Findally cracked child-on-swing?

[pearce_jj]

Ironically this was servo mode on the worlds slowest focusing lens, the old 70-210mm push-pull F4, at 210mm. Straight from camera except a dash of contrast adjustment.

As ever, comments and criticism greatly appreciated.

 

[foodpoison]

Ignoring the fact that it's ever so slightly soft, it's an awesomely timed capture that will hold it's memories for years and years to come.

 

[pearce_jj]

Thanks. There's a little left in it with a high-pass sharpen, in truth it is a little OOF though now I'm looking at it

 

[mikeyw]

Well done - a hard one to achieve...i was trying last week but the multi point focus on my D90 kept nailing the swing chains but not my childs face. Single point would have helped me but no time to recompose.

Good one !

 

[AliB]

If you are going to give the good old swing shot a go I'll pass on some advice I got from a fellow pro who specialised in children's photography.

To get the swing shot, don't rely on tracking your subject but carefully place yourself so you get a good clear view of your desired position on the arc of the swing. Focus manually on that point and wait for the swing to hit the desired spot. I tried it in the garden yesterday and it works a treat.

Cracking little lad

 

[david1701]

I shall have to remember that AliB as I tried to shoot my niece on a swing and it was just a dismal failure

 

[foodpoison]

If you are going to give the good old swing shot a go I'll pass on some advice I got from a fellow pro who specialised in children's photography.

To get the swing shot, don't rely on tracking your subject but carefully place yourself so you get a good clear view of your desired position on the arc of the swing. Focus manually on that point and wait for the swing to hit the desired spot. I tried it in the garden yesterday and it works a treat.

Cracking little lad

Works exactly the same in extreme sports photography. You wouldn't have thought children photography could be ever compared to extreme sports photography

 

[pearce_jj]

Thanks all!

I have tried the manual focus approach but without much success. I think trying to shoot these f2.8 or f4 was part of the problem (and my eye sight not being good enough to use manual focus at such apertures).

In this case I used servo mode from the centre spot (hence framing), 210mm and f8 to lengthen the DoF. I love the bokeh on this lens and the push-pull - if only it had a decent motor in it!

Thanks