Indoor horse lessons. Any tips?

Mike-a

Mike-a

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My daughter has been having riding lessons indoors and I've been taking a few shots. However, some are fine (in focus, fairly sharp, ok exposure etc) but the majority are rubbish and not really keepers.
My kit is as follows: Nikon D200, 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6, 50mm f/1.8
So far I've only shot at upto ISO 400 usually using the 50mm at f/1.8 in the hope of using a reasonable shutter speed and ok exposure. I've used af-c, matrix metering and dynamic area AF settings on the camera. I try to capture the subjects at somewhere between 5 and 15 meters range, usually from the side or front quarters so try and pan with them (this may take more practice :) ). Obviously I don't use flash so as not to startle the horses.
Any thoughts on camera set up and/or technique? Would the 18-105mm be a better bet ,shooting at 18mm and cropping the picture? Much higher ISO? (though I understand the D200 isn't great at this aspect??)
I can edit using CS6 if that would enable me to shoot a slightly compromised shot (in terms of exposure) and edit to achieve a better end result.
So far I've shot in jpeg so would assume that a swap to RAW would be a good idea.

Not been into photography long and don't get that much chance to practice it past quick shots of days out etc so it might have to be well explained advice :)
Couple of shots to show good and poor results of a day at the stables. Both 100% un edited.
Not too bad:

DSC_1122 by MJA1975, on Flickr

Fairly poor:

DSC_1114 by MJA1975, on Flickr

Many thanks in advance.

PS Not sure how to share EXIF data on Flickr but it is available.
 
the problem is indoors and moving object and to be honest 1/30th and 1/50th sec is just to slow. you need to get the shutter speed faster plus us a mono or tripod. i am also sure flash is out of the question so its try upping the iso. good luck
 
Shutter speed too low and poor focusing? not sure what Nikon setting is but Servo on a Canon for moving subjects or sports action.
 
Up the ISO, you're going to need a fair bit more!
 
shutter speed way too slow, try and get at least 1/250. whether that means upping the aperture (i see youre already at f1.8) or ISO is up to you. turn your AF to tracking, pan and aim for the M leg position.

indoor arenas at this time of year are terrible. ive shot at f2.8 and ISO 6400 and still not had enough light to get anything reasonable :lol:
 
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Thanks for all the input everyone.
I'm at her lesson on Wednesday so I'll try upping the ISO and see what sort of results I can achieve.

Would RAW be advisable over jpeg?
I thought that I'd need to up the ISO but didn't think I'd need it possibly as high as 6400.
Probably a lot more practice in panning and technique needed too :)
Shame the light is really dropping off at this time of year, it's getting quite dark in the indoor lessons now.

snapzz said:
Shutter speed too low and poor focusing? not sure what Nikon setting is but Servo on a Canon for moving subjects or sports action.
Click to expand...
Yup, using servo focusing at the moment.
 
Mike-a said:
Thanks for all the input everyone.
Would RAW be advisable over jpeg?.
Click to expand...

That depends if:

1. You know how to process RAW files.

2. You want something other than a snap.
 
Mike-a said:
Thanks for all the input everyone.
I'm at her lesson on Wednesday so I'll try upping the ISO and see what sort of results I can achieve.

Would RAW be advisable over jpeg?
I thought that I'd need to up the ISO but didn't think I'd need it possibly as high as 6400.
Probably a lot more practice in panning and technique needed too :)
Shame the light is really dropping off at this time of year, it's getting quite dark in the indoor lessons now.


Yup, using servo focusing at the moment.
Click to expand...


for the record i wasnt necessarily saying use ISO6400 (unless its REALLY dark :D ), just that indoors can be a nightmare for getting a decent level of light for correct exposure at this time of year :)

RAW vs JPG, depends. RAW would help you later if you completely fudge the WB or exposure. but as above youll need to process the RAW. what software do you use?
 
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neil_g said:
for the record i wasnt necessarily saying use ISO6400
Click to expand...
:) Of course, good to show a worse case scenario though!
neil_g said:
what software do you use?
Click to expand...
I've got CS6 and Lightroom.
I've used it a few times to rescue overexposed shots but usually stick to out of the camera, partly through lack of time and also lack of knowledge. Mainly use it for simple crops and straightening.
 
I do a couple of indoor equestrian events each year and initially had a D200 which I noramlly used with the 70/200 2.8
I did find it hard as pushing the ISO beyond 400 made for very grainy pics and sometimes even that would be too much
But often it was fine and I tried to maintain a shutter speed of at least 250
A of post processing in photoshop heaps as long as you have a half decen picture to start with and I always shoot jpeg
Just one of the pictures of an early event in 2009
carriage driving
I change cameras to the D300 for the following year and that helps a bit but still isn't as good as I would like
 
Up the ISO to give a shutter speed of over 250th. Only time I use raw over jpeg is under tricky lighting conditions. Try not to make it more complicated than the situation demands.
 
Didn't go in the end as my daughter got a lift with friends!
I'll be there next Wednesday though and I'll post up the results. :)
 
It's only practice Mike! Listen to the advice offered on TP (Your obviously willing to or you wouldn't have asked:)) You'll have your successes and your failures but keep going mate and you'll get there. It will be worth all the heart ache when you get your first cracking picture of your daughter.
 
Well, it's been an age since I posted this thread but I finally got out to a lesson to take some pics!
These were both at ISO800, f/1.8, 50mm (on a dx body so 75mm really), 1/60sec. I'd read advice elsewhere that the shutter speed should be comparable to the lens length so tried it at 1/60 but reading back just now maybe its still too slow. Anyway, higher ISO helped I think. Used servo focus, matrix metering, dynamic area AF.
Straight out of the camera, no crops or anything.

Horse riding 2 by MJA1975, on Flickr

Horse riding by MJA1975, on Flickr

Seem a bit better, certainly brighter and fairly sharp. A step in the right direction I think.
Also tried back button focusing which really helped while panning with the riders.
Practice, practice, practice!
 
You've been lucky witht he slow shutter speed as they are only walking, once they start trotting and cantering you are going to need at least 1/250th but preferably 1/500th to get things sharp - overall much better exposure on the these latest shots though!
 
Mike-a said:
I'd read advice elsewhere that the shutter speed should be comparable to the lens length so tried i!
Click to expand...

Noooooooooo!

Thats a general starting point for shutter speed.. you deffo need faster.. your iso is too low.. dont be afraid to at least double it and get that shutter speed up... I ahve no idea what iso your camera is capable of but you probably need to double it again to 3200 .. when doing indoor work you are nearly ways going to get noise.. especialy locations for horses and especialy moving subjects.. up the ISO .. a noisy pic can be worked on.. a blurred pic can't..
 
The problem you have is simply a lack of light. Ideally you will need 1/250 shutter speed minimum.

The D200 does not handle well over ISO 800, I know that because I have one. However, to achieve a decent shutter speed you will have to go over that in my opinion.

So, with your body, you can either have noisy shots due to high ISO or blurry shots with less noise. Tony has hit the nail on the head with his post above.
 
KIPAX said:
Noooooooooo!
Click to expand...
:) Should have added "...as a starting point." I didn't have much time to take pictures so just used that as a base.
I'll try even higher ISO next time and up the shutter speed a bit too.

As Blackwijet said, its a good job they're not fast moving at the moment!
 
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