Talk about ultimate overkill ........ !

Natalie_B

Natalie_B

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Just seen this video and was quite shocked at the amount of shots the photographer for "Horse" Magazine reels off at each jump ! Especially as only one of two of these will be usable - Surely a regular photographer for the magazine would KNOW the shots to get ? I was taught to take one or two shots and get them right !

You tube video


:)
 
Hmmm :thinking:

Having all those fps at your finger tip and not using them seems like a shame to me, sure, you can set up single clicks and get great shots, but for time pressed shoots when you have to get a great shot, a set up S&P session works for me :D
 
link noworky
 
I can't see the link as I'm in work but it makes sense to do a quick burst of several shots as the horse jumps because it gives you a much greater chance of nailing the shot you want. If you went for a single shot then you'd have to time it perfectly to get it right. If you take a 10 frame burst then 1 will be right and you can delete the other 9.
 
:agree: link not working
 
I think a lot of people think pro's take just a few shots and each one be a winner, but in reality they fire off thousands and come away with just a few, and not just in action/events .
 
Arguably just firing off a burst and hoping at least one shot will be good, could be considered bad photographic technique, but at the end of the day the person buying your images isn't going to give a flying fig how you got them! :)
 
If you're a pro, you do what's needed to get the job done. The likely hood of getting the shot is far more likely with burst than with accurate timing.
 
The other thing is that they can also use the photos to see frame by frame where the rider is makeing mistakes over the jumps. But as this is a magazine photoshoot that isn't the point.
 
To be honest having watched that video a couple of times I don't think the photographer is a professional equestrian shooter. I could be wrong but so many elements of that video appear to reinforce what I believe:
  1. He is a long way from the jumps with what appears to be a 'consumer' type lens
  2. He appears to be side on between the first and second jump when most photographers would be at the third
  3. I don't know any equestrian photographers who would rattle off that amount of shots over three jumps - they might take two or three per jump but not all the strides in between
  4. Later on in the video he is sitting on the fence to the right of the arena taking shots from behind. These type of shots are not popular with magazine editors.
  5. Look at how he is holding/supporting his camera, does he look like a full time pro? :)



The case rests for the prosecution, m'lud. :D
 
Little John said:
The other thing is that they can also use the photos to see frame by frame where the rider is makeing mistakes over the jumps.
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:plus1:

I agree, looks like they using the photos to analyse the riders technique more than anything else to me...
 
The 2 above comments are why I thought it may be a training thing to see if they can spot errors in the girls technique
 
The mega amount of shots taken is not just the prerogative of the digital shooter, it just makes it more cost effective (free apart from having enough memory cards).

In film days, photographers such as Patrick Lichfield would shoot thousands of shots to ensure they got the dozen or so required for a calender, these were not even bracketed as they relied on clip processing of rolls to ensure any exposure variations could be 'processed out' of the equation.

The large difference between pros and amatuers/semi pros in film days were the amount of film shot and processed. A pro would think nothing of taking hundreds of images to get the one he wanted, the non-pro would not normally have the luxury of that benefit.
 
James Pardon said:
I think a lot of people think pro's take just a few shots and each one be a winner, but in reality they fire off thousands and come away with just a few, and not just in action/events .
Click to expand...

Do they ? I certainly dont as an equine photographer and nor do the ones i have worked with !

I also dont stand to the side like that. Only therefore effectively capturing on or two magazine worthy shots out of the 30 he reeled off each time
hhmm :thinking:
 
treeman said:
Arguably just firing off a burst and hoping at least one shot will be good, could be considered bad photographic technique, but at the end of the day the person buying your images isn't going to give a flying fig how you got them! :)
Click to expand...

I think all this talk of bad technique is nonsense. Human reaction time is the letdown, so we have to invent a way to overcome it. Tada! Burst mode.
 
Little John said:
The 2 above comments are why I thought it may be a training thing to see if they can spot errors in the girls technique
Click to expand...

as the gf just said, why would they need that when theyre being instructed by a top rider?

personally i take 2 shots tops per jump for show jumping. anything else is a waste of time/memory card space. IMHO of course.
 
They are not going to need the togs pics for reference if they are videoing it are they?
Plus I don't think IPC have their own togs.
 
James Pardon said:
I think a lot of people think pro's take just a few shots and each one be a winner, but in reality they fire off thousands and come away with just a few, and not just in action/events .
Click to expand...

Nope... I don't and no Pro that I know does either - maybe 3-4 frames from each set-up at the most...

Shoot, re-compose/adjust angle/subject/lens etc. shoot again.

I might take a couple of hundred (or rarely: thousand) on an entire job, but that's not the same...
 
King_Boru said:
Because one uses a 'consumer' type lens he can't be a pro?
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I knew it would only be a matter of time before someone picked up on that. As I said in my post this was only one of many elements that led me to my conclusion.

And for what it is worth, I haven't yet met a pro equestrian photographer who uses a 'consumer' type lens as fast glass is required for indoor arena and low light situations - the weapon of choice is nearly always a 70-200mm f/2.8 type lens.
 
Not everyone has lightning fast reflexes, guys. As one of the lesser mortals, I generally point my 450D at the target and let rip at 3.5 frames a second. You wouldn't believe how fast a toddler or cute little furry animal, in particular, can move when they put their minds to it. If I faffed around trying to do it with the proper technique I'd miss most of the shots I get.
 
alexhcowley said:
Not everyone has lightning fast reflexes, guys. As one of the lesser mortals, I generally point my 450D at the target and let rip at 3.5 frames a second. You wouldn't believe how fast a toddler or cute little furry animal, in particular, can move when they put their minds to it. If I faffed around trying to do it with the proper technique I'd miss most of the shots I get.
Click to expand...


That's a different setup, shooting dogs/children running around a park like Indians is totally different!

The tog here would know that the horsey was going to jump over that jump and experience would tell him when said horsey was going to take off and how long the whole manover would last at each of the three jumps in the triple setup.

I'm not being derogative here but I could give any ten year old that camera and tell them to stand there, keep your finger on the trigger from the start of jump one till the end of jump three and they'd have achieved the same result.

No skill involved.
 
My only guess for this is are we certain he is with the magazine?

Assuming he is ... having read way too many of these magazines they might be shooting for what we term as "master classes" .... I'm not sure how these would normally work but having seen some photos published and this is a huge guess here, they don't always show your "typical" equestrian shots they use certain ones to display riding movements, postion and technique ... maybe assuming the tog doesnt know movements/horses that well or they don't know which part they want to explain with pictures he's just taking it of the whole movement???

Like I said a big guess on my part but kinda my only reasoning behind it ... Even I manage to photograph horses jumping within 2-4 frames and I've only used my DSLR twice lol
 
Hacker said:
I knew it would only be a matter of time before someone picked up on that. As I said in my post this was only one of many elements that led me to my conclusion.

And for what it is worth, I haven't yet met a pro equestrian photographer who uses a 'consumer' type lens as fast glass is required for indoor arena and low light situations - the weapon of choice is nearly always a 70-200mm f/2.8 type lens.
Click to expand...

Indeed, but he is outside, and pro photographers own more than one lens in most cases ;)

Not to say I think he is a pro.. but just pointing out a flaw in that argument!
 
Hacker said:
....the weapon of choice is nearly always a 70-200mm f/2.8 type lens.
Click to expand...

Probably, but not always - depends on the the funding the shooter receives. Of course, I'm talking in a general sense and not just about equine photographers, of which I've only done a smidging.

Going back to a point made earlier though, there is a thought that 'pros' (i.e. people who shoot something full-time and make some money from it) have A) the best gear and B) get things spot-on each and every time they press the shutter. Many probably do but there will be an equal amount who either use some form of lower-end gear and/or shoot a lot of pics to make sure they cover themselves. I know I certainly shoot a lot, and I'm taking shots of guys sat on their backsides fishing :) Pro shooters don't always use the most up-to-date gear - the thread about the guy in the lakes who uses film and a non-L lens is a clear example.

If you have the FPS then use it - digital space costs so little these days and in the end, you can always reformat a card and start over....
 
Single shot mode is more reliable, and just as likely to get you the shot, burst mode is not the be all and end all.

Let us say you are set at 1/250 sec, with a 10fps ability, that means in that 1 second period you can capture 10/250 of a second worth of action, you actually miss 240/250 of a seconds worth of action.

That means you capture 4% of the action, but miss 96%

On a 5fps body that would equate to 2% hit, 98% miss.

Keep firing in burst mode and the buffer will fill up and freeze the camera, just as the money shot happens.

Firing in burst mode runs the risk of introducing vibration through longer lenses because of mirror slap.

I look at it as a bit like playing darts with a shotgun, you are going to hit something but cannot be sure what ;)

Burst mode has it's place, but it is not a replacement for skill
 
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