Digital Photography Tips for Action Shots
Critical Tips for Quick Action Photography |
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Written by OpenDP
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Tuesday, 07 February 2006 |
 Athletes, people and animals in motion, itinerant vehicles and other moving objects create wonderful photo opportunities. However, capturing fast action on a digital camera can be challenging.
Certain settings on many digital cameras allow photographers to photograph action in a point-and-shoot mode specifically designed for moving subjects. Other times it is up to the photographer to manipulate the digital camera to achieve the best possible photos. Read on for a few tips to taking better action photos.
1. Digital cameras with less shutter lag capture better action shots. Regardless of your camera’s specifications, you can further minimize shutter lag by prefocusing before you snap the picture. To do this, hold down the shutter button halfway and then once the camera has focused, press it down all the way to take the shot.
2. Fast shutter speed allows photographers to capture great shots of moving subjects. If your digital camera supports a slower shutter speed, it is still possible for you to shoot some wonderful action shots. It may take some practice, but try panning the camera, keeping the lens on the subject’s action.
3. Shoot in continuous mode if it is available to you. You might feel like the paparazzi when you first get started, but you will love how this quick mode doesn’t let you miss a shot! Digital cameras that support continuous shooting work nicely for action shots because they are able to write all the photos to memory at the same time instead of one by one.
4. Anticipate the action and position yourself accordingly. If you are shooting sports, camp out by the goal line or find a good location where you can get clear shots of the athletes.
5. Invest in a good lens. Many action shots will benefit most from a digital camera with a 200mm lens, though you can interchange lenses for different effects. Zoom lenses will work wonders for sports action photos, sometimes bringing you close enough to see the perspiration on your subject’s brow!
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Amy
on 2007-09-10 02:31:40
I have a Nikon D50 with a 70-300 lens and am presently photographing athletes for an exhibition I am having next year, where I'll be using the photos as reference material for painting and sculpture.
Last week for example I was photographing divers (not the deep sea kind!) at a low lit swimming baths. I had my camera on the 'moving image' setting with continuous shutter speed and got a few okay shots. But as the comment Daz made above, a lot were grainy. When I tried to manually adjust the ISO and shutter speeds above because of the low lighting my photos were practically black.How do I get better shots. Do I need external flash equipment?
Amy
| Al
on 2007-06-10 02:32:26
Look there is a tight relationship between shutter speed, ISO (which causes those grains or digital noise) and aperture value. So if you go for high shutter speeds like 1/4000 you have to maintain a wide open aperture as well. At this stage you should have also an ISO of 50 or 100 depending on lighting condition. But it’s not usually possible to shoot fine photos in low light since you have modify ISO and grain or noise will show up on your images. | Daz
on 2007-06-04 18:18:03
if i use 1/4000- 8000 then my pictures are very very dark and grainy. What can i do about that? | janie
on 2007-04-29 23:09:53
thanks for the info. can you share with me what settings to use on my canon digital eos. i also just have the regular 18 55 lens. i am looking into buying the 200 lens.
thanks | Al
on 2006-10-29 02:28:18
Actually any shutter speed beyond 1/4000.
shutter speeds of 1/8000 are ideal for action photography. | gabriel
on 2006-10-28 16:04:45
what is the example of Fast shutter speed for sports photography? |
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 07 October 2007 )
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Sports Digital Photography Tips 
