What am I doing wrong?

apfel

apfel

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Polly Apfel
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Been trying for weeks now to get a decent pic of my dog jumping around in the fields and I am starting to wonder if they will take the crop down before I get a decent shot of him. Can you please give me some tips on how I can capture a good action shot? Please let me know how you go about it. I tried panning, flash, fast SS, uto focus and multi shot etc.

Thank you.


PS: This is the best I got so far so you get an idea what I am going for, but it is out of focus a bit :(
Ozzyluvsnewholhome200800039-1.jpg
 
Can anybody offer any advice? I either don't get the focus right or the exposure is off. How do you shoot that kind of stuff. I have seen loads of action shots on here and was hoping some of you pros can give me some advice on how to set up a shot like this. I am sick of blur and shot highlights so please give me a hand :)
 
I'd aim to get the focus spot on (probably AI servo for the moving target) under expose the shot slightly and shoot RAW as you'll be able to get the detail back
 
Personally can't see much wrong with this shot.
Apart from the focus advice above, you could also bracket the exposure by +/_ 0.7 of a stop for example.
Cheers:|
 
Your other option would be to set your camera to manual focus, focus in on the area where he is running, use an aperture of about F8/F11 for quite a wide DOF.

This technique is used in sport photography for fast moving subjects, you dont need to focus, just wait for the subject to come into your pre-focused area and snap away.

DnF

PS: I'm pretty sure I have this technique right but someone should be able to confirm it. :)
 
Thank you :)

I will try to go bit under next time... by how much under would you go and I don't think I have Continuous Focus with my nikon D70s?! :(

I tried bracketing and the prob was the one were the exposure looked better the dog was alreay half way down the corn (LOL) maybe I need two dogs ;) ...
 
Gratuitous pic of our hound......:)


Alfie.jpg
 
apfel said:
Thank you :)

I will try to go bit under next time... by how much under would you go and I don't think I have Continuous Focus with my nikon D70s?! :(

I tried bracketing and the prob was the one were the exposure looked better the dog was alreay half way down the corn (LOL) maybe I need two dogs ;) ...
Click to expand...

You do have continuous AF on the D70s, you might not have it turned on, but it's there. Just look into the manual.

I don't think bracketing is of much help. Just set your camera to M mode, do a few test shots to make sure you'll get the exposure right (check the histogram).
Depending on how fast your dog is, you might want shutter speed between 1/250 - 1/1250. If you use slower shutter speeds, make sure you're panning and that you've started tracking your subject a few seconds before the shot itself if you won't go for MF. Stopping down to F5.6-F11 could help too.

If you haven't downloaded the pdf manual to your camera, do that now. It's on Nikon's website. Searching will be faster with it.
 
Your D70s should be perfectly capable of continually focusing, just make sure its turned on in the menus. Practice, as Slapo mentioned, just tracking the dog with the shutter button half depressed and focus point [the darker square in the viewfinder] always on the dogs head. After a few minutes of this you should be able to start pressing the shutter at the oppotune moment especially as you can probably predict he is going to leap up. Also, set the camera to contunious shooting mode and try using the 3fps to take several shots one after the other. With F stops of F7 to f11 this could also help increase the chance of getting both the dog at just the right moment and it in focus. The actual shutter speed will be very much dependent on how fast your dog is, the quicker he leaps and runs the quicker it will need to be but 1/250 is a good starting point.
 
Slapo said:
You do have continuous AF on the D70s, you might not have it turned on, but it's there. Just look into the manual.

I don't think bracketing is of much help. Just set your camera to M mode, do a few test shots to make sure you'll get the exposure right (check the histogram).
Depending on how fast your dog is, you might want shutter speed between 1/250 - 1/1250. If you use slower shutter speeds, make sure you're panning and that you've started tracking your subject a few seconds before the shot itself if you won't go for MF. Stopping down to F5.6-F11 could help too.

If you haven't downloaded the pdf manual to your camera, do that now. It's on Nikon's website. Searching will be faster with it.
Click to expand...

Yes I have CF and it is on:bang:
It is a case of: “great camera shame about the photographer.”

I have done the tracking and the dog is far too erratic to get a pattern and predict his movement. I will go back and try to shoot in different light conditions (done morning and evening and late afternoon) and try again a smaller f, but I have been using ss 800 to 500 so far and I will not manage to get the exposure correct. Don’t think I can go longer as he is so fast and the once with 200 were def blurry. I mainly tried to take them in the evenings on our walks but might try in the harsh midday light condition to achieve a smaller f. So I guess I will need to keep trying and there is always next year if I can’t get one before they take the crop in.

Thanks for your insight and any further thoughts and recommendations are very welcomed :D
 
I am sure I am doing something else wrong. I will keep trying

I got a nice shot of him sitting:
June200800022-1-1.jpg
 
Following a fast erratic subject is quite frankly, really hard. But the good news is it does get easier with practice. I'm certainly no expert, but been trying to get birds in flight shots with similar issues. :bang:

A few thoughts to keep your spirits up and make it a little easier and give you different things to try to see what works for you:
  1. bring along a friend to throw a ball so the dog moves in a predictable direction (assuming your dog likes balls). If no-one available, and you have space and a trusted dog, then a big park, a ball and a tennis racket will give you a long run from the dog and time to pick up your camera after hitting the ball. If you dog is trained to fetch then you get the chance of his return run as a fairly predictable direction.
  2. using your friend throwing a ball or running along to encourage your dog to follow, try getting him to run parallel to you so his distance from you doesn't change much even though he's off at full speed. then your camera's focus doesn't have to change as quickly and is likely to be about right when you take the picture. this works well if he's quite a distance and you use a long lens, then you don't have to swing your body quickly to keep tracking him in the viewfinder.
  3. if you want the action shot of him running/jumping towards you, use a wide angle lens so you have a greater depth of field, and again focus is less critical to have spot on. this can work well if you pre-focus as previously suggested. Otherwise again the camera will be trying to track something where the focus is changing a lot and means errors are more common.
    Pre-focus can really work well if there is a defined object to keep as a reference - for example a small gate or fence that the dog must jump. You can pre-focus on the gate and know the dog will be doing some nice action when he gets there. You can also be sure to sit to one side of it and be less likely to be bowled over by a fast dog after the picture.
  4. try both fast shutter speeds (1/250th sec or faster) and slow (1/30th sec). Fast to freeze the action. Slow can work even when focus hasn't so gives you another chance for success. It can also help you see if you're panning following the head or the body which could explain why your focus is off or if you're panning technique is smooth. But that only works if the dog is running in a constant direction - back to first point.
  5. practice photographing other people's dogs - you'll have some distance from them so again a telephoto lens and they're unlikely to run right into you.

I hope that helps. Would love to see the results. And sorry if that is far too long a post - I'm new and still getting the hang of this place!

Sue
 
Could you not shoot aperture priorty so that you dont have to worry about the exposure. Just set it to -2/3 exposure compensation. Make sure the ISO level is high enough to balance speed/noise.

then either pre focus the shot or try tracking (AI SERVO) with something suggested as a ball thrown in a certain path depending on the shot you want.
 
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