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How to get a clear motion shot
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Apr 21, 2016 09:01:57   #
authorizeduser Loc: Monroe, Michigan
 
Camera is Nikon D300. Lens is Sigma 50mm 1.4. The attached photo was taken in Aperture Priority mode F16 on a sunny day. Camera chose 1/320 and ISO was 400. I panned the dog running but can not get a clear shot of the dog. I have tired single focus and continuous focus. If the dog is standing still I get very sharp photos. WHAT am I not doing right ......

Thanks for any help!


(Download)

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Apr 21, 2016 09:10:51   #
PixelStan77 Loc: Vermont/Chicago
 
ISO 1000, F8 Aperture Priority..sunny day ....bet it will do it.
authorizeduser wrote:
Camera is Nikon D300. Lens is Sigma 50mm 1.4. The attached photo was taken in Aperture Priority mode F16 on a sunny day. Camera chose 1/320 and ISO was 400. I panned the dog running but can not get a clear shot of the dog. I have tired single focus and continuous focus. If the dog is standing still I get very sharp photos. WHAT am I not doing right ......

Thanks for any help!

Reply
Apr 21, 2016 09:14:43   #
authorizeduser Loc: Monroe, Michigan
 
PixelStan77 wrote:
ISO 1000, F8 Aperture Priority..sunny day ....bet it will do it.


Thanks .... will give it a try.

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Apr 21, 2016 09:27:20   #
rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona
 
authorizeduser wrote:
Camera is Nikon D300. Lens is Sigma 50mm 1.4. The attached photo was taken in Aperture Priority mode F16 on a sunny day. Camera chose 1/320 and ISO was 400. I panned the dog running but can not get a clear shot of the dog. I have tired single focus and continuous focus. If the dog is standing still I get very sharp photos. WHAT am I not doing right ......

Thanks for any help!


For stopping motion, you'll need a faster shutter speed. So, I'd suggest setting your camera for shutter priority. If you need more exposure than your lens will allow, adjust your ISO to accommodate that.
--Bob

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Apr 21, 2016 09:41:30   #
David Kay Loc: Arlington Heights IL
 
authorizeduser wrote:
Camera is Nikon D300. Lens is Sigma 50mm 1.4. The attached photo was taken in Aperture Priority mode F16 on a sunny day. Camera chose 1/320 and ISO was 400. I panned the dog running but can not get a clear shot of the dog. I have tired single focus and continuous focus. If the dog is standing still I get very sharp photos. WHAT am I not doing right ......

Thanks for any help!


There are several different ways to photograph a moving object that is moving across the image.
One is by a super fast shutter speed of say 1//1000 sec. This will essentially stop all action. You can use this method leave your camera focused in one spot. When the subject approaches your viewfinder, then burst the action. This eliminates camera movement and gives you a sharp image of everything that is in the photo.

The other way is to slow your shutter speed down to 1/40th or so. Then follow your subject by panning with the moving subject. If you follow your subject well then the background will be blurred. Which shows you movement. Although this method takes a lot of practice because if you do not follow your subject very closely, your sharp will be soft due to camera movement.

You can set your shutter speed for say 1/100th or slower. Hold your camera steady and this will let the moving subject blur slightly to show the movement of your subject across the sharp background.

I have used these methods many times in photographing bicycle riders.

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Apr 21, 2016 10:08:41   #
authorizeduser Loc: Monroe, Michigan
 
David Kay wrote:
There are several different ways to photograph a moving object that is moving across the image.
One is by a super fast shutter speed of say 1//1000 sec. This will essentially stop all action. You can use this method leave your camera focused in one spot. When the subject approaches your viewfinder, then burst the action. This eliminates camera movement and gives you a sharp image of everything that is in the photo.

The other way is to slow your shutter speed down to 1/40th or so. Then follow your subject by panning with the moving subject. If you follow your subject well then the background will be blurred. Which shows you movement. Although this method takes a lot of practice because if you do not follow your subject very closely, your sharp will be soft due to camera movement.

You can set your shutter speed for say 1/100th or slower. Hold your camera steady and this will let the moving subject blur slightly to show the movement of your subject across the sharp background.

I have used these methods many times in photographing bicycle riders.
There are several different ways to photograph a m... (show quote)


Thank you!

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Apr 21, 2016 11:55:04   #
jim quist Loc: Missouri
 
Set your camera on manual, and expose for the dog, which is overexposed here. Your camera is doing an overall exposure of the entire image. I shoot sports at 1/2000 of a second, I slow the shutter if I want some motion blur.

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Apr 21, 2016 15:25:09   #
R.G. Loc: Scotland
 
authorizeduser wrote:
.......I have tired single focus and continuous focus. If the dog is standing still I get very sharp photos. WHAT am I not doing right ......


What you're seeing as a focus issue is a shutter speed issue. Too slow a shutter speed and the subject will be soft regardless of how good or bad the focus was. A bit of motion blur on the legs won't look wrong and some might say it's a desirable thing, but if the whole subject is moving and there's camera movement on top of that, you need a fast shutter speed to prevent overall softness.

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Apr 22, 2016 08:35:19   #
daplight Loc: Kansas
 
How about a very slow shutter speed, lower ISO, coupled with 'rear-curtain' mode, and using a strobe while panning with action?
This would give you a motion blur but the stone freezes the action. Could produce a nice effect.

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Apr 22, 2016 09:31:56   #
big-guy Loc: Peterborough Ontario Canada
 
Agreed, you need to stop and think for a second and determine exactly what your priority is for this, and any shot. Is it DOF or is it speed? Having a good depth of field is great but not at the expense of ruined shots due to motion blur. (yes, I realize the irony of your intended results) Sometimes, you just can't have your cake and eat it too.

In this case it is speed and speed alone. Having a shutter speed of 1/320 is simply way too fast and will freeze almost everything. I would recommend using a shutter "priority" speed of 1/15 to 1/60 and ISO at 100 to achieve your goal. This will, when panning, (and with some practice) allow the background and legs to show motion blur but will keep the body and head fairly sharp. With practice and time, you will be able to slow the shutter down for more of an effect BUT the keywords here are, practice and time.

You will no doubt hear from many here that extol the virtues of aperture priority and in some cases they are correct, unfortunately they have become 1 trick ponies that use AP for everything and don't even realize they can benefit greatly from using shutter priority in many situations. Yes, you can achieve the required shutter speed when using AP but only for that particular scene at that particular time. If, and it does, (note how the dog is going from sunlight to shadow in a fraction of a second) the light changes so will your shutter speed using AP. Would it not be better to lock the shutter speed with SP and let the aperture change? Better to have a sharp photo with shallow DOF than an unusable motion blurred shot with good DOF. Just ask all the AP folks how many unusable shots they have sitting in the bowels of their computers. (take that number and multiply it by a factor of 10 for a more accurate count :lol: )

rmalarz wrote:
For stopping motion, you'll need a faster shutter speed. So, I'd suggest setting your camera for shutter priority. If you need more exposure than your lens will allow, adjust your ISO to accommodate that.
--Bob

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Apr 22, 2016 10:15:06   #
JCam Loc: MD Eastern Shore
 
rmalarz wrote:
For stopping motion, you'll need a faster shutter speed. So, I'd suggest setting your camera for shutter priority. If you need more exposure than your lens will allow, adjust your ISO to accommodate that.
--Bob


:thumbup: :thumbup:

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Apr 22, 2016 10:17:18   #
Meives Loc: FORT LAUDERDALE
 
[quote=authorizeduser]My imput... F 16 was not needed as your interest in focus was for the dog. Often background blur looks good with subject moving. F 8 will give you 2 stops. Your camera will easily do ISO 800 or 1600. This is several stops. Shutter could then be changed to 1/000 or faster and stop the dog motion. 1/320 may be too slow. David PS Also an old trick is to pan camera with dog.



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Apr 22, 2016 15:10:41   #
jimmya Loc: Phoenix
 
authorizeduser wrote:
Camera is Nikon D300. Lens is Sigma 50mm 1.4. The attached photo was taken in Aperture Priority mode F16 on a sunny day. Camera chose 1/320 and ISO was 400. I panned the dog running but can not get a clear shot of the dog. I have tired single focus and continuous focus. If the dog is standing still I get very sharp photos. WHAT am I not doing right ......

Thanks for any help!


I would suggest 1/1000 as your shutter speed.

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Apr 22, 2016 16:19:20   #
big-guy Loc: Peterborough Ontario Canada
 
You ask for tack sharp photos but employ a panning technique. An oxymoron if I ever saw one. You can pan horizontally but the dog is moving horizontally and vertically as well. You would have to pan following the exact movements of the dog to achieve a sharp photo. As I stated earlier, panning takes much practice and time to master and even when mastered don't expect a 100% turn out. When panning you want to see some motion blur as your shot does in the house and grass. The dog is pretty close to sharp and all in all I would say this was a successful attempt. I would question the use of a 50mm lens that shows so much of the fore/background. Get closer, either by distance or longer focal length, so the dog fills more of the frame.

authorizeduser wrote:
Camera is Nikon D300. Lens is Sigma 50mm 1.4. The attached photo was taken in Aperture Priority mode F16 on a sunny day. Camera chose 1/320 and ISO was 400. I panned the dog running but can not get a clear shot of the dog. I have tired single focus and continuous focus. If the dog is standing still I get very sharp photos. WHAT am I not doing right ......

Thanks for any help!

Reply
Apr 23, 2016 00:44:55   #
btbg
 
[quote=Meives]
authorizeduser wrote:
My imput... F 16 was not needed as your interest in focus was for the dog. Often background blur looks good with subject moving. F 8 will give you 2 stops. Your camera will easily do ISO 800 or 1600. This is several stops. Shutter could then be changed to 1/000 or faster and stop the dog motion. 1/320 may be too slow. David PS Also an old trick is to pan camera with dog.


The D300 has a lot of noise at ISO 1600. The most I can push it for print in our newspaper is ISO 1250.

It works best at ISO 500 or under, so the best way to stop action is to use your lens wide open in order to get a faster shutter speed while keeping noise under control.

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