Wanting to learn ... (Page 2): Which dog? There are 2 different dogs.

agilityk9 Loc: Goodyear,AZ

skooters wrote:

Just had to comment. I know that dog. It lives behind my house. The owner is a good trainer and has brought this dog a long way.

There is a lot of good advise above.

Which dog? There are 2 different dogs.

wteffey Loc: Ocala, FL USA

I have found no good use for continuous auto-focus. In my cameras this setting allows the shutter to trigger without focus lock, any small movement of the camera will cause the focus to shift and hunt again. This is a perfect spot for pre-focusing on the poles. Select a good spot then wait until the dog comes through that place and take multiple shots without large camera movements. "Panning" requires a lot of practice. It is easier with the subject moving across the field of view rather than directly towards the camera.

Big Al Pics Loc: North Bay

agilityk9 wrote:

I was at an agility trial this weekend trying to figure out how to take action photos of the dog coming thru the weaves. I tried several settings and put the shutter in continuous burst, but still came out with some blur. What can I do in the future to correct this? These photos have been cropped and PP'd.

Thank you all so much for any advice.

Good advice given so far. I'd suggest shooting from a bit of a lower angle to capture the dog from his/her level compared to shooting down at it.
Also suggest a google search on panning and you can practice this on moving vehicles to get the feel for it.
You can see examples of my practice shots taken off my front porch - titled Panning Practice under my topics.
Good luck

jr168

I would attack this the same way I would shoot any athlete. My shutter speed would be at least 1/800 to 1/1000 to stop all motion, I would have my aperture no wider than f/5.6 but preferably around f/2.8 to isolate my subject. I would then adjust ISO for exposure. Make sure you are using af-c single point auto-focus so you are capturing the dog and not the poles. Try to shoot from a much lower angle to make the dog look more prominent and dynamic. If you want to have a cool panning shot, sho0t at 1/25 of a second or lower and try to follow. Your hit rate will be very low, but the ones you do capture will look amazing.

agilityk9 Loc: Goodyear,AZ

wteffey wrote:

I have found no good use for continuous auto-focus... (show quote)

Thank you for looking and commenting!

agilityk9 Loc: Goodyear,AZ

Big Al Pics wrote:

Good advice given so far. I'd suggest shooting from a bit of a lower angle to capture the dog from his/her level compared to shooting down at it.
Also suggest a google search on panning and you can practice this on moving vehicles to get the feel for it.
You can see examples of my practice shots taken off my front porch - titled Panning Practice under my topics.
Good luck

Thank you for looking and commenting!

Most of the time it is difficult to get low, as there may be other obsticales in the way and the judge is always moving. Or if the weaves are close to the fence, you being low, will distract the dog and they will pop out of the weaves. Not a good thing! But you are correct -- being lower would give me a more dynamic photo.

Thank you, again!

agilityk9 Loc: Goodyear,AZ

jr168 wrote:

I would attack this the same way I would shoot any... (show quote)

Thank you for looking and commenting!

gemlenz Loc: Gilbert Arizona

Don't know if anyone mentioned using continuous focus
(AI-SERVO for Canon) Along with some of the other suggestions I would add this.

agilityk9 Loc: Goodyear,AZ

gemlenz wrote:

Don't know if anyone mentioned using continuous focus
(AI-SERVO for Canon) Along with some of the other suggestions I would add this.

Thank you so much for looking and commenting!

I will try it at my next trial.

jimmya Loc: Phoenix

agilityk9 wrote:

I was at an agility trial this weekend trying to figure out how to take action photos of the dog coming thru the weaves. I tried several settings and put the shutter in continuous burst, but still came out with some blur. What can I do in the future to correct this? These photos have been cropped and PP'd.

Thank you all so much for any advice.

I would set your shutter speed to at least 1/500 if not 1/1000 in that bright sun light. Allow the camera to make the aperture decision... it will be correct. ISO is fine or perhaps even 400 to increase the aperture a bit.

Tom H Loc: St. Louis, MO

Is a bit of well controlled motion blur a bad thing? I'd like to see the results of using a shutter speed that allowed some blur, but pan so the dog is sharp and only the background is slightly blurred. This may show the dog's speed and better tell the store of the race. Certainly easier said than done, but it could be worth the effort and the practice needed.

Just a thought from a want-to-be photographer. Good luck.

Tom

agilityk9 Loc: Goodyear,AZ

jimmya wrote:

I would set your shutter speed to at least 1/500 if not 1/1000 in that bright sun light. Allow the camera to make the aperture decision... it will be correct. ISO is fine or perhaps even 400 to increase the aperture a bit.

Thank you for looking and advice! I really appreciate it.

jimmya Loc: Phoenix

agilityk9 wrote:

Thank you for looking and advice! I really appreciate it.

You're welcome, it works for me. I find these cameras today are so accurate that you can't second guess them.

Good luck, and will you post please when you get some new shots? Thanks

agilityk9 Loc: Goodyear,AZ

Tom H wrote:

Is a bit of well controlled motion blur a bad thing? I'd like to see the results of using a shutter speed that allowed some blur, but pan so the dog is sharp and only the background is slightly blurred. This may show the dog's speed and better tell the store of the race. Certainly easier said than done, but it could be worth the effort and the practice needed.

Just a thought from a want-to-be photographer. Good luck.

Tom

No, it's not! And that is kind of what I was trying to do. But I would like the dog to be a bit sharper. I am just going to have to practice and work it out. But all this advice has given me a place to start, and for that I am very grateful.

Thank you for commenting! And good luck to you, also!

agilityk9 Loc: Goodyear,AZ

jimmya wrote:

You're welcome, it works for me. I find these cameras today are so accurate that you can't second guess them.

Good luck, and will you post please when you get some new shots? Thanks

Thank you! And, yes I will.