Capturing running dogs

helzwash

helzwash

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Name
Helen
Edit My Images
Yes
Hellooo.

I am new to the forum but not so much to DSLRs. Have had my Canon 600D for about 18 mths I think now.

I'm mainly into shooting the stars (we live in the countryside so light pollution isd almost non existent and we can see the milky way from our back patio :) ) but my love is to capture my dog running/playing.

I've always been a bit lazy researching what settings I should probably use so always bung it onto Sport mode and actually have had some pretty awesome results.

I'm now photographing his first experience of snow. It went well but with the lower light I found myself deleting more shots than I thought due to some blurry action... which made me wake up and smell the Manual button. :bonk:

So I'm googling away advice at which apertures / ISOs etc and before I went to bed I started shooting him in the kitchen making him jump up and down to see what difference it made. A lot (as you can imagine!). The image was dark but not too dark that I don't think I could rescue it through software.

I just wondered if anyone else has a passion for snapping dogs/cats in action and what settings they'd maybe recommend? :)

I'm hoping I can finish work reasonably early today as whilst we haven't had any extra snow (it's forecast tomrorow yipeee) it is going to be clear skies, sunny and the existing snow. Which I'm hoping I can take him out in and play around with settings to see what I fix on/am happy with. Though I'm sure Friday I'll end up changing again as the light will be lower :|

I usually shoot in JPEG as it is quicker to edit images and 9/10 the iages I get I'm happy with. However I'm suspecting for this kind of shot it may be better in RAW? If so I can't remeber what software have, it came with my camera so it may be Canon's own version? I'm not too familiar with it as I use a different one on my laptop and I can't remember it's name.

Anyway.. I'm sure it's a really basic question and you're all tutting behind your keyboards and chuckling into your coffees! If so, I am sorry.. I've just been too lazy until now to actually change settings!

Thanks for any help

Helen
 
Hellooooooo...:) welcome to the forum!

I had a go at doing this sort of thing, in motion, and I found shutter priority and continuos focus most helpful. But I'm no expert, and I'm sure there are plenty of people that can give you more detailed advice. For me, this was a case of learning from my mistakes. I've given up on those types of shots now for something in the studio, more controlled, and a whole lot of Velcro! :)
 
Oh and here's the little man in question. Jasper. They're just still shots of him as he looked pretty cute in the snow! I'm too shy to show you more in case you think they're rubbish!

jasper2m.png



jaspersnow1.png



jasper1x.png
 
I would suggest shutter priority and set it to 500 or more to freeze the action. As your shooting in the snow, I would add a stop of exposure compensation as the camera will get confused with all the extra white stuff and underexpose giving that typical grey look to the snow. As to shooting in raw, try a few and have a play with the software, it is the best way to shoot as problems with white balance etc can be saved if shot in raw ;)
 
Think it sounds like a case of playing around till I find (and possibly understand) the right settings.

Okay so here are the 2 below of my favourite ones of him running from last summer. I thought they turned out okay and was pretty pleased... Do they look alright to you advanced camera folk or is there something else you'd maybe suggest for them? They were taken as JPEGs and only edited for slightly higher contrast and colouring. I'm a bit of a perfectionist and whilst I do love them... I'm wondering if maybe a faster shutter speed and shot in RAW would've resulted in a slightly sharper image?


jasperfield1.png


jasperbeach1.png
 
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Thanks Sunnyside up :)

I've just been browsing some of posts in the forums and the quality of everyone elses pictures and now feel massively underwhelmed at mine!

Definitely need to give RAW another shot I think.
 
helzwash said:
Thanks Sunnyside up :)

I've just been browsing some of posts in the forums and the quality of everyone elses pictures and now feel massively underwhelmed at mine!

Definitely need to give RAW another shot I think.
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Nothing wrong with your shots at all... Beautiful dog! I did notice that you're keen on keeping things central in the image. Might want to try thirds. My dog rarely lets me take shots of her now. She sees me get the camera out and runs the other way lol!
:)
 
Ah so I do.. I never noticed that before... soo what do you mean by thirds? :)
 
helzwash said:
Ah so I do.. I never noticed that before... soo what do you mean by thirds? :)
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The rule of thirds, whereby your point of interest is to the top/bottom/left or right third of the frame. You can either do this be focus and recompose the shot, move your focus point around in camera, or shoot it wide enough that you can crop it down in post. Sometimes this can turn an everyday snap into a really nice portrait. :)
 
As well as the exposure settings, you'll also want to set the focus mode to AI Servo, once your Jasper's running, pressing the shutter button half way will start the focusing on him and then it should try and maintain focus while he's moving.

With regards to shooting in RAW, this doesn't necessarily improve image quality, however it does give you more scope to rescue any under/over exposed images which is sometimes enevitable when you're shooting a high-speed/moving subject.

Personally, I'd shoot in Av mode, get the aperture as wide as possible and set the ISO to you have a minimum shutter speed of 1/500. This is what I do when I shoot at rugby/football matches.

If you find the shots are coming out blurry and/or dark, increase the ISO some more although be prepared to add a little noise reduction when you edit them :)

Jasper certainly looks a friendly lad and I bet you have no problems getting him to run for you :lol:
 
Some good advice above I also shoot in aperture priority,wide open or close to it and adjust iso up and down if I need too.I always use af-c(continuous focus) as well.Heres my two models


Chase me! by StuartHowePhotography, on Flickr
 
:)

Thanks guys. I never really thought about moving the camera focus to anywhere other than centre of the frame :) given me something else to consider!

This might sound like a really basic question but how do I adjust the ISO?

Ha yeah he is. He's quite a shy dog and so is very focused on where me or my partner are when we take him out. If he runs off, turns around and sees me crouching (with the camera) he runs back because he doesn't want to be left alone :) great for photography ;)
 
This might sound like a really basic question but how do I adjust the ISO?
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Did you get a manual?..maybe worth having a read through to get familiar with the layout of your camera.
 
Yeah I always try to snap with it as wide open as I can to let in more light etc. Glad I was doing that bit right :)

Awww that picture is lovely!
 
I'll have a look for it online. I do have it somewhere and had read it after I first got it as I was doing different settings for all sorts but got lazy and stuck it on modes already set up for specific things :(
 
helzwash said:
I'll have a look for it online. I do have it somewhere and had read it after I first got it as I was doing different settings for all sorts but got lazy and stuck it on modes already set up for specific things :(
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ISO should be in the Q menu, there may even be a button on the back of the camera to change it directly in M/Av/Tv modes :)
 
Welcome to the forum i must say your pictures of you Spaniel are good i do like to color captured against the snow.
In the first one , i just don't like how the top of the heads cut off :( but its not to worry your hear to learn not to be told how people don't like them, so my advise is that you try to get the shutter speed as fast as possible as moving dogs are fast obviously as the faster your shutter the less motion blur and the sharper the image.

you can do this by Upping your (to the lowest numnber ) Fstop and bumping up the Iso speed , Bumping Up the F stop to the lowest number will make less and less in focus in some shots , So if you stay above F4 i would say and bump the iso up you should be ok , also id Squat down to get to there level and just have fun tracking the dogs.

also for Focus turn it to Ai Servo it will track the dogs as there running (Canon)

Hope this helps you im only new to the forum so if any of what ive said is wrong im sure someone will advise
 
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Thanks :)

Yeah in a lot of them I always crouch but in the snow ones I was carrying his darned ball launcher so most of the time had to stand (annoyed!)

And yes, I completely agree re the 1st one with the cut off head.. It did annoy me but I loved his facial expression with his cheeky tongue popping out too. Hopefully going to try it tonight and see what difference I can make with the settings :)
 
Some great advice here guys. Gotta love the DDB in the image above!

What is the focus system like on the 600D? I have a 400D at present and hoping to upgrade to a 7D soon, but may consider the 600D if the focus system is good.
 
paulsmith said:
Some great advice here guys. Gotta love the DDB in the image above!

What is the focus system like on the 600D? I have a 400D at present and hoping to upgrade to a 7D soon, but may consider the 600D if the focus system is good.
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I went from a 400D to a 7D..... the difference is IMMENSE but you will need half decent lenses ;)
 
Hi Helen

As advised, you need M mode, go to the highest iso you can live with, choose an appropriate depth of field and see what f number you can get down to then use the highest shutter speed possible.

OOI, is yours a Brittany Spaniel ? Looks very similar to mine !

Gorgeous dog anyway !

Regards

Gary
 
gary43 said:
Hi Helen

As advised, you need M mode, go to the highest iso you can live with, choose an appropriate depth of field and see what f number you can get down to then use the highest shutter speed possible.
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Why does she "need" manual? Dogs are relatively slow creatures, aperture or shutter priority are equally as capable.
 
gary43 said:
Hi Helen

As advised, you need M mode, go to the highest iso you can live with, choose an appropriate depth of field and see what f number you can get down to then use the highest shutter speed possible.

OOI, is yours a Brittany Spaniel ? Looks very similar to mine !

Gorgeous dog anyway !

Regards

Gary
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Sorry... disagree.....

M mode may be useful if the light is pretty constant, otherwise you could end up with under/overexposed shots because you won't have time assess the exposure and change any of the settings when the dog's running towards you.

For fast moving subjects where light and/or background may be inconsistent Av/Tv will probably be a better option, especially this time of year when decent light can be at a premium.
 
First off that is a lovely spaniel you have and the pictures in the snow are very nice.

I can only tell you what works for me after a lot of practice.

For very fast action running towards you at full pelt I find you need a shutter speed of at least between 1/1000 and 1/1600sec. If panning side to side you can get away with a slower shutter speed depending on how blurred you want the legs to be.

Set continuous af and three frames a second continuous shooting, disable shake reduction as I find it interferes with the accuracy of CAF and at those shutter speeds you should not need it anyway.

This is what I find works for me but others may have different advise.:)

 
Hi Frac/Russ

From the title of this thread the OP is looking to capture her dog running so not really a relatively slow creature, hence the requirement for the high shutter speed. Secondly, I am guessing over a patch of ground where the dog is running the light WILLl most likely be uniform so can be metered for to avoid under/over exposure. It is doubtful that the dog will be in some shady treee or other ? In Av/Tv mode what are you going to meter for ? the brown or white of the dog ? Evaluative metering could give you anything given the patchy colouration and fact that the dog may be a distance away when acquiring focus/metering. I'd still do this in M mode.

As ever, I may be wrong.

Regards

Gary
 
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I do not understand this fascination with manual and it being the be all and end all of using a DSLR. Manufacturers have spent lots of money developing these things, so why not use the tools at your disposal?

Of course you can shoot in manual, but you can also get the same results shooting in shutter or aperture with out the faffing about. Yes,I agree, if the light is constant, then by all means use manual, but how often is the light in the UK constant.

I would hazard a guess that the majority of wildlife photographers, who photograph far faster things than running dogs, and most sports photographers don`t hardly ever use manual .
 
fracster said:
I do not understand this fascination with manual and it being the be all and end all of using a DSLR. Manufacturers have spent lots of money developing these things, so why not use the tools at your disposal?

Of course you can shoot in manual, but you can also get the same results shooting in shutter or aperture with out the faffing about. Yes,I agree, if the light is constant, then by all means use manual, but how often is the light in the UK constant.

I would hazard a guess that the majority of wildlife photographers, who photograph far faster things than running dogs, and most sports photographers don`t hardly ever use manual .
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This:thumbs::thumbs:
 
Final thought, I shoot mainly wildlife and always use manual. Speeding spaniels are PDQ as well !

Lets just agree to disagree.
 
I tend to use Manual and auto-ISO, with a shutter speed of at least 1/1000 and a aperture of f/3.2ish to blur out the background. If it is awkward conditions for metering I will go full manual. I use a 7D on AI Servo with BBF and in RAW so I stay in control of the image. It looks as if you are getting there, but on the shot of your lovely dog running towards you, although you did right getting down to eye-level, try to make sure this doesn't mean you have the dog against a blank white sky. Hope that is of help :)

This is one I took last Friday of my lass, the last time we had some decent light:

IMG_6191_zps1ef73f4e.jpg
 
If I wish to shoot my running dog I will pick the light I wish to shoot in. None of this nonsense about varying light levels. If the light is wrong I'll wait. Then, when I have the light I prefer, it'll be manual exposure and ideally shutter speed of 1/1000 minimum, aperture close to wide open and ISO to suit.

If people are happy to shoot in any old quality, quantity and direction of randomly changing light that's their choice. I can't see much fun in trying to shoot a black dog against white snow using some sort of auto or semi-auto exposure mode and have the exposure wobbling all over the map as the dog changes size and position within the frame. It's far easier to set the exposure for the incident light upon the subject/scene and leave it there. My preference is bright conditions, with a sparkle in the eyes, so if a cloud blows over I'll simply wait for it to pass. If it's sh!tty light to begin with then I'll keep my powder dry till another day.

1D3, 400mm, 1/1250, f/8, 800 ISO.
20090420_160200_6933_LR.jpg


1D3, 145mm, 1/1000, f/2.8, 400 ISO. (not my dog)
20110508_142222_4999_LR.jpg


1D3, 100mm(macro), 1/2500, f/2.8, 400 ISO.
20101224_114455_2033_LR.jpg


7D, 85mm, 1/2000, f/2.8, 400 ISO.
20101022_124353_3162_LR.jpg
 
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I would go tv setting (shutter priority) start with 1/250 and go from
There. If its a bit soft still keep going up. If the image gets dark then keep upping the iso untill you are happy. That's the best way to start learning
 
fracster said:
I do not understand this fascination with manual and it being the be all and end all of using a DSLR. Manufacturers have spent lots of money developing these things, so why not use the tools at your disposal?
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Exactly. Most people quote it like a mantra because it sounds good and they don't know any different, whereas most of the time using M is just plain BS.



Helen, potter over to the sTalk Sports forum and read any of the 'how do I...' threads. The basic principles of what you want to achieve are exactly the same as most sports photography and are covered in a fair amount of depth, but at a fairly understandable level! :)
 
DemiLion said:
Exactly. Most people quote it like a mantra because it sounds good and they don't know any different, whereas most of the time using M is just plain BS.
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There's a very good reason to choose to shoot with manual exposure, when appropriate, and it has shag all to do with bragging rights. Equally there are times when manual exposure is not the best option, but when you're actively making the effort to choose your lighting conditions, as I advocated in my earlier post, then why make life harder than necessary?

This 23 frame unedited sequence was shot with manual exposure - 1/1600, f/5.6, 200 ISO, which just happens to be equivalent to a "Sunny 16" exposure, ideal for the conditions. It's not a running dog, but as far as action, shutter speed and exposure are concerned it might just as well have been.

https://picasaweb.google.com/106744...gCPmY6dDBto2XYw#slideshow/5834539785879334450

Do you think I would have better safeguarded my highlights and achieved more consistent or superior exposure by leaving the camera to adjust settings as the scene before me altered? I don't. Is it a random fluke that I was shooting under clear, sunny skies with just a little thin haze to soften things? No. Of course, they're not very interesting, and I wouldn't bother to print or display them normally, but they serve as an example regarding exposure. The reason I shot them was actually simply for practice at smooth tracking of BIF, but that's by the by. As far as exposure is concerned I was already set up for the lighting conditions before the swan even hove into view and I was ready to shoot immediately without any need to faff about with metering patterns and EC. All I had to do was to point and squirt.

Photography is about more than just camera settings, and to learn it people would do well to consider the other elements involved - like light (quantity, quality, direction, colour), the setting, composition, timing, mood, expression, pose, activity etc.. It's one thing to be shooting documentary/record shots under whatever conditions life throws at you; quite another to try to take greater command of the elements which influence your results. If you're trying to get some nice shots of your own pet then why wouldn't you try to pick favourable conditions for your shoot? If you couldn't care less whether your pet was running around in sunlight, shade, snow or rain or on a nice green meadow, a beach or on a rubbish dump then fine, but I like to give some thought to these things and pick what suits me.

FWIW I don't always get it right when I shoot manual exposure and sometimes I get caught completely off guard by not being able to respond quickly to a fleeting opportunity, but for my style of shooting, for most of the time, manual exposure suits my needs better than any of the auto modes. When it doesn't, I change methods. No BS there.

As for what most people say, and what drives them to say it, none of my business and I don't really care. I'm happy to sift wheat from chaff. Where this thread is concerned I think there is already a bit of each.
 
Out of interest, how do either of your posts actually help Helen?
 
It must be wonderful to be able to pick and choose the light one shoots in.
 
too much bickering, is it school holidays?
 
It is a discussion. People have differing opinions and voice them, I don`t see it as bickering to be honest.
 
Both opinions are equally valid, there's nothing wrong with shooting in Manual if you're happy to constrain yourself to certain areas / direction of shooting to keep the light levels consistent. As proven by his excellent dog running photos.

There's also nothing wrong with shooting in Av/Tv if you want to open your shooting angles or lighting conditions without having to stop shooting.

Both work perfectly well if used correctly but it's just as much down to timing and composition as to the quality of the result.

And the quality of the lighting of course
 
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reelexposures said:
Both opinions are equally valid, there's nothing wrong with shooting in Manual if you're happy to constrain yourself to certain areas / direction of shooting to keep the light levels consistent. As proven by his excellent dog running photos.

There's also nothing wrong with shooting in Av/Tv if you want to open your shooting angles or lighting conditions without having to stop shooting.

Both work perfectly well if used correctly but it's just as much down to timing and composition as to the quality of the result.

And the quality of the lighting of course
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Also, I suppose it is what you get used to. The majority of dogs that I shoot are on shoots. So they are either in water, woodland or out in the fields. So for me, I prefer auto ISO and aperture.

I understand what Tim says and agree, when the light is constant. But that is not always possible, so you need other ammo at times.
 
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