New Lens- I think "we" did ok today!

[Saddlebreds4me]

My mentor (a professional equine photographer) suggested at least try manual - so I figured 'what the hell? it can't hurt'. But now I am intrigued to go back to the barn with all of your suggestions and try again.

Yes, I made the decision after shooting with my D70s for two years just to bite the bullet and get the D700, and both Nikkor lenses - the f/2.8 80-200 and the f/2.8 24-70 which is pretty much all I'm going to need for what I do. I'm a believer in buying something once and doing it right. I also realize this is a bit more than just a hobby for me.

Thank you for the suggestions - I want to get back to the barn...now.

 

[gsgary]

Have you got any other shots to look at from this shoot ?

 

[Saddlebreds4me]

Have you got any other shots to look at from this shoot ?

Yes! I will post them tonight - I'm at work and all of my photos are on my iMac at home.

 

[Saddlebreds4me]

Here are few more that are more representative of the show - first timers and seasoned riders using our winter shows as practice to get ready for the regular show season.

Ok, I am so damn tired I give up - this is a photo I really wanted to post but I feel like an idiot because while I rotated it in photobucket, I can't seem to rotate it here - if anyone can or tell me how to rotate it and keep it that way, that would be great - if not, at least you can see what I'm talking about with regard to the light changing. That sun came in about a split second before I took this photo, thus blowing out the upper right side of the picture. My apologies - I'm just fried right now.

Here are two others - that were minutes apart from each other....

Again, no PP work at all in any of these.

Thanks for the C & C, sorry about the horizontal that should be vertical photo.

 

[Bigpopa]

Don't shoot this in shutter prority, aperture will always give you the fastest shutter speed for given aperture

You know after thinkin about it I stand corrected...................

 

[gsgary]

I think you need to shoot at ISO6400 so you can use F4 because some of the shots don't look very sharp and i think if you use center weighted meetering instead of pattern if you get the exposure spot on or as near as possible there won't be much noise
when i get to ISO 1600 my 1D goes back in the bag and the 5D (wish it went to ISO6400)comes out we print A4 prints on site and you don't get much noise and the D700 should be a bit better than the 5D
I also think you need to get the shots tighter but still keep more room in the direction of travel if that makes sense
sometimes i shoot too tight but i like to get right in (no cropping on this one, it's the only indoor stuff i have never shot horses inside but this is the same sort of shoot)

 

[Amber_Cullen]

love that first one in the second group of shots you posted

 

[ANDS!]

Here are few more that are more representative of the show - first timers and seasoned riders using our winter shows as practice to get ready for the regular show season.

Ok, I am so damn tired I give up - this is a photo I really wanted to post but I feel like an idiot because while I rotated it in photobucket, I can't seem to rotate it here - if anyone can or tell me how to rotate it and keep it that way, that would be great - if not, at least you can see what I'm talking about with regard to the light changing. That sun came in about a split second before I took this photo, thus blowing out the upper right side of the picture. My apologies - I'm just fried right now.

Here are two others - that were minutes apart from each other....

Again, no PP work at all in any of these.

Thanks for the C & C, sorry about the horizontal that should be vertical photo.

The last two are too soft. Up the ISO, and increase your shutter speed. Or perhaps invest in a Speedlight. The first one is sharp - but not on the horses face or the young ladies. The horses collar (or whatever that blue thing is) is just fine though.

 

[Saddlebreds4me]

Thanks very much for the C & C - I have two speedlights - an SB600 and an SB800 - However, due to this particular show being for new riders and beginners (for the most part) I wanted to be respectful and not use a flash if at all possible. It's why I also invested in my two 2.8 lenses.

But thank you for the tips - I will definitely play with all of the settings - and see if I can get sharper and more focused. It's funny because when I had my ISO at 6400 I was getting way too much noise so I tried to reduce it - but I guess that's what practice is all about - finding a happy medium that works.

 

[Saddlebreds4me]

love that first one in the second group of shots you posted

Thank you! It's so much fun shooting first time riders - they always have a blast - just for the experience. I love it!

 

[Saddlebreds4me]

I think you need to shoot at ISO6400 so you can use F4 because some of the shots don't look very sharp and i think if you use center weighted meetering instead of pattern if you get the exposure spot on or as near as possible there won't be much noise
when i get to ISO 1600 my 1D goes back in the bag and the 5D (wish it went to ISO6400)comes out we print A4 prints on site and you don't get much noise and the D700 should be a bit better than the 5D
I also think you need to get the shots tighter but still keep more room in the direction of travel if that makes sense
sometimes i shoot too tight but i like to get right in (no cropping on this one, it's the only indoor stuff i have never shot horses inside but this is the same sort of shoot)

Thank you Gary - I love this shot! I always learn so much from all of you here - I will give this a try after I print out the thread and bring it with me to the barn so I can remember everything!

 

[In2daBlue]

We can talk about camera settings all day long. Learn to use PP and your images will get better no matter what settings you're using. It's an essential part to professional photography... more so than the gear you're using in most cases.

 

[gsgary]

We can talk about camera settings all day long. Learn to use PP and your images will get better no matter what settings you're using. It's an essential part to professional photography... more so than the gear you're using in most cases.

What a load of rubbish, so if i had taken that shot of the dog (it was at iso3200 F2.8 1/320) and shot it at F5.6 to get better DOF you could have got rid of all the noise because it would have been 2 stops underexposed and it had been out of focus you could have made it sharp, taking shots in these conditions you have to get it as near spot on as possible or it will look crap no matter how good you are at PP, by the sound of it you have never shot at very high ISO's

 

[ANDS!]

I wanted to be respectful and not use a flash if at all possible.

If you have a diffuser on, unless it spokes the horses, the flash shouldn't be that powerful that it throws them off their game. Ask the owners (or whatever they are called), and tell them you can get more dynamic shots if you are in control of your own lighting. This way you can shoot at like iso1000, slap the speedlight on, and shoot at F/4 and an appropriate shutter speed.

We can talk about camera settings all day long. Learn to use PP and your images will get better no matter what settings you're using. It's an essential part to professional photography... more so than the gear you're using in most cases.

Photoshop doesn't correct softness or camera blur.

 

[gsgary]

If you have a diffuser on, unless it spokes the horses, the flash shouldn't be that powerful that it throws them off their game. Ask the owners (or whatever they are called), and tell them you can get more dynamic shots if you are in control of your own lighting. This way you can shoot at like iso1000, slap the speedlight on, and shoot at F/4 and an appropriate shutter speed.



Photoshop doesn't correct softness or camera blur.

Over here if i was to use a flash at a horse event i would loose my credentials