Jim Olive Photography

I was pondering the relevance of my blog to the amateur photographer and it occured to me that there were similar photographic challeges facing a mom or dad who wanted photos of their kids playing ball or other family activities. So in this and future posts I will use real life comparisons to pass on suggestions of how I deal with creating images from a professional perspective and how that information can be applied to help improve your photography. Which leads me to the question, what’s Hoobastank and Little League Ball have in common? Well, not much really, except when it comes to photographing them. If you are photographing them, Little League ball under the lights is not that much different than the band Hoobastank in concert . They both have similar elements of low light and action to challenge even the most experienced photographer. You are working at the edge of technology and the ability of keeping the camera stable. I know that I always say get a tripod under it, however, at these events, tripods get in the way of following the action and in some cases are not allowed. Flash would be the first thing that would come to mind, however, it too has drawbacks. One – is it permitted? Two – are you close enough for it to be effective? You have several options to get the shot although each has suggested limits in order to come back with a recognizable image of the subject. Let’s say we’re going to work with ambient light at the location. There are some factors that need to be considered up front before shooting such as shutter speed, asa, and f/stop. You need to establish which of these options should be determined first by how you want the image to appear. If you want to recognize your boy when he’s stealing home plate, you’re gonna need a fast shutter speed and a suggestion would be to start at 1/250th of a second as a minimum. Onstage, I have the same problem with the musicians jumping around and head banging during the performance. I need sharp, recognizable faces and it requires a minimum of 1/250th of a second to stop their movement. That shutter speed set you up for the other options of the exposure, f/stop and asa. What will it take to get that shutter speed? First, consider how fast your lens is. Basic lenses are in the f/3.5 to f/5.6 which are slow in comparison to the f/2.8 professional lens. You will need to open the lens to it’s widest aperture to take advantage of it’s light gathering ability. That leaves only one other element of the exposure available to you, the ASA.That you will have to ratchet up to around 800 – 1000 . So now you should have the camera set to capture the image. The downside to these settings is; 1 – the depth of field falls off considerably at the widest opening on the lens and you must concentrate your focus on the eyes or other areas you wish to feature. When I’m shooting musicians, I anticipate their movements by watching for patterns of activity/inactivity in order to be able to have a better chance reducing blur. When shooting ball, pre-focus on the area where the runner is headed, like home plate, and when he enters that zone begin shooting. 2 – Higher film speeds introduce noise in digital photos and can be controlled. I use Noise Ninja to minimize this problem. Good luck with your photos and let me know if any of this helps you get better photos.

Best,
Jim

Dan Estrin, guitarist for Hoobastank performing at the Meridian in Houston, Texas