help, action shots?

[Overread]

For your focus issue:

If you are using auto focus, make sure your camera is set up to focus on the entire matrix and not one focal area. I would also set the metering the same way, and increase your shutter speed. Action shots are kind of hard to capture if you are using a focal point, because the camera is moving.

but if your using all the cameras focusing points the AF in the camera is more likley to lock onto just the closest thing to it - which in many shots with a horse side on could be the belly of the horse or the leg of the rider - rather than locking onto the head and eyes of the animal.

 

[TheUndisputed]

but if your using all the cameras focusing points the AF in the camera is more likley to lock onto just the closest thing to it - which in many shots with a horse side on could be the belly of the horse or the leg of the rider - rather than locking onto the head and eyes of the animal.

Ok, you do have a point, but what if he did that and up'ed his aperture to about f11 and increased his ISO, wouldn't that select the entire horse as a focal point because of the distance between the subject and the background?

 

[Overread]

reducing the aperture to f11 would increase depth of field so would be a decent counter = but a smaller aperture would mean slower shutter speeds, so more ISO and thus more noise - also some cameras just don't do high ISO well so its better to use a single focal point and work on focusing techniques where they can use a bigger aperture (smaller f number) and thus a faster shutter speed without having to lose image quality to ISO noise

 

[gsgary]

For your focus issue:

If you are using auto focus, make sure your camera is set up to focus on the entire matrix and not one focal area. I would also set the metering the same way, and increase your shutter speed. Action shots are kind of hard to capture if you are using a focal point, because the camera is moving.




For your flash issue:

Diffuse the flash some how, it is extremely harsh. If you are using an external hot shoe flash, see if it has a filter slide in it. I just took a peice of white copy paper, cut it to the filter size, and slid it into the filter slider. It works perfect. Now, if I need a flash, it gives the area soft light instead of hard, direct light. If you are using your pop up flash on the camera, tear a peace of CLEAN white T shirt off, and wrap it around the top of the flash and tie it down with a rubber band. Depending on how strong your flash is, depends on what thickness you need to use. On mine, I have to double layer it, because the flash is HARSH on my cam, so I fold the T shirt over and put 2 layers on top of the flash bulb. Oh yes, and make sure not to have any wrinkes in the T shirt piece over the bulb, it will mis direct light in your shot.

I shoot mostly action and only use the center focus point and it never fails

 

[Chairman7w]

4) flash - horses are like any other animal; some blink - others ignor - some run 100 miles from it - and some attack.

Please note - if it DOES attack, please leave the camera on Auto-Shoot Burst Mode.

We REALLY need to see those photos!

 

[gsgary]

Ok, you do have a point, but what if he did that and up'ed his aperture to about f11 and increased his ISO, wouldn't that select the entire horse as a focal point because of the distance between the subject and the background?

That would give you a black image were you would see nothing as it would be about 9 stops under exposed :lmao: