Shooting a Hail Mary photo

I call it sticking my camera up in the air, not really into the whole religion thing :)

Not a whole lot of 'how to' is there? Approximate focus, shoot. Job done. I do it all the time at events, as most people do.

You could add on to your blog thingy; up the ISO and stop down to slightly increase your hit rate. Obviously you'll also need a higher shutter-speed than when holding the camera conventionally if you want sharp results..
 
Thats what I did here, Pre focused on what I could see from 5 rows back, Raised the camera... Not exactly a science though is it?

4048252146_20a626ef88.jpg
 
Wow, talk about overstating a basic! Especially when the results (including the examples on the site) are god awful photos (IMO)!
 
Not had to worry about this as I'm 6'9 and can shoot over the top of most peoples heads :-)
 
Great technique to use at a wedding during the first dance. Gives an additional perspective to the usual shots.

I don't know about Canon, but with my SB900 on and switched on, you can use it as a focus aid. Extend above your head, simply push the button down half way and watch for the red light on the subjects face.

Not rocket science I know but a lot of people wouldn't have thought of using it this way
 
I think the only thing I would think was a good idea is to start at the angle you think is right and then pivot up and down from there. It's surprising how much out you can be with just a couple of shots.
 
I took one at a gig on Friday which I'm dead chuffed with. The artist (David Ford) stood on a chair in the middle of a performance of State of the Union which finds him jumping around stage from one instrument to another, adding layers on the fly using a loop station. You'll see what I mean if you watch the video.

I had a woman and child stood in front of me, so I used the custom function to focus with my thumb button, held the camera above my head and let off a stream of shots. He then lept off the chair and I caught this in the middle of the series. To give you an idea of the height of the camera, I was stood at the same level as the people in front of the stage.

The shot hasn't been cropped, which makes it so satisfying as a fraction lower and I would have chopped off his head, yet it also has the whole of the chair in there.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/aldeman/4199078160/
 
I call it sticking my camera up in the air, not really into the whole religion thing :)

Not a whole lot of 'how to' is there? Approximate focus, shoot. Job done. I do it all the time at events, as most people do.

You could add on to your blog thingy; up the ISO and stop down to slightly increase your hit rate. Obviously you'll also need a higher shutter-speed than when holding the camera conventionally if you want sharp results..

what strange names we use...i would call it pot luck..but then that hasnt any deep faith connotations..

:|
 
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