Hey guys, today I want to show you a couple of travel photography tips. I’m photographing a triathlon behind me and I want to show you some unusual ways of getting some great images at an event like this; a sporting event.
Make sure you checkout my new in-depth article The Ultimate Guide to Shutter Speed in Photography for more tips and lots of examples of how shutter speed is used in photography.
Highlights from this video:
0:10 – Photographing a Triathlon
0:20 – Slow Shutter Speed, Wide-angle Lens
1:00 – Dark Background
1:24 – Get Down Low
1:38 – Tracking Auto-Focus
Tip #1: Slow Shutter Speed & Wide-angle Lens
The first thing I’m going to do is, I’m going to use a slow shutter speed and a wide angle lens. Most people have a zoom lens, but I’m going to use a wide-angle lens for this at a 1/30 sec shutter speed.
I’m going to get close to the cyclists as they come past and I want to show you how I can get blurring movements. If you’ll have a look at this, you’ll notice that I’m trying to get the cyclists in sharp focus and I want to get the background blurred so that I can show movement and how fast they are going.
Tip#2: Choose a Dark Background
When you’re photographing triathletes or movement like what’s happening behind me, choose a dark background if you can, so that you can get people to jump out of the background.
Notice that I have chosen a bush setting for the background (darker) and I can show movement and that I can get my subject jump out of the background. So that’s the second tip. Use a dark background when photographing movement especially if the cyclist is wearing bright clothing.
Tip#3: Get Down Low
Another thing you’ll notice is that I get down low. I changed my angle of view when I’m photographing cyclists because I want to get low and I want to get a lot of movements with the wide-angle lens and slow shutter speed.
Tip#4: Tracking Auto-Focus or AI SERVO
Another tip when you’re photographing movement is make sure that your auto-focus is on tracking auto-focus (AI SERVO). In that way, you can track the cyclists as they’re getting closer to you.
The Ultimate Guide to Shutter Speed in Photography
Recap:
- I’m using a slow shutter speed to get movement & blurring the background of the image, but I want the cyclist to be in focus.
- I’m choosing a darker background
- I’m getting low-down to change my angle of view.
- I’m using tracking auto-focus to keep the subject in focus even though they are moving towards me.
What do you think of these images? Please leave a comment below.
This is Brent, have a great day!
Thanks Brent, just need a wide angle now 🙂