Rodeo photos

[ON3DANCE]

I will be attending a rodeo this Sunday and want to capture everything. It will be held indoors, but I am sure there will be lighting above the arena.
Any suggestions on what to take, settings etc. Have any of you ever attended an indoor rodeo? I photgraph using a Nikon D-90 and will be using my 18-200 lens. Thanks! I am new to this forum and would gladly here any thoughts on this.[/B]

[wulf]

Too late for a helpful answer but how did it go?

Wulf

[Hill Country Hack]

Welcome to DPS and for asking a good question. This type of question as been covered before and is available by searching this site. There is a ton of information available if one takes the time to look around.

To answer your question better I'd need to know the maximum apeture you can shoot at (smallest f-stop number).

If you are using a standard kit lens you may have some issues with the usual poor lighting in arenas. There is always more than one way to skin a cat and others may give you differing advice. You will just have to see what works for you.

A basic rule when shooting moving targets with any lens but especially with zooms is to maintain at least a 1:1 ratio of focal length to shutter speed. If shooting at 200mm focal length you should have your shutter speed set to at least 1/200, but with rodeo that still might not be fast enough. You can do this by shooting in either Apeture or Shutter Priority. If you choose Apeture Priority select the most open apeture available and increase the ISO to get the desired shutter speed. The higher the ISO the more noise that will be added to your images, but that can be fixed/lessened with noise reduction software. You can choose Shutter Priority, set the desired shutter speed and allow the camera to make the required settings.

Set your metering to center weighted to better expose your subject as there is usually a large differnce between the light and dark areas (where your subject will tend to be). Change the focus to AI Serv to allow for constant focus updates as you follow the action. Read your manual to see if you can do a "back button focus". This will allow you to use your thumb to activate the auto focus leaving you free to actuate the shutter release and not have to hold a "half press" of the shutter release.

Set your camera to center focus point only and focus on center mass (or head if you can). Some kit lenses can be a bit soft in focus at extremes of focal lengths if not in prime shooting conditions. Try not to zoom to the full 200mm to better your chances in obtaining sharp images. Fight the desire to fully fill the frame with your subject. This will leave you more options while cropping in post production.

Be prepared for many shots just out of focus as you are learning. The more you shoot and make adjustments, the more "keepers" you will get.

Be sure your battery if fully charged and you have enough memory card(s). Shoot in RAW to ease corrections in post productions.

Good luck and post some images.