What’s Your Preference?

Dave_s · #1 (**permalink**) 09-05-2009, 12:21 AM

Okay, sports is all about shutter speed. So how is it possible to get a blurry picture with a 1/4000 shutter speed? I tried to focus on the runner, but isn't that irrelevant? With that fast a shutter, shouldn't EVERYTHING be frozen?
I don't get it.
I'm not too savy on picture upload so I apologize. But here it is.

Dave

Canon XTi
75MM
F 4.5
1/4000
Aperture Priority

_

JFSanders · #2 (**permalink**) 09-05-2009, 01:06 AM

Nope, You were focused just in front or behind him. See he is evenly out of focus. If it was camera blur then some part of him would have been in focus. Even at 1/4000 you have to focus. This is where AF comes in very handy. If you don't have it then pre focus on a spot he will run by and when he gets there BAM! Also, your f/stop is making for a very thin DOF. If you would give yourself a f/stop of say f/10 and drop your shutter speed to say 1/250 or 1/500 then I bet you will be much happier.

Dave_s · #3 (**permalink**) 09-05-2009, 01:15 AM

Thanks for that info. I'm still confused as to why he's blurry. Are we saying he's not blurry because he's running, but rather out of focus because of the depth of field? Does that make sense?

Whew!, I never considered there was a difference between being blurry, or just plain out of focus

Dave

Nathan deGargoyle · #4 (**permalink**) 09-05-2009, 01:23 AM

The attachment is far too small to comment on. Get a free account on flickr ( other free photosharfing sites arfe available) and give us a chance to give you an honest comment.

P.S. I normally don't loook at thumbnails but you're new so I've made an exception

P.P.S. This is an almost automated message so please don't take offence.

Dave_s · #5 (**permalink**) 09-05-2009, 01:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nathan deGargoyle

The attachment is far too small to comment on. Get a free account on flickr ( other free photosharfing sites arfe available) and give us a chance to give you an honest comment.

P.S. I normally don't loook at thumbnails but you're new so I've made an exception

P.P.S. This is an almost automated message so please don't take offence.

I'm totally not offended, but please don't be offended when I say just "click" on the thumbnail. It does get bigger you know. (uhh.. that's why I put it there) And if that's an inconvenience, then I really don't need your advice.
FWIW, I'm not going to get an account on another site when attachments work just fine.
It's funny, JfSanders could see it just fine and gave me a very polite response.
Don't be offended, but chill out!

Nathan deGargoyle · #6 (**permalink**) 09-05-2009, 02:33 AM

Sorry Dave it's just a stqandard response, cut and paste from notebook. You obviously were offended and i apologise for offending you. I did click on your photo which gave me a 480px × 320px version. I'm sorry but that really isn.t big enough to give any meaningful comment. i have no idea how much of the problems you report are to do with how you took the picture or of the compression algorithms of the (unknown) program you used to resize it.

Once again I'm sorry not to be more constructive but, as Samuel Johnsen said "It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt. "

MOmilkman · #7 (**permalink**) 09-05-2009, 04:53 AM

I totally agree with JF Sanders. The runner is simply out of focus due to the lack of depth of field.

You see, when you narrow your depth of field (I believe yours was 4.5) then you are trying to capture the main subject (being the runner) but leave everything else blurry. So in this case it would be harder to capture someone running by in auto focus mode than in Manual Focus mode. If you focus on the wrong thing at just the exact wrong moment, BAM, you got a blurry runner and a perfectly sharp background.

Play around with it some more and you'll get it. There's a huge learning curve and the best way to figure it out is practice.

Have fun! :-)

Dave_s · #8 (**permalink**) 09-05-2009, 05:32 AM

Thank you so much for both of you.
So then my question: If you guys were taking the shot, how would you know what to set the aperture at? Is it a guessing game or is it something that you learn as time goes by (practice as you say)?

Also, I want to manual focus? This creates a problem for me. There's nothing in front of the runner to focus on, so I am guessing I would have to track with him. That really sounds hard.
But I'm willing to give this a go. I will get it right eventually. Especially with all of this great help.
Thanks,
Dave

BryanC · #9 (**permalink**) 09-05-2009, 07:17 AM

Your camera has different auto focus modes. AI Servo mode tracks a moving object, continuously focusing on it. This can help you out. Also, I would suggest a better framing of your subject. In the photo you posted, there's a lot of space above the runner that isn't interesting or part of the subject. In the lower part of the image, you have the legs cut off in an awkward manner. I think just aiming down a little, getting the whole body in the shot, would have helped. As for an aperture suggestion, that would be a matter of taste, whether you wanted a shallow or deep depth of field. Filling the frame with more of the runner, less backround, shooting in the portrait position, is another suggestion.

JFSanders · #10 (**permalink**) 09-05-2009, 11:16 AM

Dave, don't take offense at Nathan's remark. He truly wants to help you. You would not believe the sheer number of times this subject comes up.

Now, as to your questions. Think of a photograph as a triangle with Aperture, Shutter speed and ISO film speed at the corners. You adjust one setting and the others are affected! They all must work in symphony to produce the beautiful picture we wish to capture.

To help you get a better understanding of the technical aspects I would suggest you acquire this book The Nat Geo guide to Photography. It is a very portable very concise and easy to use. Once you have assimilated the information in there it will be very clear to you what needs to happen with your camera settings to achieve the results you are trying to obtain.

Quote:

If you guys were taking the shot, how would you know what to set the aperture at?

The setting would depend on what message or story I wanted to convey to the viewer. This is a great tutorial on the web. Interactive DOF tutorial

If the runner was the focus then I would use a fairly short DOF to blur the background and I would move in tight on the subject to exclude as much of the surrounding area as possible. The choice of a shallow DOF would then dictate how much shutter speed to use if I wanted him "motion blurred" or if I wanted him clear focused and action stopped. Then those settings would give me the options of ISO speed. Higher ISO results in more grain in the photo lower ISO requires longer shutter open times.

Quote:

I want to manual focus? This creates a problem for me. There's nothing in front of the runner to focus on, so I am guessing I would have to track with him. That really sounds hard.

Why do you want to manual focus? If you just want the practice then motor on my brother. It is a good skill to have if you find yourself limited someday to a manual camera.

As to having nothing to focus on at the distance he is at. Sure you do! Focus on the track lane. It is at almost the same distance as he is and even a shallow depth of field will allow for the slight angle change when you move the camera up to his height.

Panning to stop motion is one of the early photographer's most prized skills. And there are books devoted to the subject. Until the advent of super high ISO and spray and pray camera frame rates it was the ONLY way a race car photographer had to capture those amazing corner shots.

Alright you have your assignment. GET CLICKING!