How Do I Get Those Great Action Shots??

Capturing those great action shots of your amateur athlete, dancer, or dog (jumping through the yard!) can be easy if you know how to work with the settings on your camera. This is also where choosing the right lens comes into play.

First...lens choice. I have found a valuable online photography site that offers helpful hints regularly, http://www.picturecorrect.com/. Recently, there was a post from Morris Scjomin, How To Pick the Right Camera Lens that addresses this issue in such a concise way that I'd rather link to him than try to comment on my own!  If you are a budding momarazzi, definitely consider visiting Picture Correct and subscribing to their online newsletter for tips and techniques to assist you! 

Using a 1/2000 shutter speed and a f/4.0
I was able to catch the players as
they flew through the air in this tackle

Stopping action...it can be difficult and many blurred photos can result if you don't have your camera setting correct.  While there is an artistic reason to have a blurred action shot, most of us would like to see our young athlete mid-air catching that pass, making that check on the ice, or in the midst of a pirouette.  Here's a few things to consider if you have a SLR camera that allows you to manually select the settings.

My Canon Rebel has two settings that I use regularly for action photography.  TV stands for Time Value, and it can be used to freeze or blur your action.  To freeze the action and catch that mid-air reception, you want to have your shutter speed higher--between 1/500 sec. to 1/4000 sec. This takes some getting used to, and you'll want to check your own camera's instructional manual to determine how to set your shutter speed.  Ultimately, the faster the shutter speed, the better you will stop the action. The lower the shutter speed (1/60 sec. to 1/250 sec.) the more blurred action you will get.  Depending on your lens, you may not be able to get as high as 1/4000...but don't worry, go as high as you can go and your pictures should turn out!

AV stands for aperture value. I like to use AV for most of my sports photography because I am able to blur the background and focus on the action in front of me. This way, the distracting field house in the background doesn't take away from the player I am capturing in action!  I have learned that photographers who use a wide-angle lens don't have to worry about this setting, since wide-angle lenses have a wide depth of field; however, telephoto lenses have narrow depth of fields and this is where setting the AV correctly can give you the shot you want.  The higher the aperture value, the slower the shutter speed--so when taking photos at night or under dark, overcast conditions, you can control the amount of light that is available by working with aperture value. That said...the long shutter speeds demand you are working with a tripod/monopod to keep the camera steady.  Momarazzis taking photos of a night football game can struggle with this challenge--which is where choosing the right lens comes into play.

Lenses for action photography...most digital SLR cameras come standard with a standard f/3.5-5.6 lens. Many people also choose (or sometimes get in a package deal) a 70-300mm, f/5.6 zoom/telephoto lens.  Working closely with the aperture value and shutter speed can provide you with quality action shots with these lenses. That said, a better (and more expensive) lens for shooting action at night is a f/2.8 lens.  This is an investment, and you need to be sure you are getting the proper lens for your camera type.  Typically, if you have a Canon, you cannot use a Nikon lens...and while there are more generic brand lenses out there, it is important to consult with your photography supply expert to ensure you are getting a lens that will fit your specific brand camera.

This is by far the most technical posting I have written--and I am not a technical person! I have many resources to thank for providing me with the knowledge I've gained--my personal "coaches" include Glenn Nagel and fellow momarazzi Becky (Becky truly is a talented momarazzi, but she doesn't have a website for me to link to!).  I also scan through several online resources (note Picture Correct above) to gain valuable tips and techniquesues along the way. 

It may take a little more time to prepare yourself, but with practice (and it truly just does take practice with the settings) you can achieve the photos you want over time!  Good Luck with the technical stuff...
...and see you at the rinks and fields!