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Archive 2014 · 5D III autofocus suggestions for ballet

  
 
ab7638
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · 5D III autofocus suggestions for ballet


I'll be photographing my daughters first ballet performance. Any suggestions on how to set the autofocus up. Thanks in advance


Apr 15, 2014 at 10:07 AM
jcolwell
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · 5D III autofocus suggestions for ballet


On my 1DX or 6D, I'd probably use the centre AF point in Single Shot mode, with back button AF to occassionally pump the AF as she moves around. If she moves around a lot, I might put it in AI Servo mode. In this last case, I'd hold down the backbutton during the action, and occasionally pump it for stationary subjects.


Apr 15, 2014 at 02:56 PM
photosenior
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · 5D III autofocus suggestions for ballet


Zone focusing is good to know...


Apr 15, 2014 at 04:50 PM
Scott Stoness
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · 5D III autofocus suggestions for ballet


I photograph my son doing hip hop dancing a bit. The challenge is that its poorly lit with spot lighting. So there is several problems - getting the focus; getting the exposure, and filling my buffer and missing the shot. I don't like to miss the head stands or freezes or flips.

I suggest using manual to get the exposure- do some practicing beforehand and check the histogram or all their faces will be overexposed. Check your historgram as you go in case the light changes.

Aiservo if you are close or if farther - manual focus based on dancer prior is what I find works best for focus.

Watch that you don't fill your buffer to fast - hold back a bit in your burst or you will miss shots. Make sure your camera is pointed to a fast cf card. Some cards clear faster than others - I have found the lexar 1000's are fastest.



Apr 15, 2014 at 05:07 PM
gdanmitchell
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · 5D III autofocus suggestions for ballet


You probably won't need AI Servo, but good to understand how it works. From a distance, most motion is likely to be side-to-side rather than front to back, and often you are perhaps most likely to shoot during a pause or high point in motion rather than in the middle of it.

I agree about using a single AF point and almost certainly making it the center point. With multiple points active the camera has to "guess" at where to focus based on which points trigger, and it is quite possible for the camera/lens to lock on things that you don't regard as your primary subject. Single AF point, unfortunately, means that your compositional options become a bit limited, but you can always crop in post. (Quickly switching among AF points is possible but not likely a good strategy unless you have a specific plan of what you'll shoot at a given moment.)

If you are far enough back and there is little forward/backward motion, you may also be able to get with using fixed focus. Manually or using AF, focus on the typical dancer position and then switch AF off. (Be careful to not touch the focus ring after that.) If you can shoot at a slightly smaller aperture this can work well. While you may want to shoot wide open for low light reasons, keep in mind that this limits DOF and requires more accurate focus. Any time you shoot in low light like this, especially with moving subjects, you have to decide which compromise among high ISO, large aperture, and short enough exposure times is right. Keep the ISO high!

Back button focus works. I don't use it, but I know that lots of folks do, so I won't speak against it. I let the camera AF with a soft or half shutter press and then recompose if necessary.

Dan



Apr 15, 2014 at 05:09 PM
JPRPhotos
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · 5D III autofocus suggestions for ballet


On the 5D MIII I would definitely use AI Servo, center focus point and Case 4. I also like to use silent shutter mode and back focus button. Here is a link to photos I took of local Nutcracker production last Nov., http://jprimages.com/performingarts/2013/nutcracker/afternoon

I photographed with a 1DX & 400mm f/2.8, click on the info tab to see all the camera settings I used with each photo.



Apr 16, 2014 at 09:47 PM
timbop
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · 5D III autofocus suggestions for ballet


photosenior wrote:
Zone focusing is good to know...


I would absolutely NOT use zone focus. It will grab whoever is nearest, which will often NOT be who you want. Definitely use single point or single point expansion. AI servo with a way to stop it (either separate AF from shutter release or use */af-on button to stop AF), or oneshot.



Apr 17, 2014 at 07:17 AM
gdanmitchell
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · 5D III autofocus suggestions for ballet


ab7638 wrote:
I'll be photographing my daughters first ballet performance. Any suggestions on how to set the autofocus up. Thanks in advance


I wrote some technical photography stuff earlier in this thread. But I left out one of the most important thing, speaking as a father and as a person with a professional life in the performing arts.

Don't just photograph your daughter's performance. The magic of a ballet performance is not in the photographs of instantaneous moments that you may get to view after it is all over, but rather in the motion and expression of the actual event as it unfolds in front of you. It is about her and the performance she creates, and much, much less about you making photographs of it.

If you can, you might consider making the photographs during a dress rehearsal rather than during the real performance. Not only does that allow you to experience the performance, but it also can help you avoid being one of "those parents" who are so involved with their electronic devices that they seem to not experience the actual event. It also means that your shutter clicking, standing up, moving around will not interfere with experience of others who are there to watch. (I've had a great deal of success photographing professional musicians during rehearsals, so I know it can work.)

Take care, and good luck to your daughter.

Dan

Edited on Apr 17, 2014 at 10:36 AM · View previous versions



Apr 17, 2014 at 07:39 AM
rrxjon
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · 5D III autofocus suggestions for ballet


On the 5D MIII I would definitely use AI Servo, center focus point and Case 4. I also like to use silent shutter mode and back focus button.

This



Apr 17, 2014 at 08:11 AM
ab7638
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · 5D III autofocus suggestions for ballet


Dan...you hit the nail right on the head!!!! Although this will be my first year photographinm the ballet with the 5D III I've photographed it in previous years when friends children were performing, I do take all my photographs at the dress rehearsal held the day before the performance and I do photograph the entire performance. Then when attending the actual performance I enjoy myself


Apr 17, 2014 at 10:15 AM
gdanmitchell
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · 5D III autofocus suggestions for ballet


ab7638 wrote:
Dan...you hit the nail right on the head!!!! Although this will be my first year photographinm the ballet with the 5D III I've photographed it in previous years when friends children were performing, I do take all my photographs at the dress rehearsal held the day before the performance and I do photograph the entire performance. Then when attending the actual performance I enjoy myself


Cool! :-)

Dan



Apr 17, 2014 at 10:37 AM





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