horse jumping photography problem.

[astroNikon]

I've had a horrible time trying to upload to TPF in the recent month. So you aren't alone

As I mentioned and Overread .. it is probably focusing on the jump and not the horse/rider

page 34 of your manual goes over this in detail


I messed up .. I use a 9 point AF section for sports and I follow the subject
So if they are running from left to right, this is what my 9 point AF looks like

_ _/---\_ _
[. . . . xxx . ]
[. . . . xxx . ]
[_ _ . xxx __]
. . . \---/
(ugh .. I need to take a picture of it on my camera)

This uses a 9 point Dynamic area AF: Choose when there is time to compose the photograph or when photographing subjects that are moving predictably (eg, runners or race cars on a track).

I've had alot of success with this setup
I would think it would work great for horses too following a track

BUT on your 5100 .. I'm not sure on the equivalent setup

 

[chloewindle1]

Just changed my settings.... Is this what everyone means?

 

[astroNikon]

I can see that the focusing system is alot more limited than mine.
I can select where I want focus to occur but that doesn't seem the case with the 5100.

but on page 47 of your manual
you can select the focus point. So if you do the same as my display above you choose the focus point to the right and then move with the subject.
Experiment with it and see what you can and can't do

 

[JerryVenz]

You need to bump-up your shutter speed! My minimim shutter speed for horses in action is 1/800 to 1/1000 sec. and I like f5.0 for my aperture because at 200mm that aperture will give me plenty depth-of-field with the background out of focus.

When I do extreme horse action at rodeos--not to mention bulls, calf ropeing, barrel races and such--I go to 1/2500 sec. also at f5.0.

To use these shutter speeds at this f-stop I'm usually at 800 ISO but that's no issue with a pro-level DSLR.

Hope this helps---Jerry V.

 

[Gavjenks]

If you can get there during practice or warmup or whatever, then what I might do is just manually focus and trial and error until I am focused on mid air at the necessary spot. then mark it on the manual focus barrel with some painter's tape or chalk or whatever in case it slips later, and don't touch it for the rest of the event unless you change positions. More than one jump = more than one piece of tape (or if you're all fancy, even one of those white follow focus wheels you can write on in pencil for cinema).

After all, unlike free-range moving animals, you have the advantage of knowing exactly where the jump is going to occur ahead of time, so why not just set up an ambush instead of attempting to refocus every shot and having a chance of failing?

Also of course using a smaller aperture will be more likely to get all of the above in focus, if that won't ruin your artistic vision (and if you don't have a distracting backgroudn that you're trying to blur out, etc.).

 

[gsgary]

Easiest way to shoot horses is don't auto focus, focus slightly in front of the jump at about F4.5/F5.6 shutter speed no less than 1/320
Like this but it has a faster shutter speed because of the light

 

[Robin Usagani]

1/600 will not be a problem for a miniature pony.

 

[vintagesnaps]

I do about the same thing as Gary (nice pictures by the way) although not with horses, with other sports. Gary's settings make sense, you need a fairly fast shutter speed and a somewhat small aperture to keep everything in the scene in focus.

I focus manually on a stationary object, a pole, post etc. and get framed and focused then wait til the action comes to me. It's the timing, being ready when the player(s) move into my viewfinder. Of course it probably took me a lot of practice to get good at focusing manually shooting sports because it's second nature to me now.

You might need to consider learning manual settings so you can take control of the camera settings instead of letting the camera select settings that aren't working.

 

[chloewindle1]

I do normally shoot at 1/600 - 1/100+ so on It's just the focusing which is out of place jumping wise. Dressage work the focal point (horse and rider moving) are in focus

 

[Raj_55555]

For some reason it wont upload on here? I've tried making the image smaller ect and it just doesn't work????

Upload it on flickr and post a link then..

 

[David]

As photographing horses is my thing I agree with all the above, and would also add that there is no single solution, as so much depends on the light and angle you're shooting from. Although most of my work is portraiture, I attend Burghley and other equestrian events throughout the year, and don't have one set up. What I do do is use AI Servo (Canon man too) and try to keep my aperture at f11 or f16 if the light permits and shutter speed at 1/500 or less. If I can't then I move my position to improve the light and then sacrifice my ISO and deal with a bit of noise. Obviously the amount you can sacrifice the ISO will depend on your camera. Focus on the horse's shoulder, try to pick them up early as they come into the jump, and follow them in. Take your shots, but don't be tempted to stop moving the camera as you do. It's like shooting with a shotgun, you have to follow through. In fact I regular shoot with a shotgun too and find that it helps. The other option as already mentioned is to pre-focus on the jump. I prefer my way and you need to find what works for you.

The first attached image I took at Burghley in 2012 in the above way. Even though they nearly fell and the horse was going one way, and the rider the other, I was still able to get good focus.


Don't be afraid to lose a bit of focus across some of the horse/rider, as that can work too. The second attached image in this link was at 1/60 sec.

If you're trying to photograph your friend in competitions then practice on the previous competitors, and also when they're practising at their yard too. Try different things as there are many ways to skin a cat.

David

 

[Braineack]

The idea of the greater f-stop for a slower shutter makes sense for that second shot, but I don't quite understand the logic behind it for the first.

The suggestion of 3.5-5.6 by Gary lead to a much more appealing shot with the bg separation and bokeh. Your first has a very distracting bg and I keep focusing on the rear foot of the horse and how it's interacting with the bg.

 

[Overread14 2]

It might vary depending what you want - the first shot might well have too much depth of field to be traditionally considered "arty" but might well be just what newspapers are looking for as a record of the day.

 

[Civchic]

What it says to me is that is soon to be a world of hurt!

 

[David]

Braineack, as I tend to stand close to the obstacles and am panning, the f8 to f16 isn't usually an issue. As I said many ways to skin a cat. My first attached image was from way across the arena and about the crowd reaction, as the obstacle had been causing some difficulty. Sadly the low res image doesn't best show all the open mouths and hands coming up. That and some people who seem relaxed and half a second later were on their feet. It was published in Ireland together with a later image of the crowd standing and Sam Watson recovering his seat. An incredible piece of riding to recover and similar to an incident his father had IIRC.

Maybe I chose the wrong illustrative image. I'll try and dig another one out, but away from my Mac at the moment and only have a small selection on my phone. I don't tend to do arty at equestrian events and save that for my equine portraiture.