Steps to Taking an Action Shot on a Digital Camera?

Answer 1

Capturing the image of a running child or a bird in flight can be difficult for a beginning photographer. Photographs used to be solely for still images. But with today's technology of memory cards to store thousands of pictures and digital cameras that help guide the user, action shots can be successfully done and done well.

A simple approach to obtaining a great action photograph is to hold the camera's focus on where the action is expected to take place- under the Basketball hoop or the very spot where a child will ride his bike across the parking lot. Anticipating the action, knowing where it will take place and setting up the camera correctly can hugely improve the chances of taking a successful action shot.

Another simple approach is to follow the subject with the camera as the movement is taking place. If a child is wheeling around the bases on a Baseball field, follow him with the lens from 2nd base to 3rd and an action shot is guaranteed. Chances are that the photograph will capture an unexpected portion of the action shot- a leg kicked up, hair flying above a head showing the subject in motion. This practices is called panning. This requires the photographer to move with the moving subject and use of a slow shutter speed. This will ensure the subject is kept within focus in the photograph but also that the background will be blurred. The blurring gives motion to the photo.

With more technology in today's digital cameras, a lot of the worry is taken out of Photography. Digital cameras typically have a function called shutter lag. This is the period of time between when the button is pressed to take the picture and the photograph is actually taken. This lag allows the camera to freeze the image and ensure the picture will be in focus. To avoid always taking the picture after the action shot is completed, a photographer should learn to time the button is pushed. Pushing the camera's shutter button halfway down enters the camera into the focus mode. Once the button is fully pushed, the photograph has been taken.

To avoid the camera taking too long after storing one photograph and taking another, choose flash cards with high writing time. This is referred to as the latency period in the photography process. Be sure to set the picture resolution high enough so that the image isn't compromised but low enough so images will be stored to the flash cards quickly.

Last but not least, practice. Taking the camera outside and photographing birds as they jump across the lawn or kids as they ride their bikes is an excellent practice forum for learning how to take action shots.