Moving sub

karastage · Jul 16, 2016

I am trying to get this look and I need help! I am a beginner when it comes to photography, but work a lot with photoshop. I have tried a bunch of different aperture settings to get this and I can't seem to make it happen. I own a Canon Rebel T5, lenses 18-55mm, wide angle 58mm and zoom 75-300mm. The lowest I can get the aperture setting to go is 4.0. It seems that the only way to focus the dancer is by letting her leap in the air and let the camera autofocus and then do it a second time and take the photo. I can buy whatever lenses I need.

I just need a leaping dancer in focus and a nice blurry background. Any advice would be appreciated!

snowbear · Jul 16, 2016

Please don't post photos that are not your own - post a link.
It's a small depth of field. It's done in a couple of ways, the most common being a small aperture. She is also moving so a fast shutter and some panning helps top keep her "still".

karastage · Jul 16, 2016

This is my photo. I own the rights to it, which is why I posted it. I have a signed contract with both the dancer and the photographer. And I did the editing on the photo. I cannot get my aperture below 4 with the lenses and the camera I have, and others have told me that I may need to go below that. So I need help

snowbear · Jul 16, 2016

Sorry, I misunderstood.
You can decrease DOF by using a larger aperature or by increasing magnification. You can try getting closer to the dancer, otherwise get a faster lens. Check your AF settings (I'm not familiar with Canons so check the manual) and pan with the dancer as she jumps.

robbins.photo · Jul 16, 2016

A 70-200mm 2.8 lens might be a good investment. Your other option, assuming you can control the shoot, move the dancer further away from the background.

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480sparky · Jul 16, 2016

Shoot with the 70-300 at 300mm, maximum aperture. Prefocus where she will leap, then turn off the AF.

robbins.photo · Jul 16, 2016

You can also try switching your af to continuous mode. I think canon calls it servo, not sure though as I shoot nikon

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Designer · Jul 16, 2016

karastage said:
I just need a leaping dancer in focus and a nice blurry background.

There are other factors in the equation. Aperture is one. Also; size of your sensor, focal length of the lens, distance from lens to subject, and finally, distance from subject to background.

zombiesniper · Jul 16, 2016

For the auto focus, switch to AI servo for continuos tracking.
As for the background. As suggested above you can Move the model away from the background or get a faster lens.

dennybeall · Jul 17, 2016

You say you're a Photoshop user, why not just select the dancer and use Photoshop to blur the background if you don't currently have the camera equipment needed to do it?

karastage · Jul 17, 2016

dennybeall said:
You say you're a Photoshop user, why not just select the dancer and use Photoshop to blur the background if you don't currently have the camera equipment needed to do it?

I really want to learn how to do this without having to do the extra step in photoshop. When you select the subject it doesn't always look as real as doing it by taking the photo that way. If I spend extra time on it I can make it look perfect, but I have to take and edit a lot of photos so I would like to learn how to do this correctly with photography. I'm all about saving time! I can buy whatever equipment I need, just was unsure what to buy.

karastage · Jul 17, 2016

robbins.photo said:
A 70-200mm 2.8 lens might be a good investment. Your other option, assuming you can control the shoot, move the dancer further away from the background.

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I looked at these lenses and they are pretty pricy so I was hesitant to get one without advice. I can't seem to get the dancer far enough away to really get the look and the background I want. It has to be so far that it was just not working. I am going to rent this lens locally and see how it works. Thank you!

karastage · Jul 17, 2016

480sparky said:
Shoot with the 70-300 at 300mm, maximum aperture. Prefocus where she will leap, then turn off the AF.

Have not tried to turn off the autofocus after focusing on her. Thanks for the suggestion!

Ido · Jul 17, 2016

Read the user's manual for your camera, specifically the part about the autofocus system and modes.

robbins.photo · Jul 17, 2016

karastage said:
robbins.photo said:

A 70-200mm 2.8 lens might be a good investment. Your other option, assuming you can control the shoot, move the dancer further away from the background.

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Click to expand...

I looked at these lenses and they are pretty pricy so I was hesitant to get one without advice. I can't seem to get the dancer far enough away to really get the look and the background I want. It has to be so far that it was just not working. I am going to rent this lens locally and see how it works. Thank you!

Sigma makes a pretty good alternative to the name brand 70-200, I have an older 70-200mm sigma hsm I that works great with my Nikon. Paid $375 for it used

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