How To Photograph AIR SHOWS and FIGHTER JETS | ACTION PHOTOGRAPHY
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- Äas pĆidĂĄn 12. 07. 2024
- How do I use my skills as a sports and action photographer, and apply them to other events? Today I going to share some tips and tricks you can use to photograph fighter jets, and all the fast action at air shows like the Chicago Air and Water Show.
0:00 Introduction
1:47 Gear
4:47 Camera Settings
7:50 Location
10:48 Practice
ABOUT ME:
I currently work as a director of photography and content at USA Today Sports. As part of our national and worldwide distribution, you've likely seen my work in many publications including but not limited to USA Today, The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, ESPN, and Sports Illustrated.
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Hello Jerry, thanks for speaking to guys like us that dont have bottomless pockets to have the latest and greatest equipment. Your tips are realistic and invaluable, and itâs reassuring to me to know that even pros like you have difficulty keeping the fast action in your viewfinder. ThanksđđŒđđŒđ
Great info! I played around with my AF settings today for a local 4x4 race and so far am pretty pleased with the results.
It's obvious you're a professional. These tips are gold. Thank you!
I've tried Air show photo's for the first time last year with my Nikon D600 and a 28-300 mm. Which went better than I expected. Still I've managed to get my hands on a Sigma 150-600 for this years events and although I've got my experience in fast moving objects, a jet fighter is something different. Especially with a super tele... so now I'm off to practising.
One last thing: the D600 has a very low noise level, which is useful to crank up the ISO if needed. Especially because this kind of photography mostly requires some real cropping. Also, the resolution of the Sigma is quite higher than the Nikon 28-300, which helps cropping to satisfying results.
Excellent video. Thank you so much for sharing your expertise. â€
Thank that was great with some good tips
Awesome advise! Iâm curious to know what your aperture and ISO have been on some of these shots? Iâm working with an EOS R and Iâm still trying to figure out my settings overall
Thanks, Jerry. This is a great and informative video.
THANKS FOR THE TIPS!
Cheers for sharing. Being using same tips for plane (single af point) with my 6D since it does not come with expanded AF. Spend my money on 400mm f5.6, 200mm f2.8 combo
Fun part is tracking and panning the plane in pitch darkness while pointing af point onto plane section that have lights to keep af locker on else it will lose focus as it struggles in darkness.
Day time i used 7d (not mark ii) since it gave me extra reach and faster af and fps while my 6d used for wider motion blur panning shot and night spotting. Not the best stuff but certainly it does gave me good shot as long i am mindful of its hardware limitations.
100 percent on fact that the skill is transferable to other field like motorsport photography which i did before current situation put a hard stop for such eventsđđ»
Jerry I want to thank you for this video it enabled me to have one heck of a shoot at the Dayton Air show last weekend. I had gotten a hotel room tickets for the air show and was ready to go and make my annual mistake, but your settings saved me and I got so many keepers out of the air show I really don't know what to do with all of them. Your video was concise to the point and easy to understand and I was greatly benefited I think all of my animal and sports photography is going to improve as a result of it thank you so very much.
Very glad to hear that! I bet you cannot wait to get out to your next air show! And you're right, a lot of tips on this channel can and will cross genres. Good luck!
This was perfect, thanks for sharing. This is something Iâve been wanting to try.
Itâs tons of fun! Shooting sports is fun but this is next level for me!!!
Thanks for this video Jerry. I just ordered the Sigma 150-600 for my Sony A7iv and will be trying my first air show next month at Edwards AF base in CA. Your tip to go to the local airport for practice is great!
how it go? did you like the lens?
Great tips for Airshows. I'm planning a trip to the inaugural Gold Coast show in Australia in August.
Air shows are exciting. I live just blocks from a Naval Air Station and I've had the Blue Angeles flying through basically a backyard on several occasions. There are days when the base has lots of training going on and I'll go outside and shoot. Like you said the wide shots allow you to think creatively.
They are a thrill indeed! A friend of mine in Norfolk is in the same situation as you. With a Naval Station near by he gets a lot of F18 Hornet and Growler traffic.
So cool, Jerry! I always look forward to your videos. Hope you're doing well!
Thanks John, you as well!
Very Useful Thanks
Excellent video on tips.Iâll be practicing but i live near nellis AFB âŠ..i went out to the staR WARS platform in Death Valley and donât know if they practice there after the accident,there was nothing going on tear so I guess its a hit of miss. Just started astrophotography so thatâs been interesting..anyway jerry so nice to get tips from you thanks craig
I'm a new subscriber and finding you channel one of the best,
With reference to practice and location I'm lucky enough to have RAF Conningsby near me
Excellent channel, and valuable info , đ
I have been doing aviation photography for the past year or two and I use cannon sx710 and it works just fine and have gotten some pretty good shots
Good educative video. Wish you had given some thoughts to Nikon also. I guess the Z9 with the 5.0 firmware and airplane auto detect is the best camera out there for airshow. ïżŒđ©
I have been shooting aviation for about 7 or so years. While this covered the fast movers, I'd love to see your take on shooting warbirds or propeller driven aircraft.
Thanks for the tips, hoping to put them to good use for Seafair 2022 tomorrow!
I'm glad! We are looking forward to the Air & Water Show here in Chicago next week!
Great information
nice info will try out at my airports
Good stuff.
I have an air show coming up in 2 weeks. I'm shooting with a Nikon z6 II. I'm not sure which focus tracking I'll use yet. It's totally different from other DSLRs I've used. I'll be using my 70-200. I may even try using crop mode to see if I can get some extra reach.
Great tips ...
I'm new to photography and also love aircraft.
It was recommended to start with the Canon Rebel T7i ...
Thinking about purchasing the Tamron 150-600mm (or is that too much lens?) for the up coming Airshow.
Depends on the air show. But I would say in general youâre going to need very long reach. At least 400 mm or you will typically have to do big crops unless the passes are right over you. So the zoom up to 600 is what Iâd pick.
Jerry I would like to know is the Tamron 150 to 600 G2 lens a good lens for doing air shows .
And I love your tips on doing aircraft photography that's fantastic and thank you for doing this .
Hi Jerry, how do you feel about using a Manfrotto monopod with ball head for holding heavy lens? And what shutter speed would you use for vintage warbirds?
Great video and want to know what monopod you are using as I go Airshow a lot too.
Hey man thanks for the info! I do have one question though. Iâm a CZcamsr so I generally lean more towards taking videos of aircraft. Iâm used to my IPhone as that is what I usually take videos with. So would these tips apply to videoing as well?
One thing I try to do when in spectator area is to go to one end or the other (accounting for Sun position etc) in order to capture the image as the bank in/out, do photo passes, and when they come over to go across the center line. Also when possible try to attend ones at locations with higher humidity for possible vapor on the wings etc, and sum not in the background for later show shots. (Blue Angels/Thunderbird for example)
Agreed, love it when it rains in the morning and the sun comes out later for the show..... vaporrrrrr!
Iâm using a Canon R6 , with canon 100-500 lens, what is a good shutter speed for the Thunderbirds jets?
Mainly they will be in the airâŠ.
Or what is a good settings. Thanks
Getting ready for an airshow myself with the blue angles. 20 years it's been for me so i won't get a second chance. I noticed taking pictures on a practice day is just about impossible.
So i opted for shooting video instead with somewhat better results but still out of frame. I also noticed that shooting with a phone camera as expected delivers mixed results.
Video stay off your zoom beyond 10x as you not going to get better results from it. Camera phones just aren't really designed for these kind of events.
Pictures can maybe get better results using your pro mode but i don't have enough experience using that setting. I am using a S22 Ultra as my test phone.
Wish Iâd watched this before going to an air show a couple of weeks ago. It would have reduced my dial in time to the point where I might have gotten some photos of the mustangs rather than a blurry mess!
Wish I had seen this before the Atlantic City air show this year.
You are a Maverick, watch Aero show 2023 13th jan, hope I get this shots đ
Good video
Glad you enjoyed it!
How about shutter speed for helos and prop planes? I was told while in the Navy to reduce speed to induce blur in the blades to suggest movement.
Very good point, you do want to shoot at a reduced shutter speed to induce blur in the blades. It is a little weird to see a helicopter shot or prop plane in the sky but the blades not turning.
Jerry Lai! I've been shooting Airshows as much as I can, I'm not lucky as others are that live by a Mi;itary Base to See different Aircraft. But I do go to Airshows that the Military Bases have now and they, a matter of fact I'II be going to One this Weekend 5/14/22 at Travis AFB and on 5/21/22 I'II be going to the Gathering of Warbirds which is a Great Show. I'm using a Canon 90D and a Tamron 18-400mm Zoom, and I got Me a New Lens a Tamron 100-400mm, I Think i'm going to use the Tamron 100-400mm. Now that I found Your Website I'II be looking More...Thanks for the Tips..
Have fun and have a great shoot this at Travis AFB!
very interesting, what is the Nice speed spot to freeze a military airplane 1/2000 ?
The problem I have with prop craft is on sunny days 1/250 is the lowest you can go and even then you are over exposing. Do you just have to buy a heavy filter to get full pies on these days?
Yep!
Understanding those settings are kinda hard because i am olympos user
Have you ever used a circular polarizer?
I have a 300mm but still when I zoom into my images they are quite grainy and unfocused but my settings are correct itâs annoying sometimes because the angle is perfect but when I zoom in the quality is not clear enough
Air shows can be tough because even a 300mm often struggles to fill an adequate portion of the frame. How far away from the action were you? Did you have to do some extreme cropping or do we think some settings or other factor is at play?
@@JerryTLai I was roughly 3-400 metres away at full frame and the photo looks fine untill I zoom in and realise itâs not very detailed and you canât really see any of the writing on the aircraft
Is it possible to shoot a bullet or a arrow in flight or movement
It is, but you would need an incredibly high shutter speed to freeze either. An arrow would be easier as it's not as fast as a bullet.
Location location location,move away from the photo pit,agree agree agree.
exc....
You lost my attention at shutter speed. Anyone who photographs aviation knows you have to adjust shutter speed depending on whether you are shooting propeller driven, jet, or rotor winged aircraft.
Great tips for Airshows. I'm planning a trip to the inaugural Gold Coast show in Australia in August.
Wish Iâd watched this before going to an air show a couple of weeks ago. It would have reduced my dial in time to the point where I might have gotten some photos of the mustangs rather than a blurry mess!