Air show tomorrow, any tips?

[BMWJNKY]

I'm going to an air show tomorrow and was wondering if anyone had some tips for me. I'll be bringing my 20D, 100-300 lens and conditions should be clear.

[JSPhoto]

Well the 100-300 should be OK if you are near the area they are flying, if not you may need a teleconverter.

JS

[Loupey]

Sorry I didn't get to this earlier. I would have recommended that since it was expected to be clear, get a meter reading prior to the show (using the "sunny 16" rule and confirming with a shot of grass or other neutral object) and setting the camera in manual to those settings.

Since you will undoubtedly be shooting up against various parts of the sky, the meter reading will not be reliable. So keep it in manual and don't think about it during the show.

The hardest part for me is the tendency to "lead" the planes as if trying to shoot them literally. Try the opposite by "following" so that the planes are seen leaving the frame and you should get more contrails and smoke in the image.

Hope you can post some results of your work. I love an air show.

[JSPhoto]

I tend to meter off the aircraft on the fly as there are differences in the paint, especially the shiney aluminum aircraft, they can be a royal pain. But it's easier dsaid than done, and you really have to know your gear to change on the fly so to speak. Thats where pro gear really helps. I also tend to overexspose the aircraft one stop, but I am normally zoomed in enough not to big areas of sky that are blown out.

JS