Horse racing question

<p>I'm trying to photograph horses racing by panning so as to keep the horses in focus but having the background blurred. Yesterday I had a modicum of success using 1/160 sec. (Canon 50D, 70-300mm Lens) Can you suggest a better speed or provide any other suggestions?</p><div></div>

<p>I would think you need a MUCH higher shutter speed, at least 1/500th or 1000th or even higher.<br>

Don't be shy to crank your ISO so you can get the higher shutter speed. Close, but no cigar here on this one! Keep shooting and good luck!</p>

<p>I am no expert on this, but I would think when you get to 1/1000 and above you would not get the blurred background that Marvin is after. If it were me, I would continue shooting at about that same speed (1/160, maybe try plus or minus a bit) but I would put the camera into a burst mode so that I get 3-5 frames each time I press the trigger. I would shoot A LOT that way. You will eventually get a frame or two with the sharpness you desire in the horses/jockeys with the appropriate blur in the background. Just my very discounted 2 cents.</p>

<p>Daniel seems to understand my question. I did shoot in burst mode. Also, at first I used the AF setting #1 (for horizontal movement) then switched to AF #2 (for horizontal & vertical movement??), Some were in focus others not.</p>

<p>I agree with taking short bursts. Big reason is that if you move the camera when pressing the shutter, you get lousy pic. Usually the 2nd of a burst is sharper than the first.<br>

also need to make sure you keep focus pt on same part of the horse as you pan. This all takes practice and more practice.<br>

Use a monopod if allowed in the venue. And attach using the collar on the lens, not the camera body.</p>

<p>And...Practice.</p>

<p>I'd suggest a 1/60 shutter speed and a monopod to minimize the camera shake - </p>

<p>With that shutter speed - you'd need to lower the ISO to 100 or so to get a good exposure. </p>

<p>Dave</p>

 

<p>I agree with the burst-shooting strategy. It increases the odds that any camera movement will happen to align with, for example, the movement of the horse's head. But the most important concept here involves the distances that make up the shot. If you're a long ways off (with a long lens), pan-tracking the horse involves less of the background passing by, in relative terms. If you're closer to the horses, then swinging to follow them will involve a longer arc of background areas being crossed by the camera, and it will change the appearance of the blur. <br /><br />The <em>texture</em> of the blur also plays a big role in how it conveys the sense of motion. If you shoot with a wide aperture (creating shallow depth of field), the background is more out of focus, and loses definition. A very OoF background that is highly motion blurred doesn't look much different than a very OoF background across which you didn't pan at all. So you need to find the sweet spot that preserves enough detail to create "fast" looking streaks. Happily, that works in terms of the exposure because stopping down the lens to preserve that background detail in the greater DoF also forces you to use a lower shutter speed to drag in enough light.<br /><br />But definitely test different working distances (between you and the subject, and between the subject and the key objects/textures in the background) and focal lengths. Different recipes make for a significantly different look. I was surprised at the amount of blur I was able to get at 1/400th, here:<br /><br /><img src="http://static.photo.net/attachments/bboard/00W/00WB5Z-234791584.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="466" /><br /><br />but the, I was panning very aggressively. And I was shooting at about 6 frames per second, and got off perhaps 15 frames ... and only liked this one, in terms of the clarity on the dog's face. The bird detail was an even happier turn of events!</p>

<p>Two suggestions (both reiterations of previous posts):</p>

<ol>

<li>Practice, practice, practice (and then some more practice...)</li>

<li>Drop the ISO to open up the lens to about f/8 (if you can).<br />At f/22 you're getting some softness due to diffraction.</li>

<li>Use AF-Servo and the "AF-ON" button on the back of the camera.<br />Get the subject in the viewfinder well before you want to shoot and press the "AF-ON" button. Hold it down until you're done shooting that pass (maybe multiple bursts). When you want to shoot, press the shutter-release.</li>

</ol>

<p>Aside from what has already been mentioned, I would urge you to try using only the center AF point vice multiple points. It helped me a lot and gave me a single aiming point to concentrate on. Much use when panning. BTW it does take a great amount of practice to really be affective at panning shots (as Geoff alluded to)</p>

<p>not to shy ,with those lens stay on track and shoot horse on the right tooth at 200mm, so some thing left for "cigar"</p>

<p>Followed some of the advice offered. I shot panning from about 50 ft away, 1/1000 sec, burst mode, AF Servo. The result was very sharp photos of the horse AND background. There was no blurring of the background (hedges). So, I think that 1/1000 is much to fast for the effect that I was aiming for. I'll return to 1/160 sec and work on my technique.</p><div></div>

<p>Lower shutter speeds are definitely where you need to be if that's the look you're after, and it's just going to take a lot of practice. I'm more interested in freezing the action and all the detail in the horse, rider, and even the turf as it kicks up around the action, meaning wide open and really high shutter speeds.</p>

<p><a href="http://gmchappell.smugmug.com/Sports/Lone-Star-Park-2010-Images/11793372_9wMGL#906792805_tTnvZ"><img id="lightBoxImage" src="http://gmchappell.smugmug.com/Sports/Lone-Star-Park-2010-Images/P6199513/906792805_tTnvZ-XL.jpg" alt="" /></a></p>

<p><a href="http://gmchappell.smugmug.com/Sports/Lone-Star-Park-2010-Images/11793372_9wMGL#939476208_JhzE8"><img id="lightBoxImage" src="http://gmchappell.smugmug.com/Sports/Lone-Star-Park-2010-Images/P7170791/939476208_JhzE8-XL.jpg" alt="" /></a></p>

<p><a href="http://gmchappell.smugmug.com/Sports/Lone-Star-Park-2010-Images/11793372_9wMGL#906798618_aMrkw"><img id="lightBoxImage" src="http://gmchappell.smugmug.com/Sports/Lone-Star-Park-2010-Images/P6199565/906798618_aMrkw-XL.jpg" alt="" /></a></p>

<p><em>"Also, at first I used the AF setting #1 (for horizontal movement) then switched to AF #2 (for horizontal & vertical movement??),"</em></p>

<p>No mode 1 is for no movement, mode 2 is if you are panning in any direction. You need to be in mode 2 only.</p>

<p>Blurring of the background in action shots was to try to satisfy my camera club's "assigned subject" for Motion.<br>

Can you think of any other subjects that might be used for "motion"?</p>