Action Photography – Ways You Can Improve Your Action Photos
Posted on February 15, 2010
Filed Under Camera Problems, Canon Problems | Leave a Comment
When it comes to capturing good action shots – whether a teen’s latest skateboard maneuver or Fido’s latest antic – one of the most important digital photography basics to consider is shutter lag.
Also called “processor lag” this is the time that it takes between the time you press the shutter release and the time the camera actually takes the shot. Press too soon, and you end up with something completely different than what you expected.
In spite of all their advantages, compact digital cameras are slower than film cameras, some more than others. This article provides some tips for dealing with this lag, as well as tips for how to take more exciting and memorable action pictures.
1) Be Ready – Always try to anticipate the movement before it happens. Even professional sports photographers with speed-of-lightning cameras try to anticipate the action, just so they can be in the right spot and point the camera in the right direction.
To better anticipate the likelihood of that great shot, gain a basic understanding of what/whom you are photographing. So, if you plan to take pictures of your child’s soccer match, learn the rules of the game so you’ll know what to expect. If your child is dancing in the Nutcracker, watch a couple of rehearsals before you start taking pictures.
2) Before you get a new compact digital camera investigate what you really want. Unfortunately, you just won’t find a camera manual that tells you the amount of shuttter lag (or processor lag) that the camera experiences. Other factors can slow down the processing too, like the quality of the sensor and in dim lighting, the ISO setting. So investigate what other people are saying in photography forums and read all of the manufacturer’s specs online.
3) Get a Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR) if You Can. They’re more expensive than compacts, but they’re FAST. These cameras do not have shutter-lag issues, and if you’re shooting action indoors, you can ramp up the ISO without your photos being marred by the digital noise that you’ll get when doing the same with a compact.
Digital Photography Tips You Can Use with Any Type of Camera
Whether you have a DSLR, compact or an automatic film camera, try these photo tricks of the trade.
Zoom in on Faces – Don’t always focus on the action. Look for the movement and expressions that represent the picture you’re trying to take like the smile of victory or the disappointing look of defeat!).
Tell a Story – Look for shots that tell a story of the event. For instance, take a picture of a team huddle or a group of runners stretching before the big race.
Freeze! – To freeze the action, set your camera to sports mode or set your Shutter Speed Priority to a high setting. As an example of different settings, freezing action in a soccer tournament requires a shutter speed between 1/250 to 1/500 while taking photos of your pet sitting still requires 1/125.
Blur the Background – Take a cue from the sports photographers, and blur the background by decreasing the camera’s depth of field. If you’re using a camera with Aperture Priority, you can do this simply by decreasing the F Stop number. The lower the F Stop number, the more blurry your background.
Pan – This is a good alternative for digital compact users where dim light underexposes photos taken with sports mode/fast shutter speed. Panning works with automatic focus but it only works well when the subject is moving in a fairly straight line. Here’s how to pan:
Set your Camera to Autofocus. With your feet firmly planted on the ground, rotate your upper body and follow the subject with your camera. Just before the anticipated action that you want to capture occurs, start pressing the shutter release button and continue following the subject until you’ve pressed the button all the way down and the camera gets the shot.
Is the autofocus on your camera too slow? Focus on an area of contrast, such as the number on a uniform. Autofocus works better with more contrast.
Play around with panning and see what kinds of different effects you can get. You might want to show some blur in the action to emphasize the speed of movement, such as with a race car.
And once you get an action shot you love, don’t forget to share it with others by putting it in a photo frame. Most action pictures go best in simple metal picture frames but wood photo frames with simple wood moldings also look good as they both don’t distract from the action photo.
Whether of a sporting event or your dog, action shots are really fun to take once you get the hang of it. And once you understand the digital photography basics like shutter lag, you’ll take better pictures and have even more fun.
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