Finish Line Photography

System

I want to take photos at a finish line for running races.

Should I put my camera on manual and focus on the finsih line in front of me or let the camera stay on auto.

Would people who have lots of experience with this type of photo please reply and tell me what everyone does and their experience.

Thank you
De :ivar

SloYerRoll

Most DSLR's have a ridiculously fast AF target lock speed. If it's a coin toss between you knowing when your runner is going to be in your focal plane or letting AF work. AF will provide more keepers every time. Unless your a pro that has shot a few thousand of this type shot. But then you wouldn't be asking this then:D

I'd also make sure you were in AF-C mode (that's Nikon. your camera nomenclature may be different). This way your camera continues to focus and keep a lock on the subject, even when the target is moving.

crmitche

SloYerRoll wrote:

I'd also make sure you were in AF-C mode (that's Nikon. your camera nomenclature may be different). This way your camera continues to focus and keep a lock on the subject, even when the target is moving.

Ditto that. I also shoot aperture priority a couple stops up from wide open for al ittle DOF and adjust ISO to maintain a shutter speed of at least 1/250. I shoot portrait with the focus point between the waist and shoulders. I've tried aiming for the head but missed a lot of shots with couple finishing together from focusing on the empty space between their heads.

Cheers
Craig

System

good advice
Good advice, thanks Craig.

crmitche wrote:

Ditto that. I also shoot aperture priority a couple stops up from wide open for al ittle DOF and adjust ISO to maintain a shutter speed of at least 1/250. I shoot portrait with the focus point between the waist and shoulders. I've tried aiming for the head but missed a lot of shots with couple finishing together from focusing on the empty space between their heads.

Cheers
Craig

System

Thanks for your reply
Thanks for your reply

SloYerRoll wrote:

Most DSLR's have a ridiculously fast AF target lock speed. If it's a coin toss between you knowing when your runner is going to be in your focal plane or letting AF work. AF will provide more keepers every time. Unless your a pro that has shot a few thousand of this type shot. But then you wouldn't be asking this then:D

I'd also make sure you were in AF-C mode (that's Nikon. your camera nomenclature may be different). This way your camera continues to focus and keep a lock on the subject, even when the target is moving.

Jzazzi

I imagine your race is over, but here is what I learned from trying to shoot really fast cars at the finish line. Your experience may vary because my subject was moving at blazingly fast speeds, but if you're close, I guess a runner is in-and-out of frame pretty quick too.

I had to use manual focus set on center of the finish line, about halfway between either side of the racetrack. Manual exposure as well, because I wanted to eliminate as much shutter lag and as many variables as possible. The cars were traveling at speeds into triple digits by the time they reached the finish line so motor drive on my camera is not nearly fast enough to hold the shutter and prey I get one. I spent literally a half hour taking photos of cars as they passed on the final laps trying to get my framing and timing right. I guess you don't have that luxury because runners dont usually run laps like cars do.

I used one eye in the viewfinder to keep my framing correct, and the other eye to see the cars approach. I knew I had to hit the shutter release when their front bumper reached a certain mark on the track, which was actually a blurry guesstimate because they were flying so damn fast. In the end the moment was absolutely perfect, but I know for certain it was because I shot about 300 frames in practice to capture "the one".

Here's a link to what I'm talking about, maybe it'll illustrate it better. It's a 1/4000 second shutter speed and I'm standing up against the track fence. I hope it helps.

http://flickr.com/photos/jzazzi/1005716678/sizes/o/

Designsmith

Jzazzi wrote:

I imagine your race is over, but here is what I learned from trying to shoot really fast cars at the finish line. Your experience may vary because my subject was moving at blazingly fast speeds, but if you're close, I guess a runner is in-and-out of frame pretty quick too.

I had to use manual focus set on center of the finish line, about halfway between either side of the racetrack. Manual exposure as well, because I wanted to eliminate as much shutter lag and as many variables as possible. The cars were traveling at speeds into triple digits by the time they reached the finish line so motor drive on my camera is not nearly fast enough to hold the shutter and prey I get one. I spent literally a half hour taking photos of cars as they passed on the final laps trying to get my framing and timing right. I guess you don't have that luxury because runners dont usually run laps like cars do.

I used one eye in the viewfinder to keep my framing correct, and the other eye to see the cars approach. I knew I had to hit the shutter release when their front bumper reached a certain mark on the track, which was actually a blurry guesstimate because they were flying so damn fast. In the end the moment was absolutely perfect, but I know for certain it was because I shot about 300 frames in practice to capture "the one".

Here's a link to what I'm talking about, maybe it'll illustrate it better. It's a 1/4000 second shutter speed and I'm standing up against the track fence. I hope it helps.

http://flickr.com/photos/jzazzi/1005716678/sizes/o/

Thanks for the great tip. I've made note of it and look forward to putting it to good use.