Settings for photographing my kids in a marching band

shutterbuggin

Hi Moose!

I purchased your cheat cards and so far I have enjoyed just reading them on my computer. I tried to download them to my tablet so I would have them where ever I go but they will not open. Any ideas why?

My kids are both in the high school marching band and this is competition season. I want to know how to video them from the stands, using a tripod. Are there special settings or should I just point and shoot?

Also, when I purchased my D3100 I got the kit that came with the extra lens. While sitting in the stand taking pictures (which some have turned out great) should I be using the 18-55mm lens or the 55-200mm lens and what are the best settings for shooting the distance?

Thanks!!

Moose

Howdy @shutterbuggin - Awesome, glad to hear you're enjoying them! As for your downloading issue, I emailed you directly so we can troubleshoot.

In regards to video, I'm not going to lie...recording video with the D3100 is not an easy task, even for a techie dude like me. In all honesty, the video mode on the D3100 is great for studio type or interview setups, but not great for fast action. This is largely due to the continuous focus not being able to keep up with fast moving subjects. My advice is to use a dedicated camcorder for this sort of thing.

In regards to capturing shots of your kids from a distance, I'm assuming you're capturing the majority of your shots at a Friday night football game? Just trying to find out what type of light you're shooting under.

All the best!

shutterbuggin

Actually not at the football games so much because of the lack of light. They go on competitions that are held during the daytime and almost always have plenty of sunshine. They are moving on the field.

As for the video I completely understand. I shot some video of my kids inside the house just goofing off and it did very well. I have yet to do anything more than about 30 seconds from a distance. I just thought there was a setting for video like some of the point and shoots do.

Moose

@shutterbuggin - Alrighty, I would start with the following...

1. Attach your 55-200mm lens
2. Enable Shutter Priority (S on the mode dial)
3. Set the shutter speed to 1/500
4. Enable Auto ISO and set the max sensitivity to 800
5. Set the focus mode to AF-C and the af-area mode to Auto-area AF
6. Set the release mode to Continuous
7. Set the metering to matrix.

With these settings in place, half-press the shutter button to continuously focus on your kids. When the moment is right, fully press the shutter button and hold it down to rattle off a bunch of shots in quick succession. This will help improve your odds at capturing a winner.

If the marching band is moving quickly, you may need to bump the shutter speed up to 1/1000 in order to freeze the action, but for the most part I would leave it set to 1/500.

All the best!