First off, hats off to this guy for letting Jared use the photos. Second, practice practice practice. I’m still practicing and learning. Getting out of your comfort zone is key to improving your skills. That camera is superb. It’s more than enough to do what you need to do. 42:00 also on noise reduction, I ALWAYS think about that photo Jared took with the Nikon D500 with the iso maxed out, which he printed out and blew up to some massively large size and the grain looked fine. I stopped worrying about grain much more from that point on. It helped me focus on my composition much more.
The LR/ACR AI noise reduction is now so good, you dont even have to worry about noise ever again for photos. Also, yeah, Jared showed how MP don't really matter. He recently printed out a large wall size poster from a 4 MP cropped Nikon DSLR photo that looked bloody amazing. I've had 8 MP files on billboards that look amazing. MP are basically marketing hype at this point. Almost every full frame cam now had amazing dynamic range for photography in raw. Not much more can be done to improve photos I'd say. Most of the big new features in cams now are on the video side.
@@77dris i think its now all about quality of life features. I would love to have precapture but i would not pay upwards of 6000€ for a A9iii when i could get an original A9 for a fraction of that and that thing is still amazing despite being ancient. I would reallzy like to blow some money on gear but the return of investment is low for me at this point in time. guess i just wait and buy once the next gen rolls out 😁
@@77dris It's pretty good. I generally add some grain back in trying to match the original in any overly smoothed/sharpened areas. I can get some weird moire effects from it too.
It can be tricky when you get into anything new. I remember when I took up skiing I did make good progress despite falling over a lot so one day I demoed a race skis and I knew instantly I would fall over less if I bought them despite not skiing at racing speeds. I figured out that if I bought them and still fell over the problem would have been me and not my gear. Looking back I did do the right thing by buying the race skis so with cameras while you are learning you can face the same dilemma I guess and for that reason I have always bought cameras that do more than I need. My first Canon mirrorless is an R7 and I chose that model due to price and photographic interest being action. I have struck a few limitations with its small buffer and slow reload time plus not holding autofocus on anything flying fast but before deciding to update it I will hire before buying to ensure whats wrong is not my settings rather than the camera itself.
One major criticism here: just because you have f/2.8 doesn't mean f/2.8 is the only value or best value for the shot in question. Close-up headshots are a great example, as are things like automotive or wildlife photos. It's important to explain, especially to a newer photographer, WHY you choose f/2.8. There's a good chance they don't understand the difference between f/2.8 and f/4 other than "it's brighter or darker."
He's trying to freeze fast action sports with fast shutter speeds and generally create separation between the subject and background/foreground. So 1/1000+, the fastest aperture possible. Adjust ISO as needed. The photos he critiqued and Jared's comments pretty clearly explained that from what I can saw.
@@BallisticTech I think his point isn't that jareds advice was wrong but that jared didn't quite make clear why he says that he should be at 2.8 at all times in theses situations.
the problem was he wasnt using 2.8 when he should have been, i mostly use the widest aperture available unless its landscapes or when i need everything to be in focus
I agree that f/2.8 is a good starting point, like step zero for improvement. You can lock the aperture at f/2.8 and set ISO to auto to help you focus on mastering the shutter speed. Aim to keep it just fast enough to avoid motion blur-1/500 should be sufficient for fast CrossFit action, and for lifting heavy weights, 1/250 might work better. Once you’ve nailed the shutter speed, you can move on to fine-tuning the other settings. Exposure is a triangle-focus on mastering one vertex at a time, starting with shutter speed in this case, while aperture and ISO are set to simplify the process.
Honestly, I looked at the title of the video and thumbnail and was like aaawwww.... Maybe worth a watch. But I'm glad i did. I think you should do more of these to help us people that don't have the opportunity to work with you directly.
Watching this video makes me appreciate and respect Jared even more. Giving feedback and advice on not only understanding how to use your camera, but to help improve your photography skills. I look forward to one day learning and getting feedback from Jared from my photos
This was exactly what I needed to see right now and something I think a lot of amateur photographers could learn from. Know your equipment, know your settings, know your subject, know your environment. Make it a habit to run through those skills and you'll end up with quality photos.
Absolutely right, Jared. And whenever there is an opportunity to move away, come closer or use the focal length of a zoom lens, it is better to use it than to crop the frame. But in cases where it is impossible to do this, the R5 (Mark II) can help due to the resolution. That's why I love my R5)) But buying a new camera will definitely not make the pictures better if you shoot shitty with the one you have. Look at the pictures of people who know how to shoot. Anywhere. Even on Flickr. There people make masterpieces even with old DSLRs. So it's definitely not about the camera. It's about the ability to see the frame and understanding the exposure triangle.Set the correct parameters. Use a tripod (for landscapes, for example). And get amazing shots even with your old equipment. Great video, Jared. Thanks. More of these. And maybe we'll get more quality content from the people around us.
My mentor always said it’s never the gear - if you don’t know the basics, you’ll never learn. Jared you gave him a master class - and he still asked about another lens and gear 😅
When I bought my first zoom lens I found out it was the quality of the lens that was the cause of me not getting sharp images at 300mm. This was in the film camera days before internet reviews. I did not know Canon made 2 grades of lens and if I had I would have got the L model rather that waste money on the budget grade version. So it's not always the users fault for not getting sharp images.
As a amateur wildlife photographer, who has progressed a lot over a short time, I can honestly say these are the 3 things that changed my photos from a normal point and shoot to very decent wildlife photos. 1, just understanding how the triangle of shutter speed, iso and aperture interact with each othet, 2. Manual mode with auto iso, setting f to lowest possible unless I want more things in focus, and then just changing shutter and keeping an eye on iso. For example if light is bad, I will adjust shutter constantly down to try and get away with lower shutter speeds and thus lower iso. 3. Back button focus
To add to this, high Iso is the easiest fix to photos in editing. It shutter was too slow, although you can get creative images, you cant fix it in post. If aperture is wrong, you cant change it in post(yet…😂). If iso is wrong, you will just have more noisy images which can actually be reduced so much in post. Especially if social media is your medium you use. Can get away with high iso so easily and people are scared to push up iso past 1000…
Jared love your show, I have 2 grand-daughters that play School Volleyball and Travel Volleyball. Volleyball start with: • To get those net shots set at the net line on the 1st seat, follow that up the bleachers to your liking • Overall shots, top or a balcony, if they have one. 70-200 needed • I use a poor-man sigma 17-50 f2.8 and a sigma 50-150 f2.8 which both produce quality images • Get there early, get your camera set up while their warming up. Make sure on your settings you will not have time to check after each photo • Follow the serve with 2 eyes and camera pointing to the center back of the opposing team that should be the Libero they will have a different color jersey. • Know the position the players are getting into, that tells you what their next move will be • I use a Canon R7 and it tracks pretty good • Use the centering button to reset your focal point • Learn…Learn…Learn, there are answers for you. • I have 2 grand-daughters and take photos of all the kids.13-18 per team. Warm up photos have a lot of good shots use them.
Listening to this while trying to photograph a squirrel with the R5M2 with the 70-200. Made sure I was at 2.8, moved iso to auto. I got the shot with 1/2000. Full body stretch when leaping, and all four paws in air as it ran the fence. Great advice to just use auto iso as I was going from dark to light, and back to dark rather quickly. Thanks Brad for sharing as I put it to good use while listening.
I was struck by the insistence of 3:2 aspect ratio, why??? I love square and 5:4 aspect ratios, and I am supportive of people cropping to any aspect ratio.
Agree on that. The whole reason we have 3:2 is just that that's what came to be when leica made the first small frame camera. Large and medium format cameras where pretty much never at 3:2 aspect ratio. I think the problem is just using random Aspect Ratios without intent and in that case it's better to limit yourself to the original aspect ratio as it is one less variable to manipulate.
3:2 is a film thing for older audiences. Anything else looks wrong. I understand that there are other ratios, but there's a reason for 3:2 . I reserve ratios for certain uses, art etc. Action looks good on 16:9 because of the TV and movie influences.
Hmmm... in the first image he focused on the face yet the bell that was closer to the lens was the object in focus so cropping was the reason (excuse) for the lack of detail in the face. Keep in mind the bell is still sharper and if shot at 2.8 the face would be further out of focus. Let's face it, the camera missed the focus point.
finally....someone who thought what I was thinking. The bell was in focus, the face wasn't. Shutter Speed was fast enough so the blur in the face is not due to wrong shutter speed. A f2.8 won't have fixed that. Should have at least recommend a lens calibration.... the rest of the photos, Jared was spot on correct, but the first image.... come'on man.
In Volleyball, you can also choose a side and read their body language to see who is going for the ball, and if they are going to dive, jump, etc. Also knowing the basic formula of bump, set, spike helps you get setup for a good hit.
Physically seeing in person how other photographers position themselves and getting your head around the perspective you want to accomplish is definitely a big step. Good review here to show the difference between snap shots and what can/should be accomplished with this already very professional level gear
I am critical on the fact using a 2.8 their are times when the focal point will be so small (f8) that using a small apperture will be better for focus and depth of field.
@@r2hildur Photojournalism, street photography, some sport photography, any dynamic situation where quick response and sharp images are needed. Also, product photography and/or close-up and macro. I do a lot of tabletop photography of smallish objects fairly close up. If I want to get everything sharp I either have to focus stack or use apertures from f/8 to f/16.
Wow Jared this was awesome!!! Thank you to the person that shared his interview. I learn so much just by listening. My big take-away … Crop using your camera and feet … Avoid cropping in post. Stop worrying about exposure -worry about composition. In my humble experience, I come to realize if you need to enjoy the processes you’ll become better and better at it. As always Jared you are wonderful to listen to!
Jareds "focus" on cropping is a bit much. He acts like it has a "mega-huger" impact on image quality. There is some degradation, but with proper post processing it's not much of an issue. Of course, it's better to get it right in camera and you should work on your skills to achieve that when possible. Another bit I didn't like was his suggestion that shooting at F5.6 was a mistake. Huh? I step down all the time to change the depth of field to get more of the subject in focus. It depends on what your trying to achieve. In the example photo I probably wouldnt have stopped down (because i think the woman was largely on the plane of focus) but in so many photos that's not the case. I did appreciate his suggestion to stop shooting straight on. Throw in compositions that have more depth by finding elements to take you through the photo. In some of the gym shots, why not shoot the barebell at an angle to create a greater sense of depth? Finally, his advice on not purchasing a new camera is spot on and absolutely necessary.
I think the point was in low light stopping down will cause more issues with high iso. You pay more for f2.8 and lower f stops so you might as well use them to full benefit. Our eyes really focus on what we are looking at and tends to blur more in the periphery. I like the sharpness falloff of f1.2-f2.8 better than f5.6 up.
I understand his point. Unfortunately, his advice is presented like it's a rule, as opposed to a good option. I certainly agree blurring the background does put more focus on the subject and is usually desirable.
@@thefourthquarter7429 Polin is a MUSTurbator. I've watched his videos for years and he has always tended to regard his individual choices and techniques as "rules." I remember when he used to rant about "never" cropping at all--as if the 3:2 aspect ratio was handed down on stone tablets. Good grief, what great photographers haven't cropped to eliminate unwanted or distracting elements or to get a desired composition?
The light may not be changing in that volleyball game in the gym... but some gyms have hot spots and weak spots, depending on the type of lights overhead. This depends on whether any lights are burned out or not functioning properly, older, etc.
I feel like Bradley (all beginning photographers really) could benefit with using some primes. Learn to compose by moving versus using the zoom. That instructs them to compose first, then get the exposure right, then get the moment. It also allows you to learn in real time what the different focal lengths strengths and weaknesses are. Slow things down a little instead of trying to get everything right all at once. Once you have more experience you just start to flow those three steps into one smooth motion. Great advise all around Jared!
Jared, I just bought your presets 1-3. This was my first preset pack, and boy oh boy am I glad this is the one I started with. “Skittles” is the best all around filter I’ve ever used.
Jared, I have been shooting indoor volleyball for over 20 years and have gone through both the learning curve and the advancements in the equipment. Started with the Nikon D700, currently using the Z9. I agree with almost all of the settings you suggested except for one, the SS. I consistently shoot at 1/500 or 1/800, f2.8 or 3.2, manual, auto ISO with a cap at 12800. The lighting in some gyms are consistent but many are not. Also when you shoot across the court from the back, the lighting can change. Granted, since I am shooting at 1/500, I have a large ISO range I can play with. Volleyball has lots of fast action but the action that you want to capture is mostly up and down, where the players don't move as much horizontally. In addition, keying on the setter is the best way to know where the ball will be set, follow the pass to the setter, then to the hitter. Getting defensive shots are much more difficult and almost requires you setup on them. I will be using the pre-capture settings on the Z9 to increase the keepers for defensive players, hopefully that helps. Great tips in your video.
It's great that the student agreed to let you use the footage - that takes courage, so thumbs up to both of you. I thought the mentorship was spot on; great job, Jared! However, given the student's level, I believe one extra resource could have been gifted to him for better improvement: movement. From the metadata, it's clear that many of his shots are at the wrong focal length for the objective. Two factors seem to be limiting the student's movement: being a beginner and relying on zoom lenses. As a beginner, he might not yet realize that he is the best zoom or angle-seeker. He stays in comfortable positions, possibly to avoid affecting the scene, relying too much on zoom and cropping in post-production, which is not only reducing the quality of his shots but also limiting his learning potential. If possible, encourage him not to worry about people noticing him; he's there to get the best shots. Moving around is key - get low, explore different angles. From my experience, students using prime lenses tend to develop skills faster than those using zooms, since they must move their bodies to compose their shots. I'd suggest having the student block the zoom lens to specific focal lengths (24mm, 35mm, 50mm, 70mm) during the next sessions, switching every 30 minutes. This would force him to better understand focal lengths and adjust his positioning accordingly. Only use the 70-200mm if movement is restricted by the situation until he has more experience.
r6ii is a beast camera, but it's a little hard to understand, and it's harder to get the perfect performance. you have to practice a lot, learn about every spec to take decisions (source: i bought a r6ii, my previous camera was a 90d and it's a lot of difference)
Dude, this blows my mind that he'd consider buying a new camera for an additional $2500 versus just learning his the R6Mii. Wow! I love you Jared. You're one of the reasons I got back into Photography so hard!
I completely agree that understanding lighting is much more important than a better camera. I use Tv mode on my DSLR to freeze action, when the camera sometimes choose a slower shutter just because I zoom out sometimes. On R6 ii I use the new Fv mode most of the time to fix whatever setting I want and let the camera adjust one or two. I agree that when it is indoor lighting, always use manual mode. I pick a setting that makes peoples faces expose correctly, and all the background stuff don’t matter. I also crop, because I am not good enough to compose everything perfectly on the field. However, I would never crop more than 1/2 of the photo out. Great video and I am sure it is very valuable to the photographer and many others.
I have been shooting for about 6 years now and 1.5 years with the R6m2 and it’s definitely an amazing camera to work with. Most of my work is in low lighting, by which I actually mean it and not some RUclipsr doing a test in some dim light street or candle which I would still say it’s like a controlled environment. I shoot at clubs, raves and festivals with constant light changes and sometimes no lights at all at 40000 iso at times and this camera can definitely deliver amazing results at such iso’s and I can vouch for it depending on what kinda lens you use, cause I do use f1.2 or 1.4 lens which are 24f1.4 and Rf 50 f1.2 at around 250 or 320 shutter and sometimes 40000 iso , not always but sometimes when there’s absolutely not enough light. I also do use Noise reduction cause definitely at 40000 iso the images does look a bit off but the noise reduction brings the life into it.
If anything.... this video should be marketing material for the R6 Mark 2. The ability for it to produce usable images at those ridiculous high isos is rather impressive
Thanks to Bradley for sharing his mentorship. Lots of really useful tips covered and I'm sure many viewers would have learned something useful- I certainly did. Keep up the great work Jared, Thank you 🙂
I do a lot of sports photography with my Z8 and the 70-200 lens. I use pinpoint focus , shutter priority and auto ISO. Shutter speed is usually 1/2000 sec. The players move quickly so aperture priority wouldn't work. I also crop nearly all of my photos. This avoids cutting off feet and heads. With players moving quickly you don't get the chance to compose the shot.
By far the most informational real world beginner photography video I have found, and I watch a lot of how too's tips. Three years ago I found you with my A6000 then onto A7iii and now A7RV recently. I have theme parks near me with some Zoo's. Im gonna sign up for a one on one sooner than later. I just learned some key elements from this mentorship. You can yell at me all you want, I worked for the Post Office so its normal... Thanks again
Gotta say that that I just don't agree with JP on a few things...Auto ISO is great and a game-changer for sports where the light is changing quickly due to the sun not being directly overhead, High ISO NR is money on these cameras when used correctly and reduces work in post, and you can crop to other formats than 2x3 - my phone screen isn't 2x3, how about a nice 5x7, 8x10, or panorama print?
Great video, I think I learned more from your critique than a straight this is how to do the shot for each situation. Consider doing more of these Jared!
Interesting. I shoot CrossFit competitions and fitness stuff as well. I can definitely identify with some of the problems here. Terrible lighting. At many of the gyms I shoot at it can actually change quite a lot in the course of a single workout session. Color temp, intensity and direction. There's always something in the way of getting shots. Other competitors/athletes, judges, other photo/video ppl, equipment. I'm sure it's similar in many sports but there's something extra chaotic feeling about Crossfit lol. Nailing settings and composition while balancing that can def be tough
You need to do more of this type of teaching. I just started photography, (I turn 72 in 2weeks) so I'm learning to use the Triangle, but I can't find a mentor to discuss my problems/questions. I've started with Landscape, so I have time to see and think about what I am doing. (Things are moving or changing a lot) I started with the Canon Rebel T7i, but through asking questions, I was told to go with Canon 5DsR (to try blowing up a Pano Shot) so I can crop more. I love my Canon 24-105mm lens, and I also have the Sigma 150-600 mm ( but am having trouble getting a Tac Sharp Photo. I love what you are saying in your video ... and I need to get out more and practice more. Keep up the Great Work.
Volleyball start with: • To get those net shots set at the net line on the 1st seat, follow that up the bleachers to your liking • Overall shots, top or a balcony, if they have one. 70-200 needed • I use a poor-man sigma 17-50 f2.8 and a sigma 50-150 f2.8 which both produce quality images • Get there early, get your camera set up while their warming up. Make sure on your settings you will not have time to check after each photo • Follow the serve with 2 eyes and camera pointing to the center back of the opposing team that should be the Libero they will have a different color jersey. • Know the position the players are getting into, that tells you what their next move will be • I use a Canon R7 and it tracks pretty good • Use the centering button to reset your focal point • Learn…Learn…Learn, there are answers for you. • I have 2 grand-daughters and take photos of all the kids.13-18 per team. Warm up photos have a lot of good shots use them.
Bottom line, you stapled his hand to f/2.8, and I would agree. For any type of indoor sport. ... that's really where it belongs. There is no situation where you want to mingle the athlete's body parts with the arms and legs of the crowd behind them. They will just disappear. Sometimes even 2.8 isn't really enough. He may be getting better high ISO performance with his R6ii than my R3. Going to send it in to check.
I understand your point of using a 2.8 lens at 2.8. More light, shallow depth of field, especially in the portrait you were critiquing, and cropping in format. There are times when you can't control the environment, or your position, or both. I look at a lot of pro photographer in their portraits and shallow depth of field helps focus the viewer on the subject. I have done a lot of grad. Pics and was afraid to use auto ISO. I had no lighting control, and not much control to photo from. I had low light, with shaddows, and motion walking across the stage, ect. I found out that you had to have a minimum shutter speed to stop the motion, so I would use shutter priority, without flash, not permitted in available light, with my lens wide open at 6.3. The grads were 120 feet away, and I used a Tamron 18 to 400 lens, hand held. Circumstances didn't allow for tripod. With shutter speed fast enough to minimize blur I would have to tweek things in pphotocopy. To keep grain in check I would set that at ISO 3200 OR 6400 max.
Oh man I feel this haha. I do Friday Night Lights for my gym as well and they have different color flourescent tube lights and the colors drive me freaking nuts.
just about to start photography and this is a huge help as i am looking to photopgraph our gym for fun and to learn. this helped a lot and gave me things to think about. just need my camera to arrive
Aperture priority is best place to start with auto iso as he instructed. I would be a little careful at full 2.8 in broad daylight with lower shutter speeds. It maybe a bit over exposed at 2k shutter in mid day sun it looked like you were having to deal with. Once you shoot enough outdoors you will learn to manually control iso and shutter speed but rely on aperture priority and eventually control that manually too.
4:07 I have had so many times when shooting horse eventing that tracking is following the horse... box is on the riders head and it's following them..... and it's back focused. The only, and I mean only, fix to this is to let off the trigger, and start metering again. Suddenly the AF will go "wait a minute, that's not in focus" and fix it. Sometimes the only way you can ensure that the focus is where you want it, is to use the small box, and put that box dead in the center of where you want it to shoot, turn off tracking and tap twice before pulling the trigger for the shot. AF on Canon Cameras is great, but even when tracking is "good", it's not necessarily dead on. This is also the case for Sony (before they get high and mighty). Just have to give the camera that moment of "are you sure?"
Sometimes it will be the lens of the focusing system inside it that is slow. Do some research on what lens you’re using (including personal testing) to see if it can comfortably shoot a full burst. I’m using an adapted Tamron 70-200 SP and I understand that it focuses slower than the camera. You need to fully understand all of your gear so that you can work around any issues you may face. No camera will perfectly do what you want it to do every single time. Give manufacturers another 100 years until their products can read our minds
Yeah I do wildlife and it happen quite a lot. I have a picture of Cedar Waxwings couple that my focus point is right on them, but the camera decided to focus on the other perch behind them. The picture turned artistically ok, it is just enough in focus to look like a water painting but it is frustrating
Well said, Jared: you need to know your camera settings and think before you shoot (Why, When, Where, What). HA HA, thanks Jared! I'm shooting indoor water polo, and the lighting sucks, so I always use auto ISO because I don’t want to miss the shot. I'm using a Canon Mark II with the Canon RF 70-200mm F/2.8L. I have to say, sometimes it's also about luck, because the unexpected photo is often the best one. Greetings from the Netherlands!
I prefer to shoot manual, if I am shooting moving subjects and light changes, I set the shutter speed first to a fixed value the highest possible at minimum 1/500s and do not look to it, just keep control on the aperture and iso.
Jared, I love that you shared this, and kudos to you Bradley, for allowing us all to “eavesdrop” on your conversation! 🙏 It was super helpful! Jared, my only question to you is, why did you repeatedly suggest that any crop has to stick to a 2:3 ratio? Thanks!
Tbh, as a Sonyshooter I'm impressed at the low grainyness of the 5000 - 10000 ISO pictures. Question: If he's doing singleshots in the gyms, where he's focusing not even on candid shots, but prepared shots, why not spend some 100-200$ on those small studio LED lights, maybe even with built in power solutions, and some cheap light formers? I guess he'd be able to make the lighting the way he wants it and thus not having to rely on crappy studio lighting?
Thank you, Jared. You’re advices very helpful in real life. I thought, if i had this opportunities, years ago… For me, learning from my own mistakes, looking the best pictures, and observing, how worked my older and wiser colleagues - that’s all I’ve got. Being critique, for myself and my pictures allow me grow.
I picked a Canon R5 and R10 last week, with L lenses to replace my reliable solid old gear 1Dx and 7Dii. Jared, I hope I made a good decision by not spending more on R5ii. I'm a hobbyist and don't make money off photography.
Jared, wonderful video, very informative. I admit these days I am a shutter priority person. My logic being : A) My genre is wildlife and mostly i have to be at the 500mm end of my RF 100-500 lens. The minimum aperture at this focal length is 7.1. So no real point in fiddling with the aperture. For wildlife the light is always a challenge and the largest aperture is often good enough. B) A prefixed shutter speed of 1/1000 is good enough for most subjects and the shutter priority ensures i can quickly up or down the speed depending upon what the subject is doing and the light. ISO is always on Auto for me. Your thoughts ?
I know I know...its always me. lol But this is a great video! Touched on almost every foundation of photography and gave clear, concise guidance on how to improve with no bullsh*t. Love it! And Bradley is a champ here for taking criticism so well - and he's actually not a bad photographer! He's gonna be really good once he nails some of these concepts!
I've noticed recently some incredible photos that were not at all sharp. It didn't matter! I found myself staring at the composition not the actual photo quality. Maybe it depends on the subject but I feel you can toss out a lot of flaws if you have a great story in the photo, or your subject is captured in the right way. Jared ALWAYS tells a story. Why? Because it's probably the most important thing in photography after proper exposure!
I'm researching on how to get started and this video helped me make a decision on what to buy. I'm going to buy what I can afford for now and focus on the fundamentals which I'll be buying Jared's Getting out of Auto course. I'm also hoping for workshop in the future since I'm in the east coast and would love to attend a Jared workshop after watching this video.
Tbh you can always use auto ISO in most case unless you are sure the lighting of the environment is 99% stable then you manual ISO, but with auto ISO you should take control of it with exposure compensation along with paying attention to your histogram (very important). He needs a lot more time on his camera/lens and work out fundamentals, compositions, positioning, etc... Than worrying about a type of photography.
I admit doing this and I find myself thinking a bit slow at the scene and find out that things would look better after adjusting the photo after the fact. That's the reason why I get 60mp a7rv -- to crop and have more option during the post. But I should still put more effort in getting proper shot in the first place.
We've all done it. You're questioning on how you should compose the scene in the moment so you just get everything in the shot. Later on when you're at your computer and have the moment in time in front of you, you can re-compose and figure out the shot you wanted. It won't be as good as if you had done it at the time, but getting it right in camera is what makes the difference between good photogs and great ones... sorta like F2 vs F1... it's not a huge gap, but it's a gap.
I shoot a lot of live events (sports, concerts), and you don't always have time to compose so flawlessly when action is happening. Having a photo cropped doesn't mean much, especially if it's a result of rotating the image because lines weren't straight. So...yeah, it's not really a big deal or anything unusual.
If he wanted only her, he could have zoomed in on 200mm. And he is surprised to hear that when you crop, you will lose the quality of the photos. I don't know how he got the r6 mk ii and rf 70-200 2.8 and rf 24-70 2.8 without knowing what anything does.
People crop as they fear zooming in too much and missing the shot. I am a bit like that with airshow photography and there was one cropped image I wanted printed and my friend who printed it said the reason why it turned out grainy was due to cropping too much which is perhaps not that noticeable on a computer screen.
"It's not the plane. It's the pilot." I got some absolutely killer shots of a building implosion this past weekend with a 10-year-old Canon T5 and 18-55 from 2011 on a REMOTE SETUP. In a lot of cases, the type of gear being used doesn't make much of a difference. It's the skills which go into it and knowing how to frame and dial settings in.
@@natureredux1957 There are some, but I’m agreeing with the point Jared is making in the video. Lots of people think newer, more sophisticated equipment will automatically improve their work, but if they don’t know how to utilize the full capability, it’s worthless.
@@Astro95Media But that is not remotely true. Many things a new camera can and will improve with the user not remotely even know how or why. Most pros don't even use the full capability of a given camera because guess what, they rarely need it. Most pros limit what they shoot.
I agree that technique is the most important thing . And he should take advantage of his gear . However his image "problem" is not because it was f5.6. It was because he was heavily cropping a 24mp image. If he's going to be cropping often then he would certainly benefit from an R5ii
Agreed, had a confused look the entire time. Especially during daylight when you can afford a smaller aperture and depending on the the look you want and the amount of subjects you want focused, I'd be at f8 or f11 even. His shutter speed of 1/2000 was fast enough to lock focus. During low light, yeah I'd definitely be going f2.8 first thing. With a f2.8 lens, you'd stop down to around f4 to get the best sharpness all around, I wouldn't go f.28 first thing during daylight... depending on the type of shot. It's a crop amount and composure issue since he was at 153mm out of 200mm
He doesnt know his gear. Aperture and shutter speed need to be controlled. I learned much faster once I went into full manual, set 2 of the 3 settings to something fixed and tweak one setting and see what it actually does. Eliminate variables and it becomes easier. Also use the histogram to get the right exposure. If the lighting is the same in the gym its a great place to practice. He definitly needs to work on composition besides this as well.
@@Xirpzy I'm only talking that outdoor shot at f5.6 when I wrote this comment. Of course he should learn the exposure triangle. We don't know for that picture if he could've gotten closer to the subject so he wouldn't have to crop so much.
If I shoot landscapes, slow moving animals or people, I am in full manual. However, most of my photography is flying birds and all the reading online of pros told me to use shutter priority. My lens is a 300f2.8L IS III USM. I typically lock ISO at 100,shutter to 1/2000 or faster and 99% of the time if not greater, aperture is at 2.8. When shooting hummingbirds I use auto ISO and 1/4000 shutter. I used to shoot full manual for all my birding but when you have a bird take flight, flying through the woods or even near you, I have found it impossible to get the shots exposed correctly while the bird is moving through various lit scenes etc. and still get it in focus. Even hummingbirds where I am off a tripod at a fixed distance of 30 feet away, as the hummingbird moves around the pot, the light changes constantly and having to move settings so rapidly in manual means missed shots. Jared, are you saying shutter priority in these situations is incorrect?
This has been so useful! lately I am shooting in shutter priorty for dog agility photos in day light. My next shoot will be in manual, low down, F2.8/2000 with fixed ISO.
Great video, but as an extreme amateur, I would modify Fro's comment about aperture priority. Yes, it would work for me, but I would start at f4 or f5.6 so that I don't create a bunch of junk. Then I would work down the aperture until I get to f2.8. Granted, I am not at this level yet. I've (tried) to photograph volleyball. The gym lights flicker at 60 hertz. The newer LED lights are better, at least from a color consistency. Old fluorescent or halide lights are terrible.
I shoot wildlife most of the time, im using Manual settings with Auto ISO with a button for manual dial so i can change the brightnes. Starting to shoot sports and the voleyball part of the video gave me so much :D
First off, hats off to this guy for letting Jared use the photos. Second, practice practice practice. I’m still practicing and learning. Getting out of your comfort zone is key to improving your skills. That camera is superb. It’s more than enough to do what you need to do.
42:00 also on noise reduction, I ALWAYS think about that photo Jared took with the Nikon D500 with the iso maxed out, which he printed out and blew up to some massively large size and the grain looked fine. I stopped worrying about grain much more from that point on. It helped me focus on my composition much more.
The LR/ACR AI noise reduction is now so good, you dont even have to worry about noise ever again for photos. Also, yeah, Jared showed how MP don't really matter. He recently printed out a large wall size poster from a 4 MP cropped Nikon DSLR photo that looked bloody amazing. I've had 8 MP files on billboards that look amazing. MP are basically marketing hype at this point. Almost every full frame cam now had amazing dynamic range for photography in raw. Not much more can be done to improve photos I'd say. Most of the big new features in cams now are on the video side.
@@77dris i think its now all about quality of life features. I would love to have precapture but i would not pay upwards of 6000€ for a A9iii when i could get an original A9 for a fraction of that and that thing is still amazing despite being ancient. I would reallzy like to blow some money on gear but the return of investment is low for me at this point in time. guess i just wait and buy once the next gen rolls out 😁
@@77dris It's pretty good. I generally add some grain back in trying to match the original in any overly smoothed/sharpened areas. I can get some weird moire effects from it too.
"It's not the camera. It's you." This happens a lot. thanks,
It can be tricky when you get into anything new. I remember when I took up skiing I did make good progress despite falling over a lot so one day I demoed a race skis and I knew instantly I would fall over less if I bought them despite not skiing at racing speeds. I figured out that if I bought them and still fell over the problem would have been me and not my gear. Looking back I did do the right thing by buying the race skis so with cameras while you are learning you can face the same dilemma I guess and for that reason I have always bought cameras that do more than I need. My first Canon mirrorless is an R7 and I chose that model due to price and photographic interest being action. I have struck a few limitations with its small buffer and slow reload time plus not holding autofocus on anything flying fast but before deciding to update it I will hire before buying to ensure whats wrong is not my settings rather than the camera itself.
@@petercreagh8797
@@petercreagh8797
One major criticism here: just because you have f/2.8 doesn't mean f/2.8 is the only value or best value for the shot in question. Close-up headshots are a great example, as are things like automotive or wildlife photos. It's important to explain, especially to a newer photographer, WHY you choose f/2.8. There's a good chance they don't understand the difference between f/2.8 and f/4 other than "it's brighter or darker."
He's trying to freeze fast action sports with fast shutter speeds and generally create separation between the subject and background/foreground. So 1/1000+, the fastest aperture possible. Adjust ISO as needed. The photos he critiqued and Jared's comments pretty clearly explained that from what I can saw.
@@BallisticTech I think his point isn't that jareds advice was wrong but that jared didn't quite make clear why he says that he should be at 2.8 at all times in theses situations.
the problem was he wasnt using 2.8 when he should have been, i mostly use the widest aperture available unless its landscapes or when i need everything to be in focus
I agree that f/2.8 is a good starting point, like step zero for improvement. You can lock the aperture at f/2.8 and set ISO to auto to help you focus on mastering the shutter speed. Aim to keep it just fast enough to avoid motion blur-1/500 should be sufficient for fast CrossFit action, and for lifting heavy weights, 1/250 might work better. Once you’ve nailed the shutter speed, you can move on to fine-tuning the other settings.
Exposure is a triangle-focus on mastering one vertex at a time, starting with shutter speed in this case, while aperture and ISO are set to simplify the process.
Honestly, I looked at the title of the video and thumbnail and was like aaawwww.... Maybe worth a watch. But I'm glad i did. I think you should do more of these to help us people that don't have the opportunity to work with you directly.
Watching this video makes me appreciate and respect Jared even more. Giving feedback and advice on not only understanding how to use your camera, but to help improve your photography skills. I look forward to one day learning and getting feedback from Jared from my photos
Dude already bought a new lens and the R5 Mark II.
This was exactly what I needed to see right now and something I think a lot of amateur photographers could learn from. Know your equipment, know your settings, know your subject, know your environment. Make it a habit to run through those skills and you'll end up with quality photos.
Absolutely right, Jared. And whenever there is an opportunity to move away, come closer or use the focal length of a zoom lens, it is better to use it than to crop the frame. But in cases where it is impossible to do this, the R5 (Mark II) can help due to the resolution. That's why I love my R5)) But buying a new camera will definitely not make the pictures better if you shoot shitty with the one you have. Look at the pictures of people who know how to shoot. Anywhere. Even on Flickr. There people make masterpieces even with old DSLRs. So it's definitely not about the camera. It's about the ability to see the frame and understanding the exposure triangle.Set the correct parameters. Use a tripod (for landscapes, for example). And get amazing shots even with your old equipment. Great video, Jared. Thanks. More of these. And maybe we'll get more quality content from the people around us.
My mentor always said it’s never the gear - if you don’t know the basics, you’ll never learn. Jared you gave him a master class - and he still asked about another lens and gear 😅
When I bought my first zoom lens I found out it was the quality of the lens that was the cause of me not getting sharp images at 300mm. This was in the film camera days before internet reviews. I did not know Canon made 2 grades of lens and if I had I would have got the L model rather that waste money on the budget grade version. So it's not always the users fault for not getting sharp images.
Your mentor? 😭
Yep, I have not even challenged the capability of my 70D (yes, I am an amateur).
As a amateur wildlife photographer, who has progressed a lot over a short time, I can honestly say these are the 3 things that changed my photos from a normal point and shoot to very decent wildlife photos. 1, just understanding how the triangle of shutter speed, iso and aperture interact with each othet, 2. Manual mode with auto iso, setting f to lowest possible unless I want more things in focus, and then just changing shutter and keeping an eye on iso. For example if light is bad, I will adjust shutter constantly down to try and get away with lower shutter speeds and thus lower iso. 3. Back button focus
To add to this, high Iso is the easiest fix to photos in editing. It shutter was too slow, although you can get creative images, you cant fix it in post. If aperture is wrong, you cant change it in post(yet…😂). If iso is wrong, you will just have more noisy images which can actually be reduced so much in post. Especially if social media is your medium you use. Can get away with high iso so easily and people are scared to push up iso past 1000…
Jared love your show, I have 2 grand-daughters that play School Volleyball and Travel Volleyball.
Volleyball start with:
• To get those net shots set at the net line on the 1st seat, follow that up the bleachers to your liking
• Overall shots, top or a balcony, if they have one. 70-200 needed
• I use a poor-man sigma 17-50 f2.8 and a sigma 50-150 f2.8 which both produce quality images
• Get there early, get your camera set up while their warming up. Make sure on your settings you will not have time to check after each photo
• Follow the serve with 2 eyes and camera pointing to the center back of the opposing team that should be the Libero they will have a different color jersey.
• Know the position the players are getting into, that tells you what their next move will be
• I use a Canon R7 and it tracks pretty good
• Use the centering button to reset your focal point
• Learn…Learn…Learn, there are answers for you.
• I have 2 grand-daughters and take photos of all the kids.13-18 per team. Warm up photos have a lot of good shots use them.
Listening to this while trying to photograph a squirrel with the R5M2 with the 70-200. Made sure I was at 2.8, moved iso to auto. I got the shot with 1/2000. Full body stretch when leaping, and all four paws in air as it ran the fence. Great advice to just use auto iso as I was going from dark to light, and back to dark rather quickly. Thanks Brad for sharing as I put it to good use while listening.
Thank you Bradley.
I was struck by the insistence of 3:2 aspect ratio, why??? I love square and 5:4 aspect ratios, and I am supportive of people cropping to any aspect ratio.
Personally I use 3x2.216 ratio for a LOT of my photos and ain't nobody going to make me stop!
Agree on that. The whole reason we have 3:2 is just that that's what came to be when leica made the first small frame camera. Large and medium format cameras where pretty much never at 3:2 aspect ratio. I think the problem is just using random Aspect Ratios without intent and in that case it's better to limit yourself to the original aspect ratio as it is one less variable to manipulate.
3:2 is a film thing for older audiences. Anything else looks wrong. I understand that there are other ratios, but there's a reason for 3:2 . I reserve ratios for certain uses, art etc. Action looks good on 16:9 because of the TV and movie influences.
Hmmm... in the first image he focused on the face yet the bell that was closer to the lens was the object in focus so cropping was the reason (excuse) for the lack of detail in the face. Keep in mind the bell is still sharper and if shot at 2.8 the face would be further out of focus. Let's face it, the camera missed the focus point.
Agreed with you. I think Jared really missed the point of the topic
finally....someone who thought what I was thinking. The bell was in focus, the face wasn't. Shutter Speed was fast enough so the blur in the face is not due to wrong shutter speed. A f2.8 won't have fixed that. Should have at least recommend a lens calibration.... the rest of the photos, Jared was spot on correct, but the first image.... come'on man.
In Volleyball, you can also choose a side and read their body language to see who is going for the ball, and if they are going to dive, jump, etc. Also knowing the basic formula of bump, set, spike helps you get setup for a good hit.
Physically seeing in person how other photographers position themselves and getting your head around the perspective you want to accomplish is definitely a big step. Good review here to show the difference between snap shots and what can/should be accomplished with this already very professional level gear
A lot of great advice here! I heard it at the boot camp, but keep needing to be reminded to slow down and stick to the basics.
We are never done learning until we die. Great video Jared. Got a ton of useful info out of this one.
I am critical on the fact using a 2.8 their are times when the focal point will be so small (f8) that using a small apperture will be better for focus and depth of field.
@@r2hildur Macro photography. When you're inches from a subject at like 100mm+, f/8 suddenly is not that much depth.
@@r2hildur Photojournalism, street photography, some sport photography, any dynamic situation where quick response and sharp images are needed. Also, product photography and/or close-up and macro. I do a lot of tabletop photography of smallish objects fairly close up. If I want to get everything sharp I either have to focus stack or use apertures from f/8 to f/16.
This guy has achieved more in 1 year than I did in 8. You're doing great fella 👍
Wow Jared this was awesome!!! Thank you to the person that shared his interview. I learn so much just by listening. My big take-away … Crop using your camera and feet … Avoid cropping in post. Stop worrying about exposure -worry about composition. In my humble experience, I come to realize if you need to enjoy the processes you’ll become better and better at it. As always Jared you are wonderful to listen to!
Jareds "focus" on cropping is a bit much. He acts like it has a "mega-huger" impact on image quality. There is some degradation, but with proper post processing it's not much of an issue.
Of course, it's better to get it right in camera and you should work on your skills to achieve that when possible.
Another bit I didn't like was his suggestion that shooting at F5.6 was a mistake. Huh? I step down all the time to change the depth of field to get more of the subject in focus. It depends on what your trying to achieve. In the example photo I probably wouldnt have stopped down (because i think the woman was largely on the plane of focus) but in so many photos that's not the case.
I did appreciate his suggestion to stop shooting straight on. Throw in compositions that have more depth by finding elements to take you through the photo. In some of the gym shots, why not shoot the barebell at an angle to create a greater sense of depth?
Finally, his advice on not purchasing a new camera is spot on and absolutely necessary.
I think the point was in low light stopping down will cause more issues with high iso. You pay more for f2.8 and lower f stops so you might as well use them to full benefit. Our eyes really focus on what we are looking at and tends to blur more in the periphery. I like the sharpness falloff of f1.2-f2.8 better than f5.6 up.
I understand his point. Unfortunately, his advice is presented like it's a rule, as opposed to a good option.
I certainly agree blurring the background does put more focus on the subject and is usually desirable.
@@thefourthquarter7429 Polin is a MUSTurbator. I've watched his videos for years and he has always tended to regard his individual choices and techniques as "rules." I remember when he used to rant about "never" cropping at all--as if the 3:2 aspect ratio was handed down on stone tablets. Good grief, what great photographers haven't cropped to eliminate unwanted or distracting elements or to get a desired composition?
The light may not be changing in that volleyball game in the gym... but some gyms have hot spots and weak spots, depending on the type of lights overhead. This depends on whether any lights are burned out or not functioning properly, older, etc.
Good point!
I feel like Bradley (all beginning photographers really) could benefit with using some primes. Learn to compose by moving versus using the zoom. That instructs them to compose first, then get the exposure right, then get the moment. It also allows you to learn in real time what the different focal lengths strengths and weaknesses are.
Slow things down a little instead of trying to get everything right all at once. Once you have more experience you just start to flow those three steps into one smooth motion.
Great advise all around Jared!
Thank you and thank you to Bradley for allowing to share!
Jared, I just bought your presets 1-3. This was my first preset pack, and boy oh boy am I glad this is the one I started with. “Skittles” is the best all around filter I’ve ever used.
Same here, I thinking about getting 4
@@keyonlewis7574 I think there was only 1 in there I really liked. I’ll wait for a while then get it I’m sure.
Jared, I have been shooting indoor volleyball for over 20 years and have gone through both the learning curve and the advancements in the equipment. Started with the Nikon D700, currently using the Z9. I agree with almost all of the settings you suggested except for one, the SS. I consistently shoot at 1/500 or 1/800, f2.8 or 3.2, manual, auto ISO with a cap at 12800. The lighting in some gyms are consistent but many are not. Also when you shoot across the court from the back, the lighting can change. Granted, since I am shooting at 1/500, I have a large ISO range I can play with. Volleyball has lots of fast action but the action that you want to capture is mostly up and down, where the players don't move as much horizontally. In addition, keying on the setter is the best way to know where the ball will be set, follow the pass to the setter, then to the hitter. Getting defensive shots are much more difficult and almost requires you setup on them. I will be using the pre-capture settings on the Z9 to increase the keepers for defensive players, hopefully that helps. Great tips in your video.
Thank you Bradley for sharing your critique! Keep shooting and growing.
It's great that the student agreed to let you use the footage - that takes courage, so thumbs up to both of you. I thought the mentorship was spot on; great job, Jared! However, given the student's level, I believe one extra resource could have been gifted to him for better improvement: movement.
From the metadata, it's clear that many of his shots are at the wrong focal length for the objective. Two factors seem to be limiting the student's movement: being a beginner and relying on zoom lenses. As a beginner, he might not yet realize that he is the best zoom or angle-seeker. He stays in comfortable positions, possibly to avoid affecting the scene, relying too much on zoom and cropping in post-production, which is not only reducing the quality of his shots but also limiting his learning potential.
If possible, encourage him not to worry about people noticing him; he's there to get the best shots. Moving around is key - get low, explore different angles. From my experience, students using prime lenses tend to develop skills faster than those using zooms, since they must move their bodies to compose their shots. I'd suggest having the student block the zoom lens to specific focal lengths (24mm, 35mm, 50mm, 70mm) during the next sessions, switching every 30 minutes. This would force him to better understand focal lengths and adjust his positioning accordingly. Only use the 70-200mm if movement is restricted by the situation until he has more experience.
PROOF that The FroKnows!!! thank you Bradley. this is good stuff Jared.
r6ii is a beast camera, but it's a little hard to understand, and it's harder to get the perfect performance. you have to practice a lot, learn about every spec to take decisions (source: i bought a r6ii, my previous camera was a 90d and it's a lot of difference)
Dude, this blows my mind that he'd consider buying a new camera for an additional $2500 versus just learning his the R6Mii. Wow! I love you Jared. You're one of the reasons I got back into Photography so hard!
I completely agree that understanding lighting is much more important than a better camera.
I use Tv mode on my DSLR to freeze action, when the camera sometimes choose a slower shutter just because I zoom out sometimes. On R6 ii I use the new Fv mode most of the time to fix whatever setting I want and let the camera adjust one or two.
I agree that when it is indoor lighting, always use manual mode. I pick a setting that makes peoples faces expose correctly, and all the background stuff don’t matter.
I also crop, because I am not good enough to compose everything perfectly on the field. However, I would never crop more than 1/2 of the photo out.
Great video and I am sure it is very valuable to the photographer and many others.
I have been shooting for about 6 years now and 1.5 years with the R6m2 and it’s definitely an amazing camera to work with. Most of my work is in low lighting, by which I actually mean it and not some RUclipsr doing a test in some dim light street or candle which I would still say it’s like a controlled environment. I shoot at clubs, raves and festivals with constant light changes and sometimes no lights at all at 40000 iso at times and this camera can definitely deliver amazing results at such iso’s and I can vouch for it depending on what kinda lens you use, cause I do use f1.2 or 1.4 lens which are 24f1.4 and Rf 50 f1.2 at around 250 or 320 shutter and sometimes 40000 iso , not always but sometimes when there’s absolutely not enough light. I also do use Noise reduction cause definitely at 40000 iso the images does look a bit off but the noise reduction brings the life into it.
Thank you for sharing. And thank you Bradley for allowing it to be shared. This is very helpful
Jared just for the record I don’t think you were yelling at him. You were firm but polite!!
If anything.... this video should be marketing material for the R6 Mark 2. The ability for it to produce usable images at those ridiculous high isos is rather impressive
Nice to see you corrected the video and reuploaded. The first time around you said that the R7 didn't have IBIS, but it does
"You need to fix the fundamentals down before the gear" - Jared Polin
Nice to hear this line, Jared!
Thanks to Bradley for sharing his mentorship. Lots of really useful tips covered and I'm sure many viewers would have learned something useful- I certainly did. Keep up the great work Jared, Thank you 🙂
I do a lot of sports photography with my Z8 and the 70-200 lens. I use pinpoint focus , shutter priority and auto ISO. Shutter speed is usually 1/2000 sec. The players move quickly so
aperture priority wouldn't work. I also crop nearly all of my photos. This avoids cutting off feet
and heads. With players moving quickly you don't get the chance to compose the shot.
Thank you, Jared. I found this video very helpful, since most of my photos are very much like those being critiqued.
By far the most informational real world beginner photography video I have found, and I watch a lot of how too's tips. Three years ago I found you with my A6000 then onto A7iii and now A7RV recently. I have theme parks near me with some Zoo's. Im gonna sign up for a one on one sooner than later. I just learned some key elements from this mentorship. You can yell at me all you want, I worked for the Post Office so its normal... Thanks again
Gotta say that that I just don't agree with JP on a few things...Auto ISO is great and a game-changer for sports where the light is changing quickly due to the sun not being directly overhead, High ISO NR is money on these cameras when used correctly and reduces work in post, and you can crop to other formats than 2x3 - my phone screen isn't 2x3, how about a nice 5x7, 8x10, or panorama print?
He literally said no auto ISO when the light ISN'T changing
Great video, I think I learned more from your critique than a straight this is how to do the shot for each situation. Consider doing more of these Jared!
Great stuff! Glad he approved of you sharing it!
Interesting. I shoot CrossFit competitions and fitness stuff as well. I can definitely identify with some of the problems here. Terrible lighting. At many of the gyms I shoot at it can actually change quite a lot in the course of a single workout session. Color temp, intensity and direction.
There's always something in the way of getting shots. Other competitors/athletes, judges, other photo/video ppl, equipment. I'm sure it's similar in many sports but there's something extra chaotic feeling about Crossfit lol.
Nailing settings and composition while balancing that can def be tough
You need to do more of this type of teaching. I just started photography, (I turn 72 in 2weeks) so I'm learning to use the Triangle, but I can't find a mentor to discuss my problems/questions. I've started with Landscape, so I have time to see and think about what I am doing. (Things are moving or changing a lot) I started with the Canon Rebel T7i, but through asking questions, I was told to go with Canon 5DsR (to try blowing up a Pano Shot) so I can crop more. I love my Canon 24-105mm lens, and I also have the Sigma 150-600 mm ( but am having trouble getting a Tac Sharp Photo.
I love what you are saying in your video ... and I need to get out more and practice more.
Keep up the Great Work.
Cross-Fit. It's super important now. If it went away, business would be awful for chiropractors.
I think this guy learned just a lot in these 45 minutes!
Volleyball start with:
• To get those net shots set at the net line on the 1st seat, follow that up the bleachers to your liking
• Overall shots, top or a balcony, if they have one. 70-200 needed
• I use a poor-man sigma 17-50 f2.8 and a sigma 50-150 f2.8 which both produce quality images
• Get there early, get your camera set up while their warming up. Make sure on your settings you will not have time to check after each photo
• Follow the serve with 2 eyes and camera pointing to the center back of the opposing team that should be the Libero they will have a different color jersey.
• Know the position the players are getting into, that tells you what their next move will be
• I use a Canon R7 and it tracks pretty good
• Use the centering button to reset your focal point
• Learn…Learn…Learn, there are answers for you.
• I have 2 grand-daughters and take photos of all the kids.13-18 per team. Warm up photos have a lot of good shots use them.
Bottom line, you stapled his hand to f/2.8, and I would agree. For any type of indoor sport. ... that's really where it belongs. There is no situation where you want to mingle the athlete's body parts with the arms and legs of the crowd behind them. They will just disappear. Sometimes even 2.8 isn't really
enough.
He may be getting better high ISO performance with his R6ii than my R3. Going to send it in to check.
I understand your point of using a 2.8 lens at 2.8. More light, shallow depth of field, especially in the portrait you were critiquing, and cropping in format.
There are times when you can't control the environment, or your position, or both. I look at a lot of pro photographer in their portraits and shallow depth of field helps focus the viewer on the subject.
I have done a lot of grad. Pics and was afraid to use auto ISO. I had no lighting control, and not much control to photo from.
I had low light, with shaddows, and motion walking across the stage, ect. I found out that you had to have a minimum shutter speed to stop the motion, so I would use shutter priority, without flash, not permitted in available light, with my lens wide open at 6.3. The grads were 120 feet away, and I used a Tamron 18 to 400 lens, hand held. Circumstances didn't allow for tripod.
With shutter speed fast enough to minimize blur I would have to tweek things in pphotocopy. To keep grain in check I would set that at ISO 3200 OR 6400 max.
Nice one Fro. I like the comments voicing your true feelings may seem harsh but honesty is the best policy when giving instruction.
Oh man I feel this haha. I do Friday Night Lights for my gym as well and they have different color flourescent tube lights and the colors drive me freaking nuts.
Great discussion. I had Jared yell at me this past spring and it was awesome! Seriously, it was fantastic feedback. Still appreciative.
I was at the 2nd Boot Camp that was absolutely awesome. This video is now a saved tool "fro" me to reference back to.
The exposure triangle is always key and understanding light in the environment
just about to start photography and this is a huge help as i am looking to photopgraph our gym for fun and to learn. this helped a lot and gave me things to think about. just need my camera to arrive
Aperture priority is best place to start with auto iso as he instructed. I would be a little careful at full 2.8 in broad daylight with lower shutter speeds. It maybe a bit over exposed at 2k shutter in mid day sun it looked like you were having to deal with. Once you shoot enough outdoors you will learn to manually control iso and shutter speed but rely on aperture priority and eventually control that manually too.
Thank You Jared and Bradley. This happen to me also last time.
4:07 I have had so many times when shooting horse eventing that tracking is following the horse... box is on the riders head and it's following them..... and it's back focused. The only, and I mean only, fix to this is to let off the trigger, and start metering again. Suddenly the AF will go "wait a minute, that's not in focus" and fix it. Sometimes the only way you can ensure that the focus is where you want it, is to use the small box, and put that box dead in the center of where you want it to shoot, turn off tracking and tap twice before pulling the trigger for the shot.
AF on Canon Cameras is great, but even when tracking is "good", it's not necessarily dead on. This is also the case for Sony (before they get high and mighty). Just have to give the camera that moment of "are you sure?"
i don't have that same issue personally.
Sometimes it will be the lens of the focusing system inside it that is slow. Do some research on what lens you’re using (including personal testing) to see if it can comfortably shoot a full burst. I’m using an adapted Tamron 70-200 SP and I understand that it focuses slower than the camera.
You need to fully understand all of your gear so that you can work around any issues you may face. No camera will perfectly do what you want it to do every single time. Give manufacturers another 100 years until their products can read our minds
Yeah I do wildlife and it happen quite a lot. I have a picture of Cedar Waxwings couple that my focus point is right on them, but the camera decided to focus on the other perch behind them.
The picture turned artistically ok, it is just enough in focus to look like a water painting but it is frustrating
Well said, Jared: you need to know your camera settings and think before you shoot (Why, When, Where, What). HA HA, thanks Jared! I'm shooting indoor water polo, and the lighting sucks, so I always use auto ISO because I don’t want to miss the shot. I'm using a Canon Mark II with the Canon RF 70-200mm F/2.8L.
I have to say, sometimes it's also about luck, because the unexpected photo is often the best one.
Greetings from the Netherlands!
I prefer to shoot manual, if I am shooting moving subjects and light changes, I set the shutter speed first to a fixed value the highest possible at minimum 1/500s and do not look to it, just keep control on the aperture and iso.
Jared, I love that you shared this, and kudos to you Bradley, for allowing us all to “eavesdrop” on your conversation! 🙏 It was super helpful!
Jared, my only question to you is, why did you repeatedly suggest that any crop has to stick to a 2:3 ratio? Thanks!
Aperture priority with the lowest f-stop - auto iso - and choose a minimal shutter at auto iso
Tbh, as a Sonyshooter I'm impressed at the low grainyness of the 5000 - 10000 ISO pictures.
Question: If he's doing singleshots in the gyms, where he's focusing not even on candid shots, but prepared shots, why not spend some 100-200$ on those small studio LED lights, maybe even with built in power solutions, and some cheap light formers? I guess he'd be able to make the lighting the way he wants it and thus not having to rely on crappy studio lighting?
manual, auto-iso and exposure comp are my usual methods - especially for an R6 where you have 3 control wheels
Thank you, Jared. You’re advices very helpful in real life. I thought, if i had this opportunities, years ago… For me, learning from my own mistakes, looking the best pictures, and observing, how worked my older and wiser colleagues - that’s all I’ve got. Being critique,
for myself and my pictures allow me grow.
I picked a Canon R5 and R10 last week, with L lenses to replace my reliable solid old gear 1Dx and 7Dii. Jared, I hope I made a good decision by not spending more on R5ii. I'm a hobbyist and don't make money off photography.
I’m a total n00b with an a7iii. This was a great video. Thanks to both for sharing.
Master teacher. Great video, great discussion.
great advice. you're a great photographer AND teacher.
This is a great video, love this style. People will learn so much from this specific critique video.
Great video man, learned a ton today! Thank you
Jared, wonderful video, very informative.
I admit these days I am a shutter priority person.
My logic being :
A) My genre is wildlife and mostly i have to be at the 500mm end of my RF 100-500 lens. The minimum aperture at this focal length is 7.1. So no real point in fiddling with the aperture. For wildlife the light is always a challenge and the largest aperture is often good enough.
B) A prefixed shutter speed of 1/1000 is good enough for most subjects and the shutter priority ensures i can quickly up or down the speed depending upon what the subject is doing and the light.
ISO is always on Auto for me.
Your thoughts ?
I know I know...its always me. lol But this is a great video! Touched on almost every foundation of photography and gave clear, concise guidance on how to improve with no bullsh*t. Love it! And Bradley is a champ here for taking criticism so well - and he's actually not a bad photographer! He's gonna be really good once he nails some of these concepts!
Thanks Jared. This is excellent. And am taking notes as I watch or to rewind.
I've noticed recently some incredible photos that were not at all sharp. It didn't matter! I found myself staring at the composition not the actual photo quality. Maybe it depends on the subject but I feel you can toss out a lot of flaws if you have a great story in the photo, or your subject is captured in the right way. Jared ALWAYS tells a story. Why? Because it's probably the most important thing in photography after proper exposure!
I've thrown out some really "good" photos because no place - or the wrong place - was sharp.
This was an AMAZING video! I learned SO much!! Been frustrated with my new camera, but I know its ME and not my camera!
I'm researching on how to get started and this video helped me make a decision on what to buy. I'm going to buy what I can afford for now and focus on the fundamentals which I'll be buying Jared's Getting out of Auto course. I'm also hoping for workshop in the future since I'm in the east coast and would love to attend a Jared workshop after watching this video.
Tbh you can always use auto ISO in most case unless you are sure the lighting of the environment is 99% stable then you manual ISO, but with auto ISO you should take control of it with exposure compensation along with paying attention to your histogram (very important). He needs a lot more time on his camera/lens and work out fundamentals, compositions, positioning, etc... Than worrying about a type of photography.
I never use auto iso
Excellent review of work. Thanks for letting us listen in.
This is nice. Always great to have the option to learn and be teached!
Cropping in after using 70-200 at like 160mm is funny
I admit doing this and I find myself thinking a bit slow at the scene and find out that things would look better after adjusting the photo after the fact. That's the reason why I get 60mp a7rv -- to crop and have more option during the post. But I should still put more effort in getting proper shot in the first place.
We've all done it. You're questioning on how you should compose the scene in the moment so you just get everything in the shot. Later on when you're at your computer and have the moment in time in front of you, you can re-compose and figure out the shot you wanted. It won't be as good as if you had done it at the time, but getting it right in camera is what makes the difference between good photogs and great ones... sorta like F2 vs F1... it's not a huge gap, but it's a gap.
I shoot a lot of live events (sports, concerts), and you don't always have time to compose so flawlessly when action is happening. Having a photo cropped doesn't mean much, especially if it's a result of rotating the image because lines weren't straight.
So...yeah, it's not really a big deal or anything unusual.
If he wanted only her, he could have zoomed in on 200mm. And he is surprised to hear that when you crop, you will lose the quality of the photos. I don't know how he got the r6 mk ii and rf 70-200 2.8 and rf 24-70 2.8 without knowing what anything does.
Is it? So you can't think of any reason one might compose one way and then recompose later?
Wow. This is very helpful. Thanks for posting!
People crop as they fear zooming in too much and missing the shot. I am a bit like that with airshow photography and there was one cropped image I wanted printed and my friend who printed it said the reason why it turned out grainy was due to cropping too much which is perhaps not that noticeable on a computer screen.
Great educational video Jared! I hope you do more of these in the future; this is the kind of content you excel at.
Shooting at f/2.8 must be balanced with whether the DOF IS SUFFICIENT FOR YOUR SUBJECT. At 30 ft. and 200 mm focal length the depth is only 12”.
I shot nuthatch at 1/250th f2.8 and ISO5000, I would go for f4 but then iso would be to high. It's always balance.
I still in love with 5D 2, I bought all exterior rubbers to renew the body.
"It's not the plane. It's the pilot."
I got some absolutely killer shots of a building implosion this past weekend with a 10-year-old Canon T5 and 18-55 from 2011 on a REMOTE SETUP. In a lot of cases, the type of gear being used doesn't make much of a difference. It's the skills which go into it and knowing how to frame and dial settings in.
Well for Boeing it’s the plane not the pilot 😂
Well in a ton of cases, it's the GEAR, and not the so called propped up skill of a given person.
@@ambition2959 That’s fair these days 😂
@@natureredux1957 There are some, but I’m agreeing with the point Jared is making in the video. Lots of people think newer, more sophisticated equipment will automatically improve their work, but if they don’t know how to utilize the full capability, it’s worthless.
@@Astro95Media But that is not remotely true. Many things a new camera can and will improve with the user not remotely even know how or why. Most pros don't even use the full capability of a given camera because guess what, they rarely need it. Most pros limit what they shoot.
I thought that too, that it couldn't be the camera. Cool conversation and good guys, thank you
That was one of my favorite videos and so helpful. I know that guys pain and will take some of what I learned here and go practice.
Volleyball is the toughest for me as well. Glad to hear someone else say it
I agree that technique is the most important thing . And he should take advantage of his gear . However his image "problem" is not because it was f5.6. It was because he was heavily cropping a 24mp image. If he's going to be cropping often then he would certainly benefit from an R5ii
it would not help.
Agreed, had a confused look the entire time.
Especially during daylight when you can afford a smaller aperture and depending on the the look you want and the amount of subjects you want focused, I'd be at f8 or f11 even. His shutter speed of 1/2000 was fast enough to lock focus. During low light, yeah I'd definitely be going f2.8 first thing. With a f2.8 lens, you'd stop down to around f4 to get the best sharpness all around, I wouldn't go f.28 first thing during daylight... depending on the type of shot.
It's a crop amount and composure issue since he was at 153mm out of 200mm
He doesnt know his gear. Aperture and shutter speed need to be controlled. I learned much faster once I went into full manual, set 2 of the 3 settings to something fixed and tweak one setting and see what it actually does. Eliminate variables and it becomes easier. Also use the histogram to get the right exposure. If the lighting is the same in the gym its a great place to practice. He definitly needs to work on composition besides this as well.
@@Xirpzy I'm only talking that outdoor shot at f5.6 when I wrote this comment. Of course he should learn the exposure triangle. We don't know for that picture if he could've gotten closer to the subject so he wouldn't have to crop so much.
If I shoot landscapes, slow moving animals or people, I am in full manual. However, most of my photography is flying birds and all the reading online of pros told me to use shutter priority. My lens is a 300f2.8L IS III USM. I typically lock ISO at 100,shutter to 1/2000 or faster and 99% of the time if not greater, aperture is at 2.8. When shooting hummingbirds I use auto ISO and 1/4000 shutter. I used to shoot full manual for all my birding but when you have a bird take flight, flying through the woods or even near you, I have found it impossible to get the shots exposed correctly while the bird is moving through various lit scenes etc. and still get it in focus. Even hummingbirds where I am off a tripod at a fixed distance of 30 feet away, as the hummingbird moves around the pot, the light changes constantly and having to move settings so rapidly in manual means missed shots. Jared, are you saying shutter priority in these situations is incorrect?
This has been so useful! lately I am shooting in shutter priorty for dog agility photos in day light. My next shoot will be in manual, low down, F2.8/2000 with fixed ISO.
Great video, but as an extreme amateur, I would modify Fro's comment about aperture priority. Yes, it would work for me, but I would start at f4 or f5.6 so that I don't create a bunch of junk. Then I would work down the aperture until I get to f2.8. Granted, I am not at this level yet.
I've (tried) to photograph volleyball. The gym lights flicker at 60 hertz. The newer LED lights are better, at least from a color consistency. Old fluorescent or halide lights are terrible.
I shoot wildlife most of the time, im using Manual settings with Auto ISO with a button for manual dial so i can change the brightnes. Starting to shoot sports and the voleyball part of the video gave me so much :D