alright well as the title states i have some questions. my gf rides horses and jumps her horse and everything. i try all the time shooting her horse and her jumping in the indoor barn due to outside its beyond freezing out right now. i have a nikon D3100 and im using the 18-55mm lens that comes with it. now the lighting is not that great in there its a very warm light....and theres dust in the air and not really great for shooting so all of the "motion" pictures are coming out super blurry and im getting mad lol. but im trying to work with it and try different settings and stuff ALL the time to see which i can capture it with. anyway here is some pics so people can see what im talking about.

btw iso is on high....ive tried lower ones but it they come out DARK







anyway thats that and well here are some still pics i took of the horses and well i thought they came out pretty good...could be better as well but im still starting out














alright i guess give me your inpute guys! i need it...lol

 

A flash would help. Bounce it off the ceiling and you'd be amazed at how much light is reflected. Then you could increase the shutter speed and lower the ISO.

 

ya a flash is in the works im gettin myself an sb-600 once tax money comes and probobly a 55mm /1.4 sigma lens

 

any other input? or the flash is the big priority?

 

flash is always a plus rob, sb600 is also the way to go for now

 

how is it so dark in there? i've shot faster at concerts!

like they said...a flash or bring in more lights if you don't have the money for a flash

 

the kit lens is just toooo slow for that.
the 1.8 will make shots like this way easier.

 

buy a 35mm f1.8 greatest lens u can buy for the money! mine is never off my d90 :D

 

yea im going to be getting a flash and another new lens with my tax return money.

i just picked up a 50mm 1.8 for a good price and it works awsome, but that 35mm will probobly come in more use...i wanted a wide lens though ...as flint has a 10-20 sigma which i wanna pick up as well.

 

what camera do u have? on my old d40 the 50mm wouldnt autofocus it sucked ***** lol thats why i got the 35mm but even on my new d90 i like the 35mm more than the 50mm it just feels sharper.

 

i have the nikon d3100

 

Nikon 50 1.4G and Nikon 35 1.8G, get them.

That kit lens isn't going to work for what you want to shoot your GF on the horse doing. Even at the highest ISO and lowest AP, you aren't just going to be able to cut it with that 18-55VR. The 50 1.8D should be able to get it done though. Unfortunately, the D3100 lacks a lot of features like a in-body focus motor, which means any D lens won't AF on it, nor AI or AI-S lenses. Honestly, once you get your teeth wet on the D3100, I highly suggest you put the 35 1.8G on it as a point-and-shoot and upgrade to the D90 or D7000 as they offer more OCF and control over exposure that the D3100 just doesn't have.

If you want to want capture tack sharp images of your girl on the horse in low light, you're gonna have to invest in fast glass and a great body. Your equipment is limiting you.

 

thanks for the info!! im still going to have this camera for a little time bc its my frist dslr and i need to get used to settings and everything still so no upgrading anytime soon as much as i'd like to funds arent that available. lol...but im def getting a flash and than the 35mm 1.8

 

Thing is, if the horse isn't use to flash you could spook it.

Set the mode dial to "S" and set it to AUTO-ISO w/minimum shutter speed of 1/1000. It's going to take that to eliminate the hand shake and freeze the girl and the horse in action. That's pretty much the way I'd try to get it. It'll probably be WAY under exposed, but without a flash that's probably the best way to go about it without introducing blur. You should also use a tripod and turn off the VR.

 

ya the horse is fine with a flash and does not spook..but when ever i use the flash everything comes out like its night time in there. and i will def try the settings u said. and tripod is on its way already

thanks so much for the information!!

 

1/1000 on a kit lens in that lighting? doubtful. whats the iso on the 3100?
either way it doesnt have great noise reduction skeet did a shoot inside a parking garage and it was noisy as fawk!
50mm 1.4 if you have the money is cool but the 35mm is a way better walk around lens on a dx format.

 

ISO12800 is the highest on the D3100. NR software, even the free stuff, is pretty good now-a-days. I suppose I should have mentioned those settings using the 50 1.8D on the body. It'll automatically drop it to F1.8 anyway.

I agree the 35mm 1.8G is great for walk around on the DX, but I find that the 50 is equally awesome. I've been enjoying the 50 1.4G recently. It's great as a portrait lens.

 

ya thats what i mainly got the 50mm 1.8 for...i am def geting the 35mm 1.8 without a doubt in the next couple of weeks. found them for around 399-499ish but its worth it...i've seen work with it. (tax return money on better stuff! =]) ,i got the 50mm 1.8 for only $124 brand new which i thought was a really good deal so i got it first (amazon does wonders! lol)


ya speedy that photoshoot was my first one and i was messing around with it big time...on the camera it looked ehh and than uploaded them and than poop lol

 

you guys are awsome though for helping me out....i appreciate it since im new to the dslr thing.

 

What!?

Nikon 35 1.8G for $199

They're not always easy to find, but that doesn't mean you should be gouged for it.

Here are some of the sites I learn from:
http://www.picturecorrect.com/
http://www.diyphotography.net/
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/index.shtml
http://www.strobist.blogspot.com/
http://photofocus.com/
http://dpanswers.com

Sites I trust to order photography equipment from:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/
http://www.adorama.com/
http://www.bocaphoto.com/

Photography forums I frequent:
http://www.nikoncafe.com/
http://www.texasphotoforum.com/
http://photocamel.com/

Always check here to see if there are any new firmware updates for your camera body.

http://www.resellerratings.com/ - I always check with this site before ordering from a web site.

Desmond. A photographer in New Zealand that I follow online regularly because some of the experiments he comes up with.