How to take clear photos of Dog Sports

[gsgary]

You'll need a camera that has a good burst rate, the EOS 7D can do 8 frames a second, EOS 6D manages just 4.5 frames per second.

No you don't, just good timing

 

[Tony S]

Let me add to gsgary's above post........ horse crap, the majority of good sports and action shots are the result of konwledge of the event you are shooting, anticipation and timing. Shotgunning action just gets you a whole bunch of crappy photos to go through.

 

[AnaISantos]

Thanks "gsgary", Benco and Tony S.
Yes, think it takes a lot of practice to take good pictures... But a suitable camera for what you intend also helps. And it helps even more if you know how to work with it.
Action images are harder to get, because we need to predict where the subject will be when we want to take the image. The problem with dogs, horses, and animals in general is that they don't always go to where we expect them to be
I have a lot of photos that would be amazing if the main subject wasn't out of focus, or blurred...
So, practice, practice, practice....
Hope next time I can post some good pictures :lmao:

 

[Benco]

You'll need a camera that has a good burst rate, the EOS 7D can do 8 frames a second, EOS 6D manages just 4.5 frames per second.

No you don't, just good timing

Indeed, I could have written that better, substitute 'you could consider' for 'you'll need'

Let me add to gsgary's above post........ horse crap, the majority of good sports and action shots are the result of konwledge of the event you are shooting, anticipation and timing. Shotgunning action just gets you a whole bunch of crappy photos to go through.

Sure if you're certain your timing's going to be good enough, I wouldn't advocate blasting away all the time just maybe for those split second actions where you might not be so certain you can nail it. Is it really such a disadvantage to have to delete half a dozen or so off images to get that one good one?

 

[gsgary]

Let me add to gsgary's above post........ horse crap, the majority of good sports and action shots are the result of konwledge of the event you are shooting, anticipation and timing. Shotgunning action just gets you a whole bunch of crappy photos to go through.

What do you mean horse crap

 

[Pallycow]

Spray and pray does work at catching moments, but you can do it even at 3fps if you time things right.

I shot this when I was still a noob, with D90 and 80-200 2.8 I think I was only getting 3-4fps burst on that day. I'd usually just let it hit 2x, to limit the crap I had to sort through.
I just used ai servo, or whatever nikon calls it, I forget, and tracked and panned the dog..anticipated his leap, then shot.

Camera	Nikon D90
Exposure	0.001 sec (1/1250)
Aperture	f/3.2
Focal Length	145 mm
ISO Speed	160

 

[Benco]

^ that's one cool looking pooch.

 

[gsgary]

Here's one shot with 5Dmk1 iso3200

 

[Pallycow]

^ that's one cool looking pooch.

Thanks. I love his eyes in that one. So focused.

 

[petrichor]

You've already gotten great advice and I don't have much to add. I wanted to say, I agree that anticipating the action will really help. It looks like you were at a Schutzhund/IPO trial, or a club meeting? If you are familiar with Schutzhund/IPO, there is absolutely a routine and you should be able to guess where the dog will be. If not, I recommend studying the individual stages of the trial and what each stage involves. When you take chasing the dog with your camera out of the equation, it will be easier to focus on everything else.

 

[AnaISantos]

Great photos "Pallycow" and "gsgary"!!! :lmao:
That's exactly the type of photos I hope to be able to get someday....
"Petrichor": it was a IPO training. My husband competes in IPO with his dogs. I am familiar with the routine, but still wasn't able to get that real focused image... Next time I'll use a tripod to prevent some camera shaken, try the advises given here (thank you all again) and let's see how it goes!
In the meanwhile I came across with another doubt... I've read that the Image Stabilization isn't good for when we are shooting moving objects... Is this true?

 

[gsgary]

Great photos "Pallycow" and "gsgary"!!! :lmao:
That's exactly the type of photos I hope to be able to get someday....
"Petrichor": it was a IPO training. My husband competes in IPO with his dogs. I am familiar with the routine, but still wasn't able to get that real focused image... Next time I'll use a tripod to prevent some camera shaken, try the advises given here (thank you all again) and let's see how it goes!
In the meanwhile I came across with another doubt... I've read that the Image Stabilization isn't good for when we are shooting moving objects... Is this true?

A tripod will hinder you, IS is no use above 1/250 but you should be using speeds much higher than that

 

[sm4him]

Others have answered your questions about focusing and such far better than I ever could, but there IS one thing I didn't see mentioned (though to be honest, I only scanned the thread).

Look at your action photos.
Now look at the ones posted by gsgary, Pallycow and Tony.
Now back at yours. --sorry, couldn't resist that.

Aside from sharper focus, there is a critical difference in these shots. Yours look like they were shot standing up and aiming down at whatever was going on. Theirs are all shot from a level that is much more even with the action, and it helps to draw us into the frame. They've also made sure that the dog's (or horse's--can't fool me gary, 'em ain't dogs! ) eye is visible and in sharp focus. Those things really help make their photos rise above the ordinary.

 

[gsgary]

My first shot was taken with a 4mp 1D they are still a great camera and will focus as quick as any new camera, if you are going to shoot outside A 1D and 70-200f4 would get you some great shots cheap

 

[AnaISantos]

Absolutely true "sm4him"[FONT=arial, helvetica, sans-serif] [/FONT]
I was standing on the other side of the fence, and that's why I'm standing...
But usually I do get to a lower level, like in the pics bellow:


(Picture taken with a Samsung WB150)


(Fujifilm Finepix HS20EXR)


(Fujifilm Finepix S5500)


(Nikon D200)