Every Tuesday, I bring you a new “tidbit” of photographic knowledge that can help bring your photography (or your appreciation of photography) to the next level. This week’s tidbit: Action Shots.
(This week’s topic was suggested by a Tuesday Tidbit reader! Do you have a suggestion? Email me at info@weddingsbvyantage.com).
Make sure you have the right tool for the job
Improving your action shots (shots of people or objects in action, whether running, spinning, jumping, etc) can be tricky depending on the type of camera you have. For many non-action situations, you can do a lot even with a simple point and shoot camera; with action shots, however, your creative vision can be severely limited if you don’t have the proper equipment for the job. Most well-executed action shots require you to be able to do one or more of the following things: a) keep the shutter open an extended amount of time and pop the flash at some point; b) focus quickly and/or snap the shutter as soon as your finger hits the release button; c) click the shutter several times in a row in a short amount of time and/or d) set a very fast shutter speed to “freeze” moments in time.
For those of us who use point and shoot cameras (definition here), we know that the whole “in-out-in-out….wait….ok….nope, wait….ok, got it” way point-and-shoot cameras have of focusing makes quick focusing and quick shutter releases practically impossible. Not completely impossible….but difficult to be sure.
Example: Levitating Baby
This image was achieved by dragging the shutter (explanation and examples here) to properly expose the large room and then popping the flash at the end to freeze the moment. However, the same effect can be had by simply having a fast shutter speed (say, 1/250 of a second) and enough light to properly expose the subject without flash. The final ingredient was good timing…and a camera quick enough to respond to the press of the button.
In general, SLR cameras are going to give you much more flexibility than point-and-shoot cameras when it comes to action shots. However, if you’re not so lucky to have regular access to an SLR, do some experimenting with your point-and-shoot–each one comes with a variety of settings and you may find one that works for your own action shots. (Our point-and-shoot, for example, comes with a “kids and pets” pre-set, implying that one would use it for objects that just won’t sit still…ahem, action shots.)
Happy shooting from Vantage!
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