Settings Question for Cheerleaders

[Rox74]

I am taking pictures of my daughters cheer squad this weekend (7 year olds) doing jumps etc and for some reason my pictures are all coming out blurry. I take them every weekend at the game, but lately I have done something to my settings and have messed them up. Can anyone offer some advice on good settings for this?

Thanks as always!

[Sonny]

Originally Posted by Rox74

I am taking pictures of my daughters cheer squad this weekend (7 year olds) doing jumps etc and for some reason my pictures are all coming out blurry. I take them every weekend at the game, but lately I have done something to my settings and have messed them up. Can anyone offer some advice on good settings for this?

Thanks as always!

Set your shutter speed to a minimum of 1/250. Even at this speed you will get some hand and feet motion blur. If you can try 1/500 or higher.

[kenw]

start at a higher shutter (1/500) and iso100.

If you need to, raise the ISO until it works. Drop the shutter only as an absolute last resort.

If you are at 1/500 and iso800, well, 1/350 is about as slow as I would dare go.

[tragic hero]

shutter priority is your friend here

[Rox74]

I was using Shutter Priority and someone advised me to use Aperture. That is when I started down the wrong road!! I think I just get frustrated too easy!! I almost just set it on sport but decided that would be giving in to temptation!! Thanks for the advice. I have it stored in my secret place!!

[NathanJK]

Originally Posted by Rox74

I was using Shutter Priority and someone advised me to use Aperture. That is when I started down the wrong road!!

Well, what they told you isn't necessarily wrong, you just have to always be aware of what ALL of your settings are For instance, I've never once used shutter priority but I've shot some fast action. I am just aware of what my shutter speeds are like and if I need a faster shutter speed I keep opening up the aperture until I get to a point that I dont/cant go any further...then start raising the ISO until I get where I want to be! You'll find with time you wont worry as much about what your settings are as far as Tv, Av, P or M...you can work in any of them at any given time. If your shooting the cheerleading in relatively constant lighting conditions you might even find that shooting manual would be the way to go...I know that when I'm shooting indoor sports I virtually always shoot on manual.

[kenw]

if it's moving, shutter priority is the best bet. After all, the PRIORITY is freezing the action (shutter).

When DoF is priority, Av gets the nod.

[tragic hero]

Originally Posted by kenw

if it's moving, shutter priority is the best bet. After all, the PRIORITY is freezing the action (shutter).

When DoF is priority, Av gets the nod.

word

[engstrom]

I'll throw in with the aperture priority advice. If your goal is to get a certain shutter speed or higher then just open your aperture up all the way. After all a shutter speed of 1/1000th or higher won't hurt. Keep an eye on the shutter speed and raise the ISO if it's not fast enough. I use shutter priority if I have a specific shutter speed I want - like for motorsports where I want a little blur in the wheels/tires to get the sense of motion but also wan't to freeze the cars. Or if I'm shooting a waterfall and I want 1/30th to 1/60th of a second for a little water blur.

[KdLaneJr]

Originally Posted by Rox74

I was using Shutter Priority and someone advised me to use Aperture. That is when I started down the wrong road!! I think I just get frustrated too easy!! I almost just set it on sport but decided that would be giving in to temptation!! Thanks for the advice. I have it stored in my secret place!!

Going back to shutter priority will solve your current dilemma. If you put the camera in sport mode, the following settings are made automatically

1. 10D, 20D, 30D ISO speed is in Auto
2. 10D, 20D, 30D Auto WB is set
3. 10D, 20D, 30D AI Servo is set
4. 10D, 20D, 30D AF point selection is in Auto
5. 10D, 20D, 30D Metering is set to evaluative
6. 10D, 20D: Drive mode is set to continuous
7. on the 20D and 30D built in flash is set to off.
8. 30D picture style is set to standard
9. 30D color space is set to sRGB
10. 30D Drive is set to High speed continuous

If you want to use any settings other than the above, all you have to do is stay out of sport mode (read do not use the basic zones if you want to control your camera). All the above is found in the function availability table in your manual.

forgot one. on the 10D parameters is set to standard, on the 20D it is set to parameter 1.

[Rox74]

Thanks guys.... I think I may have gotten closer to where I'm going!! Yesterday was more successful and less blurred.

On a side note (sorry, this is taking me some time to get everything straight). The faster the shutter speed, the faster I need to make the ISO, am I correct?

[kenw]

"On a side note (sorry, this is taking me some time to get everything straight). The faster the shutter speed, the faster I need to make the ISO, am I correct?"


to a degree, yes. It's a balancing act. I try to make the shutter fast enough to freze the action but low enough to still work with the lowest ISO possible. Again, freezing the action is the priority, so it takes precedence over the ISO setting. But if you set the shutter TOO fast, you will find yourself moving to high ISO unnecessarily.

[KdLaneJr]

Originally Posted by Rox74

Thanks guys.... I think I may have gotten closer to where I'm going!! Yesterday was more successful and less blurred.

On a side note (sorry, this is taking me some time to get everything straight). The faster the shutter speed, the faster I need to make the ISO, am I correct?

No, the two work together, but not like that. Your ISO only needs to be high enough to get a proper exposure. If you set your shutter speed at 1/500, half press the shutter and have a flashing aperture setting in the viewfinder, then you don't have enough light you need to raise your ISO. Once the aperture setting stops flashing, If you don't see an aperture setting that you like, then increase it step by step until you do. When you see that the camera is selecting the aperture you think will work best for what you are shooting . Stop raising the ISO.