Air show

[my*]

I took these at the air show practice session. I need some c&c. I'm going to the real show on Sat. What can I do to improve?
Probably will not get the mood to cooperate again, but what can you do?

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6.

7.

 

[Sam6644]

Pretty cool stuff. They could all use some cropping, but they're all pretty neat shots.

 

[Sw1tchFX]

Neat planes, but these are all woefully underexposed.

 

[my*]

Neat planes, but these are all woefully underexposed.

I can see what your saying. I'll have to make some adjustments. I don't know if the bright clouds/sky in the back ground was screwing things up or what.

 

[Sw1tchFX]

If you shoot in manual you can just dial it in and basically just leave it.

 

[my*]

If you shoot in manual you can just dial it in and basically just leave it.

This weekend we should will have clear skys. I think with the more consistant lighting that would be a good idea

 

[Al-Wazeer]

Great shots, but as said above they're underexposed.

 

[SNAPaPHOTO]

I think guys if he exposed the shots properly you would not see the moon and that adds to the pictures. I personally would bring up the exposure on the aircraft only in PS.

The shots do need some cropping done, but other than that, beautiful shots.

 

[inTempus]

Yeah, the exposure is off in most of them leaving them too dark. But great action.

 

[my*]

Thanks for your input. I'll work on the exposure. Now that I think about it my exposure may be set a 1/3 low.

 

[Sw1tchFX]

Oh they're more than 1/3rd of a stop under, more like 1-2 stops. When you're shooting, make sure you check your histogram.

I think guys if he exposed the shots properly you would not see the moon and that adds to the pictures. I personally would bring up the exposure on the aircraft only in PS.

The shots do need some cropping done, but other than that, beautiful shots.

the moon doesn't really add much the the images, and if the exposures are lightened up in PS, than you'll be bringing in a bunch of noise into them. like the one of the f22 level, the picture that's almost square, if that was shot at..ISO200, bringing up the exposure 2 stops is going to make the noise level like ISO 800, but there's going to be really muddy shadow areas, and a pretty lousy tonal range because all the information is pushed towards the shadows. no matter how you play it, it's no bueno.

 

[Overread]

Also you need to experiment and see if you can find some aviation threads/forums/blogs and find out the best shutter speed for capturing the propeller action. It always looks a little odd when the blades are perfectly sharp or mostly stopped in a photo when the plane is in flight.

You've caught the action well and with a few little crops got some good shots - but the underexposure is a problem. I've found that one has to often overexpose the image (based on the meter reading at the time) for such work where you have a bright surrounding environment and a shaded/darker main subject. Aperture or shutter priority with the exposure set to overexpose (experiment to find out the exact amount needed) should give you some better chances. Also do use the histogram as and when you can with reviewing to get a look at the exposure and know instantly if you need to adjust the exposure.

 

[matfoster]

nice set of images. #6 is interesting, the old and the new.

 

[my*]

Also you need to experiment and see if you can find some aviation threads/forums/blogs and find out the best shutter speed for capturing the propeller action. It always looks a little odd when the blades are perfectly sharp or mostly stopped in a photo when the plane is in flight.

You've caught the action well and with a few little crops got some good shots - but the underexposure is a problem. I've found that one has to often overexpose the image (based on the meter reading at the time) for such work where you have a bright surrounding environment and a shaded/darker main subject. Aperture or shutter priority with the exposure set to overexpose (experiment to find out the exact amount needed) should give you some better chances. Also do use the histogram as and when you can with reviewing to get a look at the exposure and know instantly if you need to adjust the exposure.

I did mess with the shutter speed on some of the prop planes. Right around 1/160 of a sec the prop starts to spin again. The problem for me is when I go that low I have a hard time keeping the picture sharp. Trying to track these planes going by at the speeds they do is hard (at least it has been for me).

 

[Overread]

There is certainly an art in capturing good images at such speeds I totally agree. I would say spend some time reading and practicing panning (you might find a monopod or a tripod would help you a lot with this).