Motion blur... light problems!

malweth

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This was taken at ISO 200, f/2.2, 1/15s - Metering was correct, but it seems I should have brought the ISO to 800 to get the speed to 1/60s? Is there anything else that I could have done for a better action shot? I'm trying to keep my ISO low, but indoors (during full daylight) I run into this problem! I was standing pretty far away (50mm prime f/1.8 at f/2.2 from) and there's definitely a speed issue - I don't think DoF is the problem here.

Without investing in softboxes (which don't make much sense for semi-spontaneous shots) how can I get speeds of 1/125 or faster indoors?



Additionally, I understand that indoors is typically around LV7 (I don't have a meter). At ISO 200 and f/2.2 that should give me 7 stops for speed, which is 1/125. Why is my metering giving me 1/15? Is my house too dark? We have lots of windows and it was about 3 pm on a sunny day! Is the dark carpet causing metering problems for my camera?
 
get a flashgun, what looks bright to you isnt to the camera, also at this distance, with the lens you have used, I reckon your DOF will be a problem, apertures of f2 need really good focusing and slow shutter speeds arent helping either, go for flash at f11-16.
 
Make sure its the subject moving and not your unsteady hand. Tripod maybe? Or are you already using one?
 
Just a darkness issue... I'm not using a tripod, but the subjects are (constantly - unless sleeping) in motion, so a tripod wouldn't help.

I am planning on getting a tripod to fix the same problem in still subjects. Don't know that it's worth getting one before my cruise - it'd probably just be a pain to bring along!

Thanks for the comments... I ended up realizing the dark subjects and flooring were causing the light problems - I thought ambient light was all that mattered ;) not realizing that my dog was absorbing all the light in the room!!

I'm using the on-board flash for now ($200 seems expensive for a flash unit...) but what kind of flash should I use? Slow or Rear? Or is no flash better in most circumstances?
 
Let's go back to square one. This isn't what you would call an action shot, it's simply a child study. Basically wind up your ISO in the camera, and shoot as wide as possible. Forget using a flash in this situation, you will ruin the mood, except maybe bounce flash, which will stop any motion as long as you're shooting at a faster shutter speed. Dogs don't absorb light, they eat bones, you seem to be suggesting that if you took the dog out, the room would be brighter !!! The problem with using a tripod in this situation is that you don't have the benefit of changing angles quickly. 1/15 is a bit short to be shooting hand held, though the shot you posted hasn't got too much movement, see hand on floor. Trust this helps. Philip.

www.philipweirphotography.com
 
Philip made some great points. In addition to bounced flash, a nice diffuser on a speedlight can work wonders, without totally killing the mood.
 
Thanks for the comment - how do I get a flash diffuser? This sounds like something that would be useful in 99% of my shots needing flash.

Certainly not an "action shot" per se, but not posed either... the subjects are moving (therefore "in action") and 1/15 is not enough -- this was my original question.

On one point I disagree:

Dogs don't absorb light, they eat bones, you seem to be suggesting that if you took the dog out, the room would be brighter !!!
Dark dogs absorb light. The room would be brighter if the dog was lighter (and more noticably if the carpet was lighter) as light would be reflected. Simply taking the dog out wouldn't change the light in the room significantly because the dog takes up room on the floor - which is nearly as dark as he is.

Shiny things aren't the only items that reflect light.
 
Dogs absorb light yes, but only the light that is falling on them. They do not suck up light that would other wise be illuminating the child, or something else. The room would not be brighter without the dog. One part of your scene, where the dog was, would be a lighter tone.

As for flash diffusers, you can buy lots of fancy ones, or make your own. I made one out of a tupperware container. It fits over the flash, and allows the light to bounce around inside it, and then come out omni-directional, and very soft.
 
Dogs absorb light yes, but only the light that is falling on them. They do not suck up light that would other wise be illuminating the child, or something else.
Didn't say he did... but he does reduce the amount of total light (ambient light, as I understand it) in the room as compared to an equal sized dog of lighter color (which reflects more light). Is it perceptable? Unlikely... Does the carpet color change the ambient light perceptably? Probably.

Sorry for any confusion, but I do understand the physics of the situation. My original statement was simply rhetoric exaggerating the reason for my initial mistake. A mnemonic in the form of rhetoric is useful for me to understand the process intuitively.

RE: Flash Diffusion, does the diffuser need to be very far from the flash? Is diffusion improved by having a very large area of diffusion? Most of the commercial ones I looked at look pretty silly... I was thinking one of those white film canisters would do well (for the on-board flash), but perhaps they're far too small? Is it a requirement that I look like an idiot to any non-photographer? ;)
 
Flash Harry said:
get a flashgun, what looks bright to you isnt to the camera, also at this distance, with the lens you have used, I reckon your DOF will be a problem, apertures of f2 need really good focusing and slow shutter speeds arent helping either, go for flash at f11-16.
11-16?
good idea, i really wish that couch back there was sharper :p
i would recomend shooting it pretty wide open at a higher iso.
 

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