Composition help please

suggs

suggs

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Harry
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Hi all

This is prob a silly basic question but, when im shooting fast downhill mountain biking im finding that quite often im ending up with images quite central in the frame..

Im sure whats happening is im using the centre focus point like cross hairs on a gun site as subconsciously im thinking if i dont the rider will be OOF and the AFS will pic up a tree etc thats in the centre of the frame.


heres an example, would it have been better if the rider was further to the right and more of the trail and landing point in view in the centre-left, i have already cropped some of the right side out to compensate but would the afs have picked up the tree and left the rider OOF ? maybe i should have been further away and not been so worried about the rider being such a large part of the frame ?

D200 18-70 at 18mm, 1/200 f7 iso 500 onboard flash


any suggestions on settings or technique to help with this..


Regards
Harry



MTB Best - 17 by harrylessman, on Flickr
 
Hello Harry. A tricky problem. With the image above, I'd be tempted to crop a bit off the top. The thing that distracts most is the diagonal tree trunk. Other than that, it works for me as a downhill shot. I think you need the rider as big as possible in the frame, so getting further away is not really the answer as I think he would get lost in the busy background. Panning this sort of activity is not easy, but you seem to be on the right track. Perhaps shooting from a lower position next time? You could experiment with a slower SS e.g. 1/125 or something like as well.
 
Shoot looser and crop to the composition you want, or put your focus point in a different place.
 
thanks for the replys

shooting looser is the easy option i guess but heavy cropping could loose IQ, if i put my focal point in a different place i was concerned that the bike would be OOF, or should i try to pre focus on a set spot and lock then shoot as the bike comes into the frame. trouble is the action happens so fast its often a grab and shoot moment..

if you have a look at the link bellow of a recent shoot you will see a mix of pics, i thought they were ok/reasonable for me anyway as im far from an expert and conditions were not the best, but have had some quite negative/constructive critique (not from here) which im fine with as thats what i asked for telling me too central, not enough of the surroundings in the pic etc.

maybe im being a bit hard on myself, either way i always listen and try to learn from it :)

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=460965

heres a crop as you advised

MTB Best - 17 by harrylessman, on Flickr
 
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If you're worried about it just use left/right focus points and use assist points (thats what they're called on Canon). Another option woukd be to pre focus in manual - you know where the rider will be, as the course is quite narrow, and a f/7-8 you should have good DOF, using the shutter speed to seperate rider from background.
 
thanks think ill try left/right focal adjust next time and get slightly further away to give me a bit more space to compose the shot in the view finder. practice practice practice :)
 
,I find a hint given to me years ago helps with this problem ... Use the correct focus point then when framing, then chase the subject with the edge of the camera frame when panning ... Like allowing for a little space start thinking about chasing the moving subject with the side of your frame combined with a side focus point to maintain AF, this should help you gain some sort of consistency with off centre composition.

:thumbs:
 
as above and try panning for longer and trailling later.... also always ensure the bike/vehicle whatever it is is heading towards space for a more interesting photo
 
suggs said:
went out yesterday and tried to put into practice the advice you all gave, heres a few hope theres an improvement..
Click to expand...

There is, IMO there's a vast improvement in composition ... your standpoint was of course different so perhaps easier to get it right this time rather than being side-on.
 
thanks, its in fact the same jump but i thought more about where to shoot from and used the left/right focus adjust, also shot a bit loose and cropped to suit...
 
Yeah I agree with Gramps, good work n well sorted. I love the context in both the shots with the rider on one side/diagonal and the landing spot on the other, that so works a treat for me... they've got whole moment/story in one shot kinda thing.

First of the new wins it for me :thumbs:... just sits really well in frame, nice space, a tad more width rider side would work also I think, just a tad.
 
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much better and more interesting shots..... sometimes as you've shown it is a case of a little foot movement to get a better vew aswell...
 
Not my subject at all, but a vast improvement, well done.
 
As a newcomer to this thread, the 2nd set of shots seem much better, really like them! nice job!
 
Just to cause you some angst........ ( :) )

I think that the composition of the second set is miles better, but I prefer the use of light in the first!
 
DemiLion said:
Just to cause you some angst........ ( :) )

I think that the composition of the second set is miles better, but I prefer the use of light in the first!
Click to expand...


hehe thanks :naughty:

the second set are without flash, first pics are with flash plus first set was darker and pretty heavy snow..

heres another with flash from the day, side on though lol


aston -4087 by harrylessman, on Flickr
 
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