Free Photography Tips: Action Photography

In general, the term action photography refers to shooting at sports events. It is really undeniable that capturing participants in sporting events is challenging, but action photography requires more than that. Any situation where people or objects are in motion(e.g spending time with a child, traveling with a car or train) is a potential exploit for this technique. In the next lines you will be presented with some useful tips that will help you improve your action photography skills.

 *** Note: I do not own these images. All the photographs are linked back to their respective owners. ***

Action Photography Tip #1: Exposure time

The action can be immortalized in the photo in two ways: the first version implies a lower shutter speed and the second is represented by a time of exposure that creates a blur effect and a feeling of movement. Moving the camera in the desired direction is relatively easy if you want to "freeze" the moving object, which can be captured even with lower values of exposure time, generally between 1/250 sec and 1/500 sec. In the event that the subject is moving at an angle of 45 degrees from the camera, freezing it at the above mentioned values is more difficult.

Thus, to be sure that the picture is successful, it is recommended to choose a value between 1/500 sec and 1/1000 sec. But the worst situation is when the subject is located at an angle of 90 degrees from the camera. In these conditions exposure should be reduced to values close to 1/1000 sec most of the times and if you are shooting subjects moving at high speed, such as cars, motorcycle, running athletes and even wakeboarding, you are required to choose values of approximately 1/2000 sec.

Action Photography Tip #2: Synchronization

One of the most important aspects in action photography is synchronization, which is anticipating the right moment for the photo. If the start was made too early, the camera will not capture anything spectacular and if it was made too late, that time is of the utmost importance was missed. For these reasons this type of photography is important to know how to anticipate moments of maximum intensity. However, you will often not have to wait for a special event to practice your skills because movement can be found everywhere around us.

Action Photography Tip #3: The necessary equipment

Freezing a subject in a photograph can be achieved by triggering the flash. In terms of objectives used for everyday actions you can use just about any kind of objective, but when it comes to shooting sports activities telephoto lenses are mandatory. If the action takes place near the camera, lenses with focal lengths between 200 mm and 300 mm are sufficient. But for the action that takes place on a runway, stage or stadium, which implies a rather large distance between the camera and the subject you need lenses with a focal length of 400 mm, 500 mm or even 600 mm in certain situations.

Action Photography Tip 4: Positioning

Besides the use of devices that will help capture the subject and setting a proper exposure time, camera positioning is another important factor contributing to the success of action photography. Its location must coincide with the person who will view the picture. If you manage to transpose the viewer into the atmosphere and set the scene your picture will be even more spectacular.