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Photography Question 

Courtnie
 

action shots of horses in a dim arena


Hi! TOMORROW I need to take photos of a lady showing and training horses in a low light arena. I am an amateur and am a little worried about the proper settings to use. Any advice? We can't go outdoors.


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February 07, 2005

 

Andrew Laverghetta
  I've noticed that notbody has seemed to get back to you on this yet. So, I'll see what I can do.
I'm hoping you're using an SLR camera or something similar like an SLR like digital camera. Have you had a chance to get to the training area or where the pictures will be taken? If you've been there, than maybe you can tell about what the meter reading will be and hopefully you have a lens that can keep the image steady while the shutter is open.
First of all, if you have a tripod definitly use it. Use the tripod to avoid a flash since obviously, bad things could happen if a flash spooks the horses. Try to use a high ISO speed, maybe around 800 or so?
If I were doing this I would encourage the subjects to try as much to stay in the best lit area there is while still remailning comfortable. You may have to underexpose a little bit to keep the image still. I don't remember if this is in a film Q&A or digital but you could always scan a negative hopefully and adjust in Photoshop or similar. You could also have the film (if you're using film) pushed a stop (so it would act like 1600 if it was really 800 and such) but I wouldn't recommend it. Try to get there as early as possible to get an eye for what will be going on.
Again, assuming you have an SLR camera and are familiar with it, try setting it to aperture or shutter priority. Keep an eye on your shutter speed so it doesn't drop much far below however long your lens is set to (focal length wise like a 200mm lens should ideally have a shutter speed around 1/180 sec) unless of course you have a tripod or an imagestabilization camera/lens. Another thing, try to take pictures as often as possible and maybe talk to the lady to see what kind of skills she will be demonstrating so you have an idea of what's coming up.
I'm am amateur as well but I hope that what I know will help you a little bit at least. Good luck shooting and have fun! Keep asking questions!


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February 07, 2005

 

Courtnie
  Thanks, I read this quickly before heading out yesterday. Yes I used a SLR and also my digital. I live two hours from any photo developing lab and won't have the pix back until Saturday. I used my flash and 1/250 sec for the action shots with a 70-300mm lense on a tripod. I felt I was totally guessing. My Nikon coolpix5400 pix were dark even with flash so I'm pretty nervous.


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February 09, 2005

 
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