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When I first took up photography, I was initially interested in motor sport. In particular - rallying - and this was probably where I first started to hone my skills. This genre can be the most challenging for a number of reasons: fast moving objects changing direction; moving from low lighting conditions through the forest into bright light in the blink of an eye; not to mention horrible weather trying to ruin your equipment at every turn.
Now you might ask yourself, that’s all well and good, but what has that got to do with anything? Well, as I said earlier, this is where I really learned to hone my skills. I forced myself into shooting only in manual mode. This meant I had to decide which aperture to use along with which shutter speed, depending on the desired effect, to get the perfect picture in perfect exposure.
For example, if I was tying to freeze the subject, then I would need a fast shutter speed of let’s say 1/500th of a second. This would then restrict the amount of light available to me and would require a wide aperture of let’s say f 2.8.
The problem with such a shallow depth of field is trying to, from a distance, keep the subject sharp. It’s like spinning many plates all at the one time. You are constantly looking and checking your exposure meter, whilst looking at your focal point and calculating if you require to increase the ISO.
On top of that, you might want to change your settings to create a different effect - there’s no point in having all of your pictures look the same at the same vantage point. So you may want a panning shot of the next car coming round the same bend.
This then throws your previous setting out the window, as you would probably need a maximum shutter speed of approximately 1/160th, whilst panning with the subject. At least you can compensate the exposure by reducing your aperture, whilst being mindful you still want to blur and bokeh the background. Again you then need to lower the ISO so as not to over expose.
These values are obviously dependent on what light is available at any given time. I shoot hand held as well, just to test myself even further. You can use a monopod or tripod; and try slower shutter speeds for even more blurred effects.
This training stood me in good stead when I moved into wedding photography. One minute you can have glorious sunshine and then in an instant, a cloud comes over and you need to quickly adapt. You often, if not always, have to shoot inside where light is not only mixed but a premium. You need to be sharp to changing conditions and sharp to fast moving events during the day. This training is what helps me to capture all those fleeting moments you miss on your special day. I feel it has been invaluable to me and has made me the photographer I am today.
