showjumping photography; help..

[frankee]

Next week i'm going over to ingliston to take some photos of friends.. but i have been practicing with my new camera and it goes blurry on sport lol i have a canon EOS 400D and i'm still getting the hang of it lol [:
any tips on what to do?

 

[susie]

Indoor will be low light so its not easy to get sharp pictures as I found out the other week! Best thing to do is position yourself where there are a couple of fences coming towards you that are not too far away so you can use a lens thats not at full stretch, I was told to get the iso as high as possible, go on as fast a shutter speed as I could and let the camera sort out the aperture. I don't know Ingleiton so it may have better lighting than the place I was at if you are lucky.

As for the positioning, you want the horse when its in the air part way over the fence when its fromt legs are still folded or if the fences are a bit bigger as in over 4 ft you can sometimes get a good picture when they are landing.

 

[frankee]

Inglistons- scotland renfrew...

and thanks for the helpp btw

do you have a horse?

 

[susie]

Opposite end of the country to me! yes I have a horse.

 

[frankee]

lol oh cool, same i have a horse as well :]
have you posted any of your images just interested to see them or do you have a website or anything like that

 

[susie]

I've not posted any images as I'm still learning how to use the camera, no way am I good enough to have a website
I delete most of the pictures I take once I've seen them and how the settings come out!

 

[frankee]

yeah i'm just getting used to mine, its so diff from a digital camera. I'll get there sooner or later was supposed to be joining a college evening lesuire course on digital photography for 10 weeks but it was fully booked, but its coming back in march so gonna go then lol

 

[Kim]

I find it helps to try to hit the button just before the horse takes off rather than waiting for it to actually jump before hitting the button. A lot of the time if you wait until take off all you end up with is a "landing" shot rather than a jump shot. Also I try to focus on where the horse will be rather than the jump. But this is just what I have found.
I have included a few small pics to give you some ideas.

Hitting the button too soon:

Focuing on the jump:

About right:

 

[Hacker]

Have a look at the search facility above and enter showjumping or equestrian, it should give some results. Myself, Dod and a few others have a done a bit of horsey stuff.

Some examples to get you started (the third link has got advice for showjumping):

Here

and here

and some more

 

[moomike]

It can help to fix your focus point (prefocus on something just in front of where you need to get the shot) & wait for the horse & rider to enter that area before firing the shutter.

Excellent shots there Colin & KT, very nicely done

Here are a few of mine, I mainly prefocus on the top bar & then manually zoomed backwards just a tad so as to ensure the horses head would be brought in range of the apertures sharpness. Can help for the first few test shots to try to find your optimum timing rather than just firing away (I'm guilty of that sometimes too though ) will be difficult at first but if you stick with it then it'll improve both your timing & your keeper rate

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=35434&highlight=showjumping

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=35863&highlight=showjumping

 

[sportysnaps]

I have found that one of the biggest problems for out door shows is that of a cluttered backgrounds - pick maybe two jumps that you take shots of with clean backgrounds - get low if you need to but adjust exposure to take into account possible backlighting from the sky.

Indoors the main problem is lighting (lack of) and the changing colour temperature of the lighting artificial/daylight/flash – so get close so you can use a shorter focal length, slower shutter and possibly more effective flash. A custome white balance maybe useful. Maybe use a good prime lens rather then a zoom (better f stop) – after 2 -3 horses you should be able to get in the right position to use a single focal length lens effectively

 

[Cobra]

I'm still learnin' at this but as a few example links were my efforts I will try and add something.
it takes a lot of practice and Dod & Hacker have been great with C&C ( thanks guys )
I find it usefull to get about 45degrees from the jump so you have a bit of time to think about what's about to happen. the 400D ( all my horsey shots were with this) I find is pretty instant when you hit the button but I also found that if the Camera "nodded off" the shutter delay could be as much as half a second and on small jumps it is all over in that time
( you (I) have missed the oppertunity) Some sideways shots over larger jumps, especially spreads, are OK for also giving you a little breathing space as well.
I have been taking horsey stuff on and off for about a year and think that I am somewhere near it now.
Its all down to practice practice practice. and don't forget you will need a fast shutter speed to capture the action, at least equal to your focal length ie 200mm lens 1/200th (or better) /sec

Possibley a touch to quick on the shutter, although the owner liked it

Maybe a fraction too fast again

Some people like this type ( the owner did) but I am not too keen

front on can work but you have to know which way the horse is going next

and a 45 degree "stand off"
hope that gives you a few ideas

 

[Hacker]

Bloody hell Chris, these have improved haven't they! The first three are corkers with #2 being my favourite, a bit different and much, much better than the early ones you were doing.

 

[Cobra]

Bloody hell Chris, these have improved haven't they! The first three are corkers with #2 being my favourite, a bit different and much, much better than the early ones you were doing.

Why thank you kind sir!
And of course it was all down your good self and Mr Dod pointing me in the right direction
( sorry for the slight hi-jack frankee)

 

[admirable]

Took my daughter last summer to Blair Castle. 1st time I had taken any showjumping shots. This was taken with a 400D and in good daylight. I have since tried umpteen times to take indoor shots at my daughters horse riding lessons and it's very hard as the 400D doesn't like ISO 1600 and the trainers are not keen on using flash. I have had the best success with the nifty fifty but it's not ldeal. I will be interested to know how you get on and any settings etc that you use.