Shooting fast action

[dlanter]

I am definitely NOT a sports shooter and am just so so at panning shots, but I am always wanting to learn more and was wondering how you more experienced shooters handle fast moving subjects. Yesterday was my first attempt at shooting at the drag races and though I am happy with most of them, there is always room for improvement. A few of my race shots are in another thread here:

http://www.texasphotoforum.com/forum...ad.php?t=84191

These were shot with a 30D, a Sigma 70-200 f2.8 & monopod. Camera set on Av mode at f8, servo focus mode using the center focal point, high speed burst mode.

So what do you think? What would you do differently? Thanks for your opinions.

[toverman]

The shots look good, so I hesitate to tell you to do something differently.

If anything, try shooting either in fully manual mode or TV, so that you will have control over the shutter. A slower shutter speed can make panning more dramatic. I am not a sports shooter, either. Maybe others will chime in with more or better ideas.

[MRCPix]

well if you are trying for the panning affect slow shutter speed is good however if you are wanting to freeze the action you need to stay 500 or faster especially with cars moving 250MPH plus.
Don't get me wrong I like your images, but when I shoot sports I shoot wide open with high shutter speeds usually f2.8 ss 1000 and up if light will permitt.

[toverman]

This is from Wikipedia (so take it with a grain of salt):

"When photographing a moving subject, the panning technique is achieved by keeping the subject in the same position of the frame for the duration of the exposure. The length of the exposure must be long enough to allow the background to blur due to the movement of the camera as you follow the subject in the viewfinder.

The exact length of exposure required will depend on the speed at which the subject is moving, the focal length of the lens you are using and the distance from the subject and background. An F1 car speeding along a straight might allow you to achieve a blurred background at 1/250th of a second, while you might need to go as slow as 1/60th to achieve the same amount of blur for a picture of a running man.[1]"

[kenw]

take the wiki stuff with a large BLOCK of salt...but for the most part i agree.

let me add:

1) stand with your legs no wider and no closer than the spread of your shoulders.
2) swivel at the hip only (this takes practice)
3) start the pan before you press the shutter
4) end the pan after the shutter closes
5) practice, practice, practice

and i would also recommend Tv (or M) to control the shutter as primary. Aperture is of secondary interest. The slower the shutter, the more difficult it is to keep the subject sharp so the best shot is often a compromise between background motion blur (slow shutter) and sharp subject (faster shutter).

and let me add: those are some pretty good shots.

[dlanter]

Some very good information here, I appreciate it everyone. I did find out this last weekend that panning is a lot easier using the monopod versus handheld. Several times before taking a shot I would pan the camera back & forth a couple of times making sure I wasn't arcing it and could keep it level.

My main reason for using Av on these shots was inexperience. Under the light conditions that day, f8 was giving me a shutter speed between 1/200 & 1/350. Knowing how fast the cars were, I thought that would be enough to get a clear shot of the car and just enough motion blur of the wheels and background. As you can see, I did get a pretty good motion blur on the wheels, but I would have liked a little more blur with the background (and foreground). I'll have to play with the shutter speeds the next time I shoot a similar situation.

For the most part, I like a lot of the shots I got that day. The background blur is one thing I would like differently, but also on shots with side by side action one car (ussually the farthest) is sharper than the other.

One other question. Like I said before, on these race pics I had the camera set to high speed burst. On the 30D I think that is 5 frames per second. So almost every time I shot the cars launching I got 4 or 5 frames. Part of me thinks this may be a little like cheating. Shotgunning and then hoping to get one keeper out of the burst. What are your feelings on this?

[toverman]

As for the burst shooting, sometimes that's the best way to ensure you get a good shot when taking photos of a high-motion subject. Not cheating in my book and one of the beauties of digital vs. film.

[kenw]

Originally Posted by toverman

As for the burst shooting, sometimes that's the best way to ensure you get a good shot when taking photos of a high-motion subject. Not cheating in my book and one of the beauties of digital vs. film.

my film body did 4 fps....there were times I ripped thru an entire 36 exp roll just to get 1 keeper. It usually worked....

[toverman]

Originally Posted by kenw

my film body did 4 fps....there were times I ripped thru an entire 36 exp roll just to get 1 keeper. It usually worked....

Yes, but you had to pay for that film. That was my point.

[kenw]

ah hah, i now see your point.

and a very valid one at that. 1s and 0s recycle so easily....

[Ahh!]

Dan, if man were meant for us to shoot in 5fps or faster, he would have invented the autodrive.

Uh, wait a minute. He did!

[dlanter]

So gald to hear that I don't need to feel bad about holding the trigger down. At the races this last weekend, I ended up filling 2 4 gig cards and started on the 3rd one. Somewhere close to 1000 shots in about 6 hours. I still haven't finished deleting the rejects.

[Ahh!]

Originally Posted by dlanter

So gald to hear that I don't need to feel bad about holding the trigger down.

Nah! We had 15 and 18 fps back before The Fire when the Masonic Lodge was still the Picture Show. People used to pay to see every frame!