Need tech Advice & Tips for Airshow photography

I have been lucky to get full access to Show center of an Air Show (best position in regards to sun and the show itself), and want to get the most out of this unique opportunity photo wise, so I'm looking for tips and advice here.

My gear is:
air shots:
Canon 5DM3
Canon 70-200mm II f/2.8
Canon 100-400mm f/4.5
Polarization filter
Monopod/tripod

ground shots:
Canon 24-70mm f/2.8
Canon 50mm f/1.2

I'm aware of the risk of underexposing planes on a bright sky which is my main concern, but not sure what would be "best practice" or procedure to avoid this. I'm aware of the need for fast shutter speeds (fx. min. 1/400 on a 400mm lens) of around 1/800-1/1000 for jets close by, and slower shutter speeds for propeller planes etc. I'm a happy amateur but pretty comfortable with my gear and settings, as well as post-production in Photoshop.

But my main concerns are:
1) What is "best practice" to avoid underexposed planes on a bright sky? If you compensate exposure, I'm afraid to forget to check this if the light changes during the day? What is your experience? Is there a "rule of thumb"? Pol-filter or not?
2) Av or Tv mode? The Image Quality on the 5DM3 with higher ISO's is amazing, so light shouldn't be a problem. But what is preferable?
3) AI-servo or not? Seems obvious, but then if I choose fx. a center focus point I'm afraid I won't have enough sky in front of the planes for best composition? If I use a focus point on either side, I would have to change this all the time as the planes are all over the place? What is your advice on this?
4) On the 5DM3 there's 6 AF-modes for different action situations. Any advice if one is much better than another?

Anything else?

Do you know of any pro Air Show photographers with a web site with inputs on this. I found articles, but usually the just sum up the pro/cons and don't end up with more specific answers.
I appreciate all your inputs and advice and hope to be able to post links to some great pics here later.

Thx.

1) Shoot in manual to lock in a specific exposure on flying planes. Make sure that the shutter speed is fast enough to freeze the planes, then set the Aperture/ISO to balance out the equation. You may need to adjust these settings at different parts of the day, but otherwise, it should work well. Shoot in RAW so that if you need to adjust exposure by a little bit in post, you'll still have the head/floor room to do so without significantly impacting image quality.

2) For ground subjects, I'd shoot in Av mode. Figure out how much DOF you want in the grounds shots, and adjust the camera accordingly. Av mode works better for the ground shots because of the greater variance in highlight/shadow situations. As its a much more dynamic scene, letting the camera adjust for the exposure makes sense. Using Manual mode for flying subjects and Av mode for ground subjects makes a lot of sense, too, from a practical standpoint--the correct settings are easily obtained by turning the Mode Dial one click in either direction.

3) For flying subjects, I'd definitely use AI-Servo. The camera shouldn't have any problems tracking subjects unless they fly straight across the sun. For stationary subjects, I prefer One Shot as it allows me to focus and recompose (something that isn't as necessary on the 5D III). Most of the action on the ground (other than take-offs) won't be moving fast enough to need AI-Servo.

4) I'm going to cop-out on this one and say, "Read the Manual." :-)

Try looking through Bryan Carnathan's airshow pictures. He puts little tips in the caption that may help you out.

airshows are one time I shoot in TV, that way you can play with the shutter for different planes, since they look way better with a slightly blurred prop. and DOF doesn't really matter when the background is the sky.

I shoot in raw and spot meter on the plane and that usually helps with the underexposing issue. also if your shooting at 400mm at an airshow, you can usually fill a frame with a close flying plane, so the bright background has less influence.

I go about doing it the same way as Bird in flight shots, so AI servo, center autofocus point.

Hi lindkold and welcome to the forum!

Luckily, you have great equipment for this, so you'll just have to worry about technique and settings. For the actual air show, I would use the 5D3 with the 100-400mm. That zoom happens to be a perfect focal range for air shows and it's not too heavy either.

I would use the monopod with that lens and/or handhold it. The tripod will get in the way if it's too crowded and the tripod inhibits your movement, especially when the planes are coming from behind you and/or overhead. The tripod legs will block you from rotating your body position. The tripod can be good for putting your gear down safely, but then you need to be careful that someone doesn't walk into it. I would go for the monopod with a tilt only head and a quick release. The monopod can be effective for most panning shots and fly-bys, but then when the action is totally overhead I use the quick release and handhold the rig. I also like to handhold for the high speed fly-bys, the stunt planes, and the lead acts, such as the Blue Angels or Thunderbirds. The more you can hand-hold the better. The monopod can also provide some valuable rest in between the action.

As far as the polarizer is concerned, I happen to like the effect and with the long telephoto zoom, you wont have to worry about uneven skies, that is normally seen with wide angle lenses and polarizers. The CPL can add much needed contrast on hazy days, but is only truly effective when the sun is 90 degrees to the shooting point. The CPL may also help with the smoke trails of the planes and glare off of some of the wings and/or cockpit. I shoot with a 300mm f/2.8L IS with or without the 1.4x extender and that lens has a drop-in CPL near the lens/camera attachment point, so I am able to turn the filter while still using the lens hood, which is an advantage. You will struggle with turning your CPL with your lens hood on, so it may not work as well for you. You will also have to decide if you can afford to lose another 1.5 stops due to the CPL with your lens.


As far as the shooting modes; lets look at AV, TV and Manual. I have experimented shooting Air Shows with all 3 modes.

Manual mode does give you the most control to adjust your settings, but unfortunately it also gives the sky control too. The thing that I don't like about Manual mode is when you are switching from Jets to Props. Lets say that you would like to use a shutter speed of 1/1250 sec for Jets and 1/400sec for prop planes and helicopters. This means that when a prop plane flies into your frame, you now have to quickly change two settings in order to keep your exposure the same (I also like to experiment with prop blur), so you will have to lower your SS and then stop down your lens to a smaller aperture, otherwise you will be overexposed. That means turning one dial (for SS) 4 to 5 stops in one direction and then the other dial (aperture) 4-5 stops in the other direction. It also makes it more difficult to experiment with different shutter speeds. Furthermore, I'm also adjusting my CPL dial as well as my AF point selection, and then you still have to compose and focus and be aware of the direction that the other planes are coming from and you will also be dealing with zooming in and out.

AV, will allow you to adjust the DOF which is nice for the structure of the planes, but at these longer focal ranges, DOF is usually less of a concern. Furthermore, there usually isn't any distracting backgrounds that you have to worry about blurring out, since the sky is your background.

In TV mode, you will be able to better control the freezing of the planes as well as the prop blur and smoke trails. Now when a prop plane flies into the frame, all you have to do is lower your shutter-speed using your right index finger on the main dial (while looking at your settings in the VF window) to approx 1/400 sec and let the camera control the aperture. I usually use Auto ISO on the MKIV in this setting, and I use +1/3ev to +2/3ev for blue sky to +1ev for shooting towards the brighter part of the Sky. I feel that using +2/3ev is a nice compromise. Manual ISO from 100-400 can also work, but I feel like I get lower ISO's and less chance of over or underexposing with Auto ISO. I'm shooting in RAW also, so it's really not that much of a concern. I find that the little stunt planes need a little more SS to not blur all of the planes maneuvers but still blur the prop. I find that about 1/640sec to 1/800sec will work for this, depending on how nuts the pilot is and how far away the plane is. If there is a prop plane and a jet in the same frame then you should set the SS for the prop plane.


For Auto-Focus points, I like to use single-point AF (manual selection) for composing the shot, so I'm also moving my AF point around for better composition. That's another reason I like TV mode, with Auto ISO, and evaluative metering, because, otherwise that's a lot of things to concentrate on for an entire day, and it quickly becomes mentally exhausting.

I use AI Servo with the Auto-focus back button and single-point AF (manual selection) with AF point expansion (with 4 extra points; above, below and on either side of the original point) and then I move the AF point around to better compose the shot (by using the mutli-controller with my right thumb) by allowing the plane room to fly into the frame. Try to avoid center point only throughout the day, as the planes tend to appear more static at the center position for every shot. Focus on the forward most plane or plane closet to you if they are in formation. An easy part to focus on is where both wings intersect the fuselage, as this provides a lot of surface area for focusing.

I like Evaluative Metering, so metering is one less thing that I have to worry about, whether there is one plane with sky or 6 planes filling the frame.

I also use IS mode 2 all day long which is great for vertical or horizontal panning, and the IS also helps stabilize the subject in the VF, providing less fatigue overall. Since you have long sweeps of panning the IS has plenty of time to get up to speed without fighting you, like what can occur in other sports that frequently start and stop. Hopefully, that limitation will be fixed with the new IS mode 3. I also feel that the IS will help me counteract camera motion with regards to my slower shutter-speeds that I'm using for prop blur while handholding.

I also like to tape my AF limiter button, AF button, IS button, and IS mode button with tape so that I don't accidentally hit them while contorting my body into position all day long.

When trying to get the intersecting or crossing, knife-like passes of the demonstration jets, you will need to track one jet in your VF and then spray and pray right before they cross each other. It's nice if you can get the plane closest to you in focus, but I tend to guess wrong frequently, despite trying to look for a pattern from previous air show photos. They usually do these passes a few times, so try to be aware when they are happening. If you have someone with you not shooting, then they can be a useful source of what's happening outside of your viewfinder. When the planes are approaching each other, you will need a much faster SS than 1/1000 sec, while this works for tracking the one plane that you are panning, it will be too slow for the approaching planes closing speed, this is further worsened by the fact the you will be panning in the opposite direction of the approaching plane, so you will need more than twice the SS. Let's say at least 1/2000 sec to 1/4000 sec. As the other plane approaches, slow down your panning so as not to over shoot the moment. I'm still working on this myself and haven't mastered it completely yet. Hopefully, it will be easier for you, since you can zoom out to a wider focal length, plus you are using a FF body.

Also, don't forget to shoot in vertical position with the overhead air stunts, and try to get the smoke trails as well. You will also have one more thing to think about, and that is your zoom ratio. If I can't fit all of the planes in my frame, with my fixed prime, then I will try to compose as to cut a plane out on purpose, or cut enough of the plane out so that I can fully crop out the rest of that plane later in PP.

Bring sun block, a hat, fluids and food, a folding chair, and ear plugs if you like. I don't use ear plugs, because I like to hear the jets coming from as far away as possible.

Good Luck and I hope you have blue skies,

Rich

I just went to see the blue angels at Andrews air force base on 5/19. It was my second show. Last year, my first, was the thunderbirds. What a blast. Great info on all the above posts and spot on. My experience was with the 5d2 with the 70-200 II and 100-400L with a cpl. Compared to last year when I only had the 70-200 the 100-400 is the ticket for the action shots with the flexibility of the zoom. Look at Brians airshow gallery and you'll see that his ISO was 400-640 and f stop was pretty much wide open. This is important because I found that last year the 70-200 was a little light on the reach. This year I shot in Manuel mode,mostly wide open, plus 1or2clicks on the compensation because underexposure will be a challenge and evaluation metering. Center focus unless I new what direction the jet was coming from and adjusted accordingly. During the show you'll have time to sit and adjust your setting if there a tad off. I used 400 - 640 ISO depending on the speed, maybe 800 tops. Shoot in raw so u can make adjustments during post processing, take plenty of cards because you'll probably be shooting 400++. Lastly, during the show commit to the 100-400 because you'll go nuts switching lens. Monopod in my opinion not really needed since your turning and twisting to get the shots assuming the wheat her is perfect. Good luck and have a great time.

Thx a lot for advice and tips far beyond my expectations. I hope to be able to put it to good use and hopefully post some pics here soon.

Here are my thoughts on your first 3 questions:
1. I've shot many airhsows and find I can't control exposure. The action happens so fast and different angles tracking planes - don't worry about it. If you focus on the arcraft you'll get the right exposure. Every hour is different as the sun moves, the light changes, clouds come and go and cover up the sun - it's too dynamic and you can't control this. Don't use a Pol-filter either. You'll get more keepers without any filter at all.
2. Tv mode for moving subjects - propellor planes use ~1/500 to 1/800 second to get prop movement. For jets use ~1/2000 - 1/4000 to freeze them. I use Av for stationary subjects to control depth of field. Adjust your ISO to control shutter speed. You may take a photo inside a transport jet ground display that is dark inside and crank up the ISO to 16000 or outside just need 100. For Tv shots I use 200 ISO to ensure I get 1/4000 for the solo jets at high speed
3. Al Servo - I always use it and you'll get more keepers, specially for autofocus needs. Take extra cards and fill them up. The key to focus points for me is using the AF Expansion With Selected Point custom function. Otherwise focus goes in and out tracking from the tail of the plane to wing of the plan next to it. Drives me nuts. If you use AF expansion the camera grabs all the planes and holds them steady and you get more sharp images that way.

I use a monopod - don't need to stand all day doing bicep curls with my camera everytime a plane flies by. I leave the testosterone for the younger folks. Some good advice already above from the other posters. I put some of my pics on a hobby website (http://straker27.smugmug.com/Airplanes) to show the pics I took using the settings above. Most of all have a great time - I'm jealous of your show center position. Will be at Mankato airshow this weekend - can't wait.