PORTRAIT AND CANDID PHOTOGRAPHY: PHOTO WORKSHOP

Chapter 9. ACTION SHOTS

• Use Your Camera and Lens

• Freeze the Action

• Blur the Motion

Action captured in a photograph denotes movement and life, giving an image a dynamic feel. Some action images freeze a moment in time, and others blur reality with a dream-like aesthetic. The first step in learning how to capture and create these effects is knowing the options available with your particular camera and lens, which is covered first in this chapter. Beyond that, you lean about the techniques for capturing motion, whether you want it crisp or blurred for effect.

USE YOUR CAMERA AND LENS

If you are using a compact digital camera, your ability to capture fast-action photographs like the pros is very limited. Although you can use a few settings to capture action with your compact camera, to get those close-up, fast-action, blurred-background, professional shots, you need a digital single lens reflex (dSLR) camera and a fast lens. Whichever type of camera you use, you can creatively capture action, provided you understand its limitations and the options. The next sections provide tips for capturing action with a compact digital camera and a dSLR.

COMPACT CAMERAS

Compact cameras have an action (or sports) mode that automatically adjusts the exposure settings to capture action with a faster shutter speed. The optical zoom feature allows you to get a little closer to the action, and you have the freedom ...