at my shots, I think the only way to get rid of those backgrounds is to shoot from a high vantage point, not always easy to do, lol.
    D300s D90
    Nikon 18-105mm,Nikon 18-200mm,Sigma 24-70mm f2.8, Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8

    http://LouRusso.SmugMug.com
  • JeffroJeffro Registered Users Posts: 1,941 Major grins
    edited August 24, 2011
    Busy backgrounds at local mx tracks just seem to be the norm, getting rid of them isn't really all the easy. Don't forget to play with your flash too.

    i-gb5gGQp-XL.jpg

    f/8, 1/100, ISO 100.
    Always lurking, sometimes participating. :D
  • ZerodogZerodog Registered Users Posts: 1,480 Major grins
    edited August 24, 2011
    Good job going for it. I think this is your best set yet. Like others have said, once you start using manual, you will use it all the time. It saves me soooooo much PP time because exposures are consistent and global changes are easier too. You learn to watch your light and adjust accordingly.
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