how to shoot a boy jumping into a pool?


Status
Not open for further replies.

magic1980

New Member
Oct 24, 2007
287
0
0
hi, i am quite a newbie with canon 450d. I hasn't bump into shooting a boy jumping in water at a pool yet, but was think how to take such pic?

I was puzzled cos, if we focus before he jump, then when he jump, the focus is out. And what f should i use? Big f? F11? So a greater dof? Do i focus first? Cos when he jump, no time to focus his action right?

Thanks thanks. :)
 

im newbie here too.
from what i knw i used Manual settings
think it was shutter speed 1/1250, F11 with flash turn on
half button pressed b4 jumping..once jumped shoot it.

great pros care to share with us wld be awesome :D
 

Why greater DOF? I'd prefer a narrow one, more focused and faster! No need to stalk the kid, just focus on where he would jump or use ur Ai Servo or something. Lots of ways to go around it, and if u must, just a higher ISO (largely depends on conditions)
 

mainly two or maybe three ways:

1. prefocus, eg pick the spot where the boy will step off, like some point on the edge of pool. Where this point is u have to estimate: can be a hit or miss thing, unless there is a certain spot u know beforehand, eg a springboard or its something coordinated. A large f number may help with some inaccuracies in the focus estimate, but your composition may dictate a low f#, eg to have bkgd bokeh. I call this method the ambush method. Its the only way in the film days before there was autofocus.

2. fast continuous autofocus. with digital cameras this is now possible: you simple track your moving subject and shoot when just before your anticipated moment. and thats it. but of course ur camera CAF system must be faster than the subject motion, and even better anticipate your subject motion in time. THe latter technically is call tracking.

3. Panning. This is applicable to both Prefocus and CAF. It is really a different kind of pic, namely a blur background. And it may not be your intended composition always. Also the focus problem/solution is still basically the aforementioned two above.
 

hi, i am quite a newbie with canon 450d. I hasn't bump into shooting a boy jumping in water at a pool yet, but was think how to take such pic?

I was puzzled cos, if we focus before he jump, then when he jump, the focus is out. And what f should i use? Big f? F11? So a greater dof? Do i focus first? Cos when he jump, no time to focus his action right?

Thanks thanks. :)

I have done many "jump into the water" shoots - not so much la anyway - and i'm still learning.

It depends whats the outcome of the picture you want to achieve.
- his facial expressions?
- the split second moment he before / after hit the water?
- the water splashes?

I've easily snapped >100 shots only to get ONE right. I never think about getting ONE right shot of perfection.

Why need flash when its likely to be outdoor, on a sunny day?
 

Learn how to use AI SERVO auto-focusing if your camera has it.

Check the manual. ;)
 

thank you pals for the fast respond. I will read up and practice.
 

i think there are many ways to do this. All depends on how you imagine the image to look like.

for me i would imagine trying to grab a shot at the child's facial expression just before he/she hits the water. and in order to get that. i would use a telephoto, large aperture to just get the face in focus, frame it in such a way that the background is not too distracting (the blue pool background would be nice).

a fast enough shutter (maybe at least 1/500), just to get the face sharp. and recompose again to get a 'leading picture' i.e. point of origin(halfway in the air/dive) to the point of splash into water.
 

Use continous shots or burst shots?
 

did it once before, no fixed settings depending on your surroundings, but i basically focus first, switch to manual focus to lock it and then motor drive as he jumps =p

If pic doesn't turn out well, ask the kid to jump again.
 

Status
Not open for further replies.