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#1
May 4 2009 01:32am
Ok! Today I realized how little I know about action photography lol I mean I was using a camera built for action photography and yet I failed miserably when I tried to capture some squirrels when they were jumping/running around :(
I think the shutterspeeds I used were too slow so many you guys could tell me which shutterspeeds should normally be used for action photos. :)

1. There are so many angry guard dogs here but this family appears to have a guard cat ^^


2.


3. One of the many blurry pics of squirrels I took :(


4.


5.


6.


7. I tried to approach this cat to pet it but it got scared away by a stupid angry dog :(


8. This is the park where I usually go and take pictures of animals lol. I just hope the whole landscape will get greener soon.


9. This dog actually took a swim in the dirty river lol


This post was edited by Futurama on May 4 2009 01:35am
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#2
May 4 2009 03:23am
Nice action photography isn't particularly easy.

A tip to take away would be dont use f/10 when taking action shots, as it will just bump your shutterspeed right down. You don't need to use tight apertures when shooting action because a blurred background looks awesome. If you're not willing to move the camera and track the subject, try use about 1/500++ if you want to move your camera with your subject try use a slower shutterspeed and you will create a nice effect with a 'moving' background and a sharp, still subject.


Happy shooting :)
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#3
May 4 2009 09:10am
Yeah, on that first squirrel picture that's blurry, you used F11 ... I don't think I've ever used F11 lol. I'd try using a low F number, and a FAST shutter speed. I was using F 1.8 on those dog pictures. Yes, that lets a lot of light in... but making the shutter like 1/1000 compensates not to let a lot of light in when it takes the picture.

Btw, what mode did you use?

This post was edited by chantal7 on May 4 2009 09:13am
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#4
May 4 2009 03:20pm
Quote (doyleo @ Mon, May 4 2009, 03:23am)
Nice action photography isn't particularly easy.

A tip to take away would be dont use f/10 when taking action shots, as it will just bump your shutterspeed right down. You don't need to use tight apertures when shooting action because a blurred background looks awesome. If you're not willing to move the camera and track the subject, try use about 1/500++ if you want to move your camera with your subject try use a slower shutterspeed and you will create a nice effect with a 'moving' background and a sharp, still subject.


Happy shooting :)


uh I was actually using shutter priority mode (TV) when I took those pics so it was my camera that chose those f-numbers lol. I guess I should have used a much much faster shutter speed but I thought 1/100 something was fast enough lol how noobish of me :blush:


Quote (chantal7 @ Mon, May 4 2009, 09:10am)
Yeah, on that first squirrel picture that's blurry, you used F11 ... I don't think I've ever used F11 lol. I'd try using a low F number, and a FAST shutter speed. I was using F 1.8 on those dog pictures. Yes, that lets a lot of light in... but making the shutter like 1/1000 compensates not to let a lot of light in when it takes the picture.

Btw, what mode did you use?


hmm I was using shutter priority mode which is the mode I use most of the time lol. What mode do you usually use? I am still trying to figure out a lot of settings I have no clue about on my camera like if it is possible to change aperture while in manual mode. Well I don't think the 50mm lens would be good for taking pictures of wild animals I had to use 85mm which is the longest focal length of my zoom lens for most of those pics I took of squirrels and zoom lenses with wide aperture (low f numbers) are extremely expensive :(

Oh btw does any of you guys know how to change dynamic range on EOS dslrs? I think it has something to do with those EV numbers or whatever lol course I would like to get better details in the shadow areas in some of my pictures, like this one:



This post was edited by Futurama on May 4 2009 03:32pm
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#5
May 4 2009 03:26pm
Quote (Futurama @ Mon, May 4 2009, 05:20pm)
uh I was actually using shutter priority mode (TV) when I took those pics so it was my camera that chose those f-numbers lol. I guess I should have used a much much faster shutter speed but I thought 1/100 something was fast enough lol how noobish of me  :blush:


Put it on manual, turn the shutter speed to something like 300 or higher and change the aperture to what ever looks best for the conditions. Also, if you use continuous shooting as the drive mode it might be a bit easier to get the movement.

This post was edited by kratos on May 4 2009 03:26pm
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#6
May 4 2009 05:45pm
Quote (Futurama @ Mon, May 4 2009, 03:20pm)
uh I was actually using shutter priority mode (TV) when I took those pics so it was my camera that chose those f-numbers lol. I guess I should have used a much much faster shutter speed but I thought 1/100 something was fast enough lol how noobish of me  :blush:




hmm I was using shutter priority mode which is the mode I use most of the time lol. What mode do you usually use? I am still trying to figure out a lot of settings I have no clue about on my camera like if it is possible to change aperture while in manual mode. Well I don't think the 50mm lens would be good for taking pictures of wild animals I had to use 85mm which is the longest focal length of my zoom lens for most of those pics I took of squirrels and zoom lenses with wide aperture (low f numbers) are extremely expensive :(

Oh btw does any of you guys know how to change dynamic range on EOS dslrs? I think it has something to do with those EV numbers or whatever lol course I would like to get better details in the shadow areas in some of my pictures, like this one:

http://i537.photobucket.com/albums/ff339/SpammersHeaven/Spring2009/IMG_1886c.jpg


Manual mode lets you change shutter, ISO and aperture. This is the setting I use now, so much easier than trying to screw around with all the other dials. I haven't moved it off of manual mode for a little while, now that I think about it. Your cam will let you change all 3. On my camera, I have a button for ISO, and the "dial" for shutter, and then the AV button + dial for aperture (you need to hold the Av button while turning the dial.
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#7
May 5 2009 12:17am
Yeah I figured out how to change the aperture now but I had to turn the On-Off dial upwards if that makes sense lol and my camera doesn't have an Av button :(
but anyway I tried to use the manual mode earlier but I guess it will take awhile for me to get used to it BUT it does seem to be a much better mode than TV and AV.
The problem is that those squirrels are sooo damn fast and usually I don't even have the chance to change the settings before they disappear. Maybe I will bring
some nuts with me the next time and lure them to get closer to me lol

This post was edited by Futurama on May 5 2009 12:18am
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#8
May 5 2009 01:08pm
#7 Cat is awesome :D
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#9
May 5 2009 01:12pm
Quote (Futurama @ Tue, May 5 2009, 12:17am)
Yeah I figured out how to change the aperture now but I had to turn the On-Off dial upwards if that makes sense lol and my camera doesn't have an Av button :(
but anyway I tried to use the manual mode earlier but I guess it will take awhile for me to get used to it BUT it does seem to be a much better mode than TV and AV.
The problem is that those squirrels are sooo damn fast and usually I don't even have the chance to change the settings before they disappear. Maybe I will bring
some nuts with me the next time and lure them to get closer to me lol


It does take a little getting used to... what top change if you change F number, or ISO, but after you get it, it's really simple and it comes naturally... you don't even have to think about it much anymore.

Peanuts still in their shells work the best, for those little squirrels (dont feed them salted peanuts, apparently the salt is not good for em); good luck!
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#10
May 5 2009 01:21pm
Futurama your camera has C1 C2 and C3 on the top. You can pre-set something sensible into them for taking action, for example C1 could have 1/640 and an appropriate aperture. Then when ya see a squirrel - bam you quickly switch to C1 and you have him!
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