"Pro Tip: Taking Action Shots
Have you ever felt frustrated when your action shots—basketball dunks, running horses, speeding race cars, moving airplanes—come out blurry? It may be how you approach the shot, the camera you have or the settings you’re using. Read on to find out how you can turn your photos from blurry to beautiful!
There are Two Approaches to Taking Action Shots
1. Use your camera to watch and follow the subject, so that you’re always ready to capture the decisive moments.
or
2. Keep your camera focused on a particular spot, such as a soccer goal or home plate, and wait for the action to enter the frame. Remember to keep both eyes open, though, to anticipate the action.
Upgrade Your Camera
If taking sports or action shots is your passion, you might want to consider upgrading your camera to a Digital SLR, which will give you more control and a faster response time than those of compact point-and-shoot models. Also, it helps to own a zoom lens with a very wide aperture setting, such as 2.8—you’ll have a more shallow depth of field, but you’ll gain the flexibility to increase your shutter speed, which is super important for capturing fast action.
Avoid Blurry Photos
To keep your subject in focus, use a faster shutter speed to freeze the action. If your camera is a completely automated point-and-shoot, try changing the ISO to a higher number, which will let you better capture action in low-light conditions. The higher a digital camera’s ISO settings, the more able it is to nail the action shot with a faster shutter speed. Also, for subjects that don’t stand still, you might try using the “kids” or “pets” mode on you camera.
Follow the Action
Follow the action by panning—tracking and following the motion of the subject in the same direction as it moves from side to side—with your subject. You can also try what professional photographer Adam Jones did with this photo of Turfway Park: Use a slower shutter speed to keep the main subject in focus but allow the background to become blurry, which gives the shot a sense of movement.
Want to get the above effect in your photos? Look for subjects that are moving in parallel action, not subjects that are moving towards or away from the camera. Set your camera to shutter priority mode, then try 1/15th of a second first and then 1/30th of a second next. The slower the shutter speed, the blurrier the background.
Fast-Moving Action
For very fast-moving subjects, such as the Blue Angels, try increasing your ISO and then set your camera’s shutter speed to a higher speed, such as 1/4000th of a second..
Get Rid of Lag Time
You can reduce the lag time between shots by prefocusing on the area where the action will take place and pressing the shutter halfway; then, squeeze the button completely when you’re ready to take your shot. Don’t lift up your finger or the camera will take that extra time to refocus again.
Use Burst Mode
If your camera has it, try using “burst mode” to capture a rapid sequence of shots with the same exposure and focus settings. If you own a higher megapixel camera, you can increase your camera’s processing time by using a memory chip that has a faster writing speed.
Crop Your Shots
After you’ve captured your moving subject, you can add more impact to your images if you crop them tighter to the action. Just be mindful not to crop too much if you have intentions of making larger prints. If you own a camera that has a higher megapixel rating, you’ll have more flexibility with cropping."
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