Getting action shots - focusing and framing advice needed

[Overread]

Ok so been doing more action work, in fact quite a lot of high action which is not my typical area; so I've been learning a few new things and refining some of how I work and I'd be interested in hearing others views and methods that you use.

So going right into the basics here are the custom settings I'm currently using in camera on the 7D using a 70-200mm f2.8 IS L MII lens

ISOs - full stop increments
ISO expansion on (max ISO now 12800 instead of 64000

AI servo tracking sensitivity - set to Fast
Enabled all custom AF area select modes
All AF points displayed
AI Servo 1st/2nd image priority - AF priority/tracking priority (default setting).

AI servo mode used and set to single spot AF mode
Evaluative metering

Settings not mentioned at set to default; note not mentioned is that I have all in-camera editing features off (using RAW so no need of them) and I'm also using back-button AF control.


Process of shooting:

Note lens wise I keep IS off - shutter speeds (as mentioned below) are fast enough to avoid handshake and since I might not be tracking the horses motion through the lens over the whole course (some areas are just not worth even trying unless one wants lots of foreground clutter or the back end of rider/horse going over the jump) I don't want to have to get ready early so that the IS can spin up and give its bonus.

I'm typically shooting this indoors so I shift into manual mode and work at f2.8 (enough depth for rider and horse whilst blowing out the background as much as possible and giving the most light for the camera); 1/640sec (slowest speed I find I can use and get sharp details - 1/500sec oft runs the risk of blurred mane/hair/tail/hooves). ISO I set manually since whilst I do have auto-ISO I don't have the ability to set an exposure compensation for it and I find that even though light changes somewhat in the arena, the camera tends to under-expose a bit more than I'd like.

So I typically take a test shot at a bright part of the course and ensure I don't get blow-out and then go with those settings. I've considered using the priority modes; but really what I'd want is an ISO priority mode since I can keep aperture and shutter speed fixed for mostly the whole event (I will tend to drop to f3.2 when a horse with a significant or full white coat comes on since they tend to blow-out more easily than the rest).


Once I've chosen where I'll shoot I've been experimenting with using different AF points on the sensor display to get a shot. I find that if I work with the AF points so that the head of the horse (head/shoulder is what I typically aim for - head when head on and shoulder when side-on) is "over" the middle point I end up with too little movement space on that side of the frame (horse overcrowds) whilst if I use the upper middle point (one just above the middle) I tend to get a decent enough frame.

Coping with a rider is tricky since it means I can't zoom and focus right in on the horse (because then I end up with a headless rider). I feel that this is partly making me shoot a touch loose and then cropping in editing; yet when I'm shooting its one of those things that the shot (through viewfinder and LCD) doesn't feel too open.

I tend to do some pre-focusing on the jump to get the focus in the rough area; but as soon as the horse is getting ready for the jump I'm focusing purely upon the horse itself - whilst trying to ensure the rider keeps their head). I shoot in burst mode and will typically get around 3 shots in a burst and not generally too much more.





So there is a rough outline of my method; have any here got anything to add to it -to suggest or alter that might help with the workflow in getting a shot.

 

[Vtec44]

I use back button focus. It helps a lot with tracking and moving with the subject. It depends on what you want but I generally want a slight blur, especially the background, to create motion. I almost always use single point focus and continuous focus mode.

 

[Derrel]

The one thing you mentioned was "AI servo tracking sensitivity - set to Fast"...I'm not sure if that term is the same as what Nikon refers to as Lock-On, or if it's something different. in Nikon-speak Lock-On is often set by many people to "Fast", when in reality, that tends to make the AF system more prone to hunting and/or searching out new targets. If the parameter you're setting to Fast is the same thing, it might be better for focus tracking to be set to a slower setting. Again, the terminology might be different than what I am thinking it means; in Nikon-speak "Lock-On" is in my opinion, horribly named, since what it really is is new target acquisition delay setting value, and setting it to a medium or even the slowest speed has been better for me.

Cameras are different in the way their AF systems work. My best-ever action camera was the older Nikon D2x which had a 11-area, wide-coverage AF system with a very powerful AF module. I found that using a multi-point AF area setting with the 70-200/2.8 or 300/2.8 or 200/2 gave the absolute best action AF--far,far better than single point AF at tracking movement. I can see that horses would be a very tricky AF target, since so many are dark, smooth-hided, and BIG targets, which might lead to tough AF acquisition, compared to things like uniformed sports figures or decal-littered sports cars. I think that's why the group AF approach works better--literally more data points to help with targets that are not really high-contrast, patterned, or otherwise easy to focus on. I think a multi-spot AF approach makes some sense on horses.

For me, I have found it usually easier to focus on action with the camera in vertical mode, due to the way the AF squares are spaced out. As far as ISO shifts in full stop values, I see NO advantage whatsoever in doing things that way, and think it'd be better to go with 1/3 stop shifts. When working in the 50 to 100 to 150 foot distance range, I think it's smart to standardize on f/3.2 or f/3.5, rather than f/2.8, just for the added depth of field cushion the slightly smaller aperture brings, especially with today's higher-MP count sensors with bigger, more crop-able images that show missed focus really clearly. Shooting a little bit loose, like say at 175mm rather than 200mm, with a new sensor camera with good ISO performance, with the lens at f/3.2 or f/3.5 or so can mean fewer reject shots, which is important when each shot opportunity is only 3 frames. I will trade the ISO noise and loss of color and DR of f/3.5 as opposed to f/2.8; to me, that 2/3 stop more DOF is worth the loss of quality due to the ISO gain.

And again, if you really need a 1/640 baseline shutter, then it makes total sense to go back to 1/3 stop ISO shifts; the full-stop ISO shift makes absolutely no sense to me when things are as tight as they are in the real world; why be forced to ISO 12,800 if 6,400 and then one click more is all that is needed? Otherwise, you go from marginally acceptable and straight to unacceptable as soon as things get even the slightest bit "tight" on ISO or shutter or f/stop.

 

[Overread]

Vtec - yep I'm using back-button AF for this; heck I use it all the time since most of my lenses are all-time manual focus.
It's a fantastic mode for enabling AF when I want it to and only when I want it to.

Derrel some intersting points and yes I think you are right in that the Canon and Nikon speed lock-on setups are similar. My thinking is if I were shooting a bird in twigs or panning a shot then a slower tracking is best since chances are anything that causes the AF to pick up something new is more likely to be a distraction over the subject actually moving. The higher sensitivity is a risk in the dimmer conditions; but my thinking is that I'm often shooting horses coming straight at me - so every second the subject is moving so I really do want that higher sensitivity because that subject is constant in its motion.

I know some do pre-focus and then shoot right at the moment and get the shot without needing AF at all; its something I've not tackled nor much tried with myself.


On the subject of half and partial ISO modes I think part of my reluctance is that I recall reading that half-way ISO modes are not like a normal ISO shift and are just a lower/high ISO then adjusted in-camera to give the partial stop ISOs. Thus I seem to recall some saying that they were more noisy than regular ISO modes. I'd have to dig around to find the statements. Certainly a bit more lee-way at the higher end would be good as the light start to dip (ISO 12800 works but by darn its noisey as heck even on a good exposure).

 

[wfooshee]

I think you've still missed the point on the tracking speed setting. It's not how quickly something can move and remain tracked, or how quickly the focus is acquired and locked. It's how quickly the camera is permitted to lock onto a strong change in focus. Setting it to FAST means if the camera detects something in the background that's easy to focus on, it's allowed to switch to that object quickly or even immediately. Setting it to SLOW means the camera may detect that that object but it can't use it as its focus interest until a longer delay, during which it (hopefully) reacquires the actual target and remains tracked on that.

Setting it to FAST will result in more shifting of focus between subject and background.

 

[Derrel]

I understand what you are saying about wanting fast autofocusing, but my experience is that FAST lock-on tends to produce more "flyer" shots, when the AF system senses the presence of a new target, or when it slides off of an acquired target. The sensitivity is not actually the speed or rapidity of autofocusing , but how quickly the AF system will switch out and "seek" new targets... So, let's say you pick up the horse and rider 10 meters before the jump, and then as the horse's torso grows larger in the viewfinder screen, and more and more of that brown or black horsehide fills the AF area, the focusing system loses its firm rasp on the focusing, and then as the horse and rider moves over the jump, those doggone poles/posts, all painted and such, are suddenly sensed as a new, high-contrast target, and since the AF sensitivity is set to its maximum, it immediately tends to lock on to the NEW target....whereas with the AF sensitivity set slower, there's less a tendency to "seek", and to "drop off of" a target that had been being followed/tracked.

I think the terms AF sensitivity is just as misleading as Nikon's use of the term Lock-On. I do not think it has anything to do with the speed of predictive AF, which is really what your situation needs the most: predictive AF performance. I think only you can make the evaluation, based on how your camera and preferred lens actually performs; if you get "flyer" focusing, then the settings are not good. If you pretty much get the right kind of focusing performance you want, then the AF settings are at least adequate. There's a lot of variables in AF systems: in some cameras, if a target is manually selected with the controller button, a color-sensing camera can follow that subject all over the frame, even if the subject moves position relative to the frame edges; THIS is why the color-sensing metering and focusing Nikon has been developing since the 1990's is now being phased in to Canon's bodies. The 7D and some newer Canon's incorporate this combined color-measuring/reflectance reading/autofocus tracking and predicting stuff. AF has become so complicated, so variable, it's impossible to discuss it without camera-specific and exact-setup-specific details being carefully accounted for.

I know what you mean about the full-stop gain stuff, I've heard that too. as far as framing and focusing...if shooting a horse and rider and a jump directly head-on, there's a need for maybe eight feel of DOF band....at a 3/4 angle view, a lot less DOF band is needed...in a perfect broad-sided angle view, only 2 feet or so would be needed. I still like to be at f/3.5 instead of f/2.8 with a telephoto lens. If you're going to pre-focus, then the angle of view can either be a big, big help, or a severe limitation. The horse's head is at least 4 feet in front of the rider much of the time in head-to-tail angles of view. I dunno...what I have seen you post looks decently focused, but I have no idea of the "flyer" or total "reject rate" your system is producing, so I don't know if I'm even hitting any of the nails left sticking up, or simply smashing down the wood and leaving hammer marks around the nails...

 

[runnah]

How much access to the course do you have?

To me the technical aspects are important but the biggest part of making an action sports shot work is capturing what about the sport is exciting. For example we have folks here post skateboarding shots that show nothing of the scene or the difficulty of the trick which is very important.

So to me if I were shooting horse jumping, I would want to capture the horse and rider as one, the scale of the jump and the technique of the rider. I would want to shoot at a very high focal length at a 3/4's angle to get lots of compression to get the rider and horse to fill the frame the best. Maybe even try some panning shots.

 

[runnah]

as for settings, I'd do:
AF Servo and AF Point Expansion
Auto ISO with the min/max set
Shutter priority if light is an issue
Manual with auto ISO if you have more light to play with.

 

[Overread]

So I went and did some googling and reading
Canon Professional Network - The EOS 7D s Custom Functions explained

I think you guys might be onto something. I think the key is to realise that the camera is recognising an area of the subject in itself and keeping track with that area. So re-sampling is still going on as fast as ever; but its the adjustment to a new kind of subject type that is what changes.
EDIT - thinking on it this puts a LOT of pressure on the first point the camera gets locked onto. For a subject panning that isn't a problem; for one coming right at you and then leaping up I wonder if a slower setting would be a pain since if I get anything wrong the camera will stick to that and not correct it even as I move the AF point. A neutral setting might be best (esp if combined with the option below).

I did mess around with both, but at the same time didn't have too much trouble with things before or after (because I tend to use a higher AF point so the horse coming right at me is typically the only thing in the area of the AF point that its got to look at).

That said it also raised the idea of the next custom mode C.Fn III -3 – AI Servo AF tracking method - which I currently have at default, but which I should set to mode 1 (and indeed considering what I shoot that would seem to be the preferable setting). That way the camera is aiming to stick with the original subject as much as possible - both with slower AF jump and the priority to stick with it set. Both together might show an improvement (one hopes).

How much access to the course do you have?

Iffy access. Which is to say
1) There "is" a pro supposed to cover events, however he doesn't always turn up - when he does pro has access to the course areas.

2) I know a horse has a head end and a tail and and I can mostly tell them apart - the rest is a total mystery. Therefore I'm not as keen to be "out in the action". Even though the low-down viewing spot is basically jut a side of the arena with a standing post or two (ergo it won't stop at a horse what so ever) it is at least typically a good distance or away from a jump so the horse isn't likely to charge into you. So ones in ability to read a horse isn't a limit. It's something I've got to work on.

3) I tend to turn up 10 mins late for the start so any time to fiddle around "getting out there" is mostly gone. Hopefully I can get there earlier and build up a better rapport with the people and such.

 

[vintagesnaps]

It's the timing shooting sports, that might be what you need practice in. It is as you said, the moment, anticipating what will happen next and being in the right place ready and waiting for it. I usually figure out a vantage point and frame and get set at a particular place then wait for the action to come to me.

I wouldn't shoot too open, usually in sports you want the action/a number of players in focus (obviously with this you're getting one rider and horse at a time). It sounds like that might be some of what you're working on, getting enough of the rider/horse/jump in focus and catching a good moment when they jump.

Look at Scott's photos he's been posting from the Canada Games. There's one where the players are lined up and the goalie in the foreground is in focus. But in many even if the background is slightly out of focus you can still see the green seats and read the lettering on the dasher ads etc. especially where the players are fairly close to the background. I don't think shooting fairly open is the best option most of the time and in trying to blur the background you might be limiting the depth of field too much.

I shoot manual settings and focus manually so it's probably a matter of figuring out what works best for you.

 

[runnah]

So I went and did some googling and reading
Canon Professional Network - The EOS 7D s Custom Functions explained

I think you guys might be onto something. I think the key is to realise that the camera is recognising an area of the subject in itself and keeping track with that area. So re-sampling is still going on as fast as ever; but its the adjustment to a new kind of subject type that is what changes.
I did mess around with both, but at the same time didn't have too much trouble with things before or after (because I tend to use a higher AF point so the horse coming right at me is typically the only thing in the area of the AF point that its got to look at).

That said it also raised the idea of the next custom mode C.Fn III -3 – AI Servo AF tracking method - which I currently have at default, but which I should set to mode 1 (and indeed considering what I shoot that would seem to be the preferable setting). That way the camera is aiming to stick with the original subject as much as possible - both with slower AF jump and the priority to stick with it set. Both together might show an improvement (one hopes).

How much access to the course do you have?

Iffy access. Which is to say
1) There "is" a pro supposed to cover events, however he doesn't always turn up - when he does pro has access to the course areas.

2) I know a horse has a head end and a tail and and I can mostly tell them apart - the rest is a total mystery. Therefore I'm not as keen to be "out in the action". Even though the low-down viewing spot is basically jut a side of the arena with a standing post or two (ergo it won't stop at a horse what so ever) it is at least typically a good distance or away from a jump so the horse isn't likely to charge into you. So ones in ability to read a horse isn't a limit. It's something I've got to work on.

3) I tend to turn up 10 mins late for the start so any time to fiddle around "getting out there" is mostly gone. Hopefully I can get there earlier and build up a better rapport with the people and such.

Good call, horses are very deadly creatures and are not to be trusted.

But look online and see how other people are shooting horses., replicate then innovate.

 

[Overread]

Canon EOS 7D DSLR field review.

Reading this though suggests that my earlier estimation might be the more correct. You know I never really appreciated but darn it Canon didn't make this easy - its just one little slider!!

 

[Overread]

Vintage - I did start out at f4 and I've now shifted to f2.8 (and sometimes f3.2). Derrel suggests a perma shift to f3.2 so a nice middle-ground between the two (along with shifting into a higher degree of ISO speed changes). I think that when you've a team its more ok to have elements in the background as part of the shot more so because they are still part of the game itself. For a horse at an event I think its different (or at least my perception of it is different) in that whilst distractions are tolerated the building sides, baloncies, other people even other jumps are not really "part" of that moment in the sport. The part of that moment is the horse, rider, ground (or water) and jump itself. Everything else around it is a distraction or setting part of the scene - outside it would be more "pretty" whilst inside buildings are less pleasing (in my view).

Runnah - already doing that. I'm already seeing that there is a HUGE difference indoors to outdoors even in pro work; with indoors being oft full of those annoying distractions (the only indoors I see that don't are either at huge arenas or more personal one-on-one shoots rather than events).
I've even joined one of those forums that horsey people go to in a bid to hear a bit from their side as to what they feel (since horsey photographers are somewhat few and far between). It also serves as a good spot to prod people on horsey questions (at least when/if I get any).

 

[wfooshee]

EDIT - thinking on it this puts a LOT of pressure on the first point the camera gets locked onto. For a subject panning that isn't a problem; for one coming right at you and then leaping up I wonder if a slower setting would be a pain since if I get anything wrong the camera will stick to that and not correct it even as I move the AF point. A neutral setting might be best (esp if combined with the option below).

Not so much. The AF will track what it starts with, even if it moves. It's the sudden changes of focus that the sensitivity is being adjusted for.

Say the subject leaves the AF area of the viewfinder for a couple of instants. There's a very nice tree in the background that a focus sensor has latched onto. If the sensitivity is fast, the camera will focus on the tree. If it's slow, it will wait a specific amount of time before focusing on the tree. As the camera moves and you reacquire the horse, it's not so far different from where it was before and tracking resumes, assuming focus hasn't gone to the tree because you had the sensitivity on FAST.

In another thread down in the Nikon forums, a D4s user was complaining that his bird shooting was being messed up by focus shifting to the background. His issue was this very point, he'd misunderstood what was being set to fast or slow and thought it was responsiveness of the AF system rather than the ability to shift focus.

FAST means it's OK to focus elsewhere quickly. Say you're stationary looking down the racetrack. AF will pick up an approaching car, but you want it to pick up the next one immediately when that one passes out of view. In that situation, FAST is what you want. You don't want the camera waiting before the next one 300 yards down the road comes into focus.

That's not your situation, though. You want the camera to stay in the general area of the focus distance you started with when acquiring the subject, and to resist picking something else to focus on. You want SLOW sensitivity.

That does not mean slow tracking! It means don't immediately make a SUDDEN change of focus.

My example in that Nikon thread was shooting an air show a couple of months after purchasing my camera. I delved into the manual about focus tracking, and played with it while out and about. At the air show I shot 1100+ frames, including bursts of 8 or 9, and NEVER missed focus! Never have I been so happy with a camera purchase!!!!!

And I guarantee you that my F-16s and F-18s were running a little faster than your show jumpers!

 

[weepete]

I'd change your metering mode straight off the bat. I've found that with basketball I get a much better exposure in shots using centre weighted average metering, after spending a fair bit of time experimenting with the metering modes under similar conditions.

 

[runnah]

I think you are over thinking it.