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Action Sports Photography Tips and Tricks

By Autumn Lockwood

Republish: EasyPublish™
Published: 06Aug2010
Word count: 660
Viewed: 327 time(s)

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Catching the world in motion can be a truly challenging task. More than any other kind of photography, action photography demands lightning-quick reflexes, a solid foundation in composition and other photo elements, and a little bit of luck. However, anyone can learn to take great action photos if you're willing to invest the time and effort needed to understand the methods. Here are some techniques on how you can get started taking action photos.

Understand Your Subject

Because of the critical impact timing has on action photography, it is important that you understand what you are shooting. If you take football as an example, you can't get a good shot of a touchdown if you're not in the end zone. Take the time before your shoot to learn about how the activity you are documenting works so that you'll be able to anticipate what happens next and position yourself accordingly.

Get the Subject in Action

You want to always try to get the subject at the time when the action is at its maximum impact. For example if you're photographing snowboarders jumping off a ramp, know what type of shot you want. Do you want the launch, the landing or the highest part in the jump? Action photography can be captivating if you compose the picture to include the most interesting part of the action. So, always be thinking of the best way to compose your picture.

Focus in Advance

One technique used by professional photographers is to focus your camera on an empty space where you think the action will occur. This is an easy thing to do if you know the activity you're shooting, and will save you valuable time when someone is flying through the air in your frame and you have milliseconds to react.

Pan with the Subject

It is important in action photography that you convey motion in the final print. While some subjects will have obvious motion, such as a basketball player frozen mid-dunk, others may require a bit of work on your part. Panning is when you move your camera to keep up with the subject as they pass in front of you. This will give you an image with a blurry background and the subject in focus.

Having the Right Film and Using a Flash

For action photography, a high speed film of 800 or above is usually best. It will allow you to use faster shutter speeds in more light situations, helping you to freeze action as it happens. A flash can also be quite helpful in capturing those ultra-fast moments, though it is worth noting that the great majority of consumer level camera flashes won't have much use beyond 10 feet.

Continue the Action

Try not to stop the action of a subject in your photograph. While freezing an action in progress is a good goal for an action shot, allow the viewer room to follow the action to a possible conclusion. For example if you have someone jumping down some stairs, position the subject near the top of the picture and have some stairs below so it's easier to understood the outcome of the action.

Best to Go Digital

Action photography does take a lot of practice and patience and also used to take an enormous amount of film. Thanks to digital cameras and their near-endless supply of photographs, you can now practice your action shots without taking such a huge hit on your wallet. And as an added bonus, many newer digital SLRs have continuous shooting modes that will fire 10-50 photos in rapid succession, giving you more opportunities to snag that peak action.

The most important things in action photography are having fun and staying safe. Never position yourself where you run the risk of getting hit by vehicles or athletes, and make sure that the people you are shooting are aware of where you'll be during the activity. Beyond that, the more you shoot, the better you'll get!

Autumn Lockwood is a writer for Your Picture Frames. Shop online and see our selection of black picture frames in a wide variety of styles, shapes and sizes. Visit our website and check out our modern black picture frames online or call 800-780-0699.

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