Interested In A Re-Hash Of Some Of The Old Common Photographic 'Rules'

[Paul-WB5AGF]

(a recent painful experience)
I went to a wedding last weekend and several pictures did not come out nearly as well as I'd hoped. I'm thinking that I need to learn/re-learn useful tips for successful photography.

(the distant past)
A long time ago I was introduced to 35mm (film) photography while stationed overseas in the Air Force.

Back then one of the common 'rules' was a rough relationship between the focal length of the lens being used and minimum suggested shutter speed.
(minimum speed = (2 * (1/focal length)) example: with a 50mm lens the shutter speed should be no slower than 1/100th second (so use 125th)

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Question: When panning the camera (to try and track someone walking past) is IBIS still a good thing or should it be turned-off ?

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- Paul

 

[xpc316e]

I have had so much success with image stabilisation that I feel confident to bend/break the rule about shutter speed being the inverse of focal length, but it may be that I have a steady pair of hands and am lucky.

 

[-ST-]

(a recent painful experience)
I went to a wedding last weekend and several pictures did not come out nearly as well as I'd hoped. I'm thinking that I need to learn/re-learn useful tips for successful photography.

(the distant past)
A long time ago I was introduced to 35mm (film) photography while stationed overseas in the Air Force.

Back then one of the common 'rules' was a rough relationship between the focal length of the lens being used and minimum suggested shutter speed.
(minimum speed = (2 * (1/focal length)) example: with a 50mm lens the shutter speed should be no slower than 1/100th second (so use 125th)

------------------------------------

Question: When panning the camera (to try and track someone walking past) is IBIS still a good thing or should it be turned-off ?

------------------------------------

- Paul

Hi, Paul.

If you do a web search for "photography reciprocal rule," you'll get lots of information. Here's an article I found helpful.

What is Reciprocal Rule in Photography?

One of the biggest challenges in photography is sharp photos when hand-holding a camera. Many end up with blurry images without understanding the source of the problem, which is usually camera shake caused by basic improper hand-holding techniques or mirror and shutter-induced vibrations. The...

photographylife.com

And here's an article about IBIS with references to panning.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/explora/photography/tips-and-solutions/image-stabilization-when-to-use-it-and-when-to-turn-it-off