Game shoot help.

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Greg
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Hello all, I don't post that much here but read it regularly.

I have been asked to photograph a friends game shoot this weekend (game as in pheasants and ducks etc)

Is there any advice you could give me to get some great pictures?

I have most experience with landscapes etc so hope that would help!

TIA
 
Are you shooting the birds or the people?

Birds = fast = 1/500 or 1/1000 shutter speed if you want to freeze motion. You are probably going to be quite a long way away, so will need a long lens.

What lenses do you have?
 
Thanks Dale.

I will be shooting (excuse the pun) the people, birds and dogs, so pretty much everything!

I have my basic 55mm lens and a 75 - 300mm lens too.
 
For the birds....

Practice shooting some birds before you go, you will need fast shutter speed and in the current light conditions isn't going to be easy.

You will probably be using the 70-300mm, but you will need a high ISO to keep the shutter speed up.

For people and slow moving dogs, keep the shutter speed at 1/focal length to freeze the motion.

Light will be your enemy

The
 
Take earplugs :)
 
As a gamekeeper myself, my advice is stay behind the guns ( the shooters)- take your photo's as the birds break cover and as the guns are brought up to take the shot- use a small aperture and you'll get the guns and the birds in one take adding some drama to your sets, to photograph a flying cock pheasant at full tilt is a feat in itself

People who shoot game are a funny bunch and its would be better to do candid at the shoot stay well clear as a 12 gauge in the face will smart a bit and take more formal pictures at lunch, with the guns posing with any shot game and the after shoot drink, is always a good place to be for more candid or formal shots

Dont forget the beaters, these guys play an important part in any game shoot and should be recognised as such, but they will be a long way from the line of guns as they drive the game towards the shooters

have a good day - wear somthing warm ( maybe consider a Hi-Viz vest too)and please take some ear protection, you'll need it

good luck

Les :thumbs:
 
Dont forget the obligatory close in 'cartridges edjecting from the smoking gun' shot...dont forget the dogs...a gundog picking a bird with a gun out of focus looking on will make a good shot.

If you have no idea about game shoots it makes it harder to plan. good luck, looking forward to seeing some of the shots :)
 
Is there any chance you could attend before and shoot at a later shoot date, I tried this on beaters day a couple of years since on a shoot I've been beating on for the last 4 and it wasn't easy, if you can't take a sense of humour be prepared to get cold and dirty, and as Les said don't get in front of the guns or in the way of the beaters. Is it a commercial shoot or syndicate?
 
Have a look at some of the shooting mags - e.g. Shooting Times and you will get some ideas for pics.
 
Lez325 said:
As a gamekeeper myself, my advice is stay behind the guns ( the shooters)- take your photo's as the birds break cover and as the guns are brought up to take the shot- use a small aperture and you'll get the guns and the birds in one take adding some drama to your sets, to photograph a flying cock pheasant at full tilt is a feat in itself

People who shoot game are a funny bunch and its would be better to do candid at the shoot stay well clear as a 12 gauge in the face will smart a bit and take more formal pictures at lunch, with the guns posing with any shot game and the after shoot drink, is always a good place to be for more candid or formal shots

Dont forget the beaters, these guys play an important part in any game shoot and should be recognised as such, but they will be a long way from the line of guns as they drive the game towards the shooters

have a good day - wear somthing warm ( maybe consider a Hi-Viz vest too)and please take some ear protection, you'll need it

good luck

Les :thumbs:
Click to expand...
Some very good advice in this thread, especially the post above.

Staying BEHIND the guns is vital, it may sometimes be the worst place to take the photo from, but it's the only place - safety is your responsibility, don't expect the guns (shooters) to know where you are.

If you're photographing driven shooting, where beaters put up the birds and drive them towards a line of guns, the whole thing will be reasonably predictable. But if it's walked up shooting, where the guns are walking along and then suddenly a bird goes up and they shoot it, you'll probably find it hard to react in time - this is where actually being a shooter yourself would be a big help.

And yes, long lenses, high ISO and fast shutter speeds/small apertures will be the order of the day, except for closeups of the guns, where a wideangle close shot usually works much better.
 
How about a nice photo with the caption "ban cruelty to animals"
 
JSER said:
How about a nice photo with the caption "ban cruelty to animals"
Click to expand...

Good idea. Even better, as foxes kill 90% of all pheasants, let's just ban all foxes
 
Dont forget to shoot in between drives/moving between them, sometimes some of the memorable moments from shoot can happen when you least expect it!


JSER said:
How about a nice photo with the caption "ban cruelty to animals"
Click to expand...

What makes it cruel?
 
If you get chance try to walk one drive with the beaters, just not a drive through tall cover though ;)
 
jimmyriddle said:
Dont forget to shoot in between drives/moving between them, sometimes some of the memorable moments from shoot can happen when you least expect it!

What makes it cruel?
Click to expand...

What, killing for pleasure ! you have the reason.
 
I'd start with replacing the 75-300 with something decent.

Preferably a fast zoom or even a prime. Chances are light won't be good, and a fast shutter speed would be required for most of the shots.
 
JSER said:
What, killing for pleasure ! you have the reason.
Click to expand...
You're entitled to your opinion, but if you eat meat, and especially birds, bear in mind that farmed animals are kept in appalling conditions, then transported long distances crammed together in cages, then put on a production line, hanging upside down for up to 6 minutes (or at least that what the law allows) before being killed.

Pheasants live a natural life and are fed. If they end up getting shot, it's with a 12 bore shotgun. That's usually much better than a slaughterhouse death.
 
Let's stay on topic please guys. The request was for help with photography, keep the politics out
 
Can we please stay on topic.

We have had both sides of the argument now and it is very clear that neither party is likely to budge from their current stance so no need for further debate on the subject.


EDIT: Shouldn't post whilst having a brew, Kelly posted whilst I was typing :D
 
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