Capturing running dogs
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tdodd
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Glad we're back on track. 
At the risk of overstaying my welcome....
The difference for this thread vs generic sports/action shooting is that for Helen's purposes we are talking about her photographing her pet, Jasper. Within reason she can choose when to shoot, where to shoot, which way the dog is to run, the direction of the light relative to the dog, the weather conditions and so on. Clearly this is different to shooting at an event which is not under your control as a shoot and where the action could be taking place anywhere within a 360 degree circle and with all sorts of obstructions, canopy, whatever. It's also not the same as a sports shoot where you might have teams running in and out of harsh sun and heavy shade within a stadium or where the light is fading at either end of an indoor court or it's piddling down at night under floodlights.
But just as a studio photographer takes care to set things up to his/her liking - background, lighting, posing, props and so on - why shouldn't somebody shooting their own pet pay similar attention to the variables over which some choice can be exercised? Instead of just taking photographs why not make them. And picking days with nice lighting means you can achieve higher shutter speeds more easily without going mad on the ISO and that's only going to benefit IQ further. You also get shiny fur, sparkly eyes, improved microcontrast and more definition of features if the light is right.
e.g. with a fully sunlit scene and a slow (f/5.6) zoom lens you might choose to shoot at 1/1600, f/8, 400 ISO, which should give you a well rounded attack on subject blur, camera shake, focus error and noise. Pick a heavily overcast day in winter and you could easily lose four stops of light. That might drive you towards settings nearer 1/800, f/5.6, 1600 ISO, which I think is less desirable on the whole. If you have a faster zoom lens (f/2.8 or even f/4), or a decent prime then your options expand.
Just as an example of the difference lighting makes I have a beach scene shot a few years ago, one day in overcast conditions and one day in bright sunshine. The difference in appearance and emotional response is, I think, striking. One photo makes me want to be there. The other really does not.
That's why, when it's for my own personal pleasure and in a timeframe I set for myself, I make a conscious decision about the type of lighting I prefer for that shoot. If it's a TP meetup or other scheduled event then that decision is taken away from me, although I have pulled out of meetups when I've felt the light/conditions were far from ideal.
Anyway, back to running dogs....
When I shoot my dog I will usually have my partner with me, the sun (or bright sky) over my shoulder, and she'll go 20-50 meters ahead of me and then lob a tennis ball back in my direction. The dog chases it and runs (usually) in a fairly straight line towards me and I have a chance to rattle off a series of shots as the dog approaches. Instead of shots of bums and backs of heads I get a nice shot of the face, hopefully with a shine in the eyes and some depth and definition to the face/body/fur. With my drive mode set to high speed I may even have the fortune to capture a nice pose. It usually takes a few runs before I get something I'm happy with and far more shots go to the bin than are kept.
As for focus modes, for Canon it's going to be AI Servo (never AI Focus!) and beyond that the choices are dependent on the exact camera model and its capabilities. Centre point is the safest bet for most cameras and if you want a more imaginative composition it might be better to shoot a little loose and then crop to taste. More advanced cameras will offer more options. I'm not sure about the 600D, but I would think that centre point only would be the best point to choose by far.
Probably the most difficult thing, at least in my experience, is to keep that AF point aimed where it needs to be - right on the dog's face - and that's tough if your dog has a bouncy gait. Practice helps no end.
Just for a change of angle (but still with light in the eye)....
1D3, 400mm, 1/1250, f/5.6, 400 ISO
and a change of pace....
1D3, 400mm, 1/1000, f/8, 400 ISO
but still I like to keep the shutter speed up.
At the risk of overstaying my welcome....
The difference for this thread vs generic sports/action shooting is that for Helen's purposes we are talking about her photographing her pet, Jasper. Within reason she can choose when to shoot, where to shoot, which way the dog is to run, the direction of the light relative to the dog, the weather conditions and so on. Clearly this is different to shooting at an event which is not under your control as a shoot and where the action could be taking place anywhere within a 360 degree circle and with all sorts of obstructions, canopy, whatever. It's also not the same as a sports shoot where you might have teams running in and out of harsh sun and heavy shade within a stadium or where the light is fading at either end of an indoor court or it's piddling down at night under floodlights.
But just as a studio photographer takes care to set things up to his/her liking - background, lighting, posing, props and so on - why shouldn't somebody shooting their own pet pay similar attention to the variables over which some choice can be exercised? Instead of just taking photographs why not make them. And picking days with nice lighting means you can achieve higher shutter speeds more easily without going mad on the ISO and that's only going to benefit IQ further. You also get shiny fur, sparkly eyes, improved microcontrast and more definition of features if the light is right.
e.g. with a fully sunlit scene and a slow (f/5.6) zoom lens you might choose to shoot at 1/1600, f/8, 400 ISO, which should give you a well rounded attack on subject blur, camera shake, focus error and noise. Pick a heavily overcast day in winter and you could easily lose four stops of light. That might drive you towards settings nearer 1/800, f/5.6, 1600 ISO, which I think is less desirable on the whole. If you have a faster zoom lens (f/2.8 or even f/4), or a decent prime then your options expand.
Just as an example of the difference lighting makes I have a beach scene shot a few years ago, one day in overcast conditions and one day in bright sunshine. The difference in appearance and emotional response is, I think, striking. One photo makes me want to be there. The other really does not.
That's why, when it's for my own personal pleasure and in a timeframe I set for myself, I make a conscious decision about the type of lighting I prefer for that shoot. If it's a TP meetup or other scheduled event then that decision is taken away from me, although I have pulled out of meetups when I've felt the light/conditions were far from ideal.
Anyway, back to running dogs....
When I shoot my dog I will usually have my partner with me, the sun (or bright sky) over my shoulder, and she'll go 20-50 meters ahead of me and then lob a tennis ball back in my direction. The dog chases it and runs (usually) in a fairly straight line towards me and I have a chance to rattle off a series of shots as the dog approaches. Instead of shots of bums and backs of heads I get a nice shot of the face, hopefully with a shine in the eyes and some depth and definition to the face/body/fur. With my drive mode set to high speed I may even have the fortune to capture a nice pose. It usually takes a few runs before I get something I'm happy with and far more shots go to the bin than are kept.
As for focus modes, for Canon it's going to be AI Servo (never AI Focus!) and beyond that the choices are dependent on the exact camera model and its capabilities. Centre point is the safest bet for most cameras and if you want a more imaginative composition it might be better to shoot a little loose and then crop to taste. More advanced cameras will offer more options. I'm not sure about the 600D, but I would think that centre point only would be the best point to choose by far.
Probably the most difficult thing, at least in my experience, is to keep that AF point aimed where it needs to be - right on the dog's face - and that's tough if your dog has a bouncy gait. Practice helps no end.
Just for a change of angle (but still with light in the eye)....
1D3, 400mm, 1/1250, f/5.6, 400 ISO
and a change of pace....
1D3, 400mm, 1/1000, f/8, 400 ISO
but still I like to keep the shutter speed up.
craftysnapper
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An this is why in my post I did not offer a opinion on which camera mode to use as it is subjective and I knew this discussion/ or I am right argument would ensue as each tried to prove his point. And in the process probably put the OP who is a beginner right off. 
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Russ77
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An this is why in my post I did not offer a opinion on which camera mode to use as it is subjective and I knew this discussion/ or I am right argument would ensue as each tried to prove his point. And in the process probably put the OP who is a beginner right off.
And if every thought like that no one would ever offer advice
Ahhhh..... the joys of the internet
tdodd
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An this is why in my post I did not offer a opinion on which camera mode to use as it is subjective and I knew this discussion/ or I am right argument would ensue as each tried to prove his point. And in the process probably put the OP who is a beginner right off.
Really? I see plenty of helpful advice with solid foundation provided, for the most part, for why that advice makes sense. The only difference of opinion I can see is based on the perspective from which people are viewing the challenge to be met. I think/hope that between us we have closed that gap.
As to Helen being a "beginner", that's not what I take from her opening statement....
And regarding the question to be answered it was this....
I just wondered if anyone else has a passion for snapping dogs/cats in action and what settings they'd maybe recommend?
She's had plenty of suggestions for settings, explanations for their use and some examples of the results achieved. The common consensus seems very much to use AI Servo and to keep the shutter speed up. Other than that sound advice there are no absolutes to the answer and any recommendation is likely, at least in part, to be subjective. If we weren't allowed to express an opinion it would be pretty difficult to reply at all. Why shouldn't people indicate their preferred exposure mode in their reply? Is that taboo for some reason, while everything else is up for grabs? (That's rhetorical, by the way.)
These days, with flat, grey, overcast skies most of the time....
....the light is not going to be changing quickly, if at all for most of us shooting running dogs outdoors, and with low contrast light evenly spread in all directions I think the chosen exposure mode will matter rather less than maintaining shutter speed. Even so, I know which mode I'd be in and I'm sure others will use what suits them. The truth is that on a day like today I wouldn't bother photographing my dog at all. It's simply too grim for my tastes - dark and gloomy, below 0 degrees, snowing and windy.
Anyway, I don't see any reason why the discussions that have transpired here should put anyone off, including Helen. Perhaps Helen should be the judge.
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I knew this discussion/ or I am right argument would ensue as each tried to prove his point. And in the process probably put the OP who is a beginner right off.
No arguments,just people have different ways of achieving the same result. At least the OP, who is not a beginner, now has two differing ways to experiment with, whichever they choose is not really important as long as they get the result they want.
reelexposures
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or more importantly the OP will have a good insight into which modes to use depending on the shooting conditions. As you mentioned earlier, if you're tracking dogs through a forest with pools of light and darker areas they won't have a hope in manual mode but if the dogs running back and forth on a plane that keeps the light in a similar direction then Manual will be suitable
DemiLion
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Not quibbling with you Ade, but whilst Helen may have had a camera for a while, by her own admission she is still in the early learning phases of tech ability (composition may be a different story):
Hence my raised eyebrows when everybody moved into tech/spotter speak.
It sounds to me as though she's after a basic exposure and sports shooting guide!
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tdodd
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Today I thought I'd see how I would fair shooting in these dim lighting conditions I so dislike. As expected it was not easy. Here are a few examples that haven't yet made it to the bin....
I was sitting with my bum on the ground to get my angle of view on a level with the dog. All were shot with AI Servo and centre AF point with expansion enabled. I was training the AF point on the dog's face early in her run and letting the AF tracking tune in with her movement before then firing in a short burst with a high frame rate set.
EXIF is 300mm, 1/1000, f/2.8, 3200 ISO. All have some cropping and minor adjustments in post.
I was sitting with my bum on the ground to get my angle of view on a level with the dog. All were shot with AI Servo and centre AF point with expansion enabled. I was training the AF point on the dog's face early in her run and letting the AF tracking tune in with her movement before then firing in a short burst with a high frame rate set.
EXIF is 300mm, 1/1000, f/2.8, 3200 ISO. All have some cropping and minor adjustments in post.
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craftysnapper
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And if every thought like that no one would ever offer advice
Ahhhh..... the joys of the internet
Ahhh but I did offer advise (see my first post) and to achieve the shutter speed I advised would require shutter priority or manual so that choice I left to the OP unlike some insisting their way is the best way.
As to the rest as there has not been a post from the OP in 5 days since it got heated draw your own conclusions.
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This is what happens when i get banned for a few days, i miss all the best fights.
By the way, there is some absolute duffo advice on here.
By the way, there is some absolute duffo advice on here.