Sporting events are often very unique moments that may never happen again. Getting the most out of these photo opportunities can therefore be very important, and if you have been lucky enough to get tichkers to one of the upcoming Olympic events, you may need to brush up on some of your photography skills to capture those once- in- a- lifetime moments.
Sports phtography may seem like a very specialist subject, and one that is best left to the pros. However, there are lots of opportunities to capture the action in a number of different situations, from big sporting events to school sports days.
The best thing about capturing sports or action shots is that getting great photos from any event does not have to rely on having the lastest and greatest bits of kit, and many easy techniques can be achieved with the simplest of cameras.
However, getting your best action shots can be very difficult, expecially as you are likely to have absolutely no control over your fast- moving subjects. But mastering simple techniques can ensure you are able to capture great shots in a number of ways, preserving the action that is unfolding in front of you as well as letting you tale some of your best photographs yet.
So, regardless of whether you are heading out to a high- profile international sports event or simply watching your children run about in your back garden, grab your camera and let us show you how to get the most out of the action.
Whether you are using a DSLR, a simple compact camera, or even your smartphone, chances are you will be able to zoom in on the action. For sports photography, this can be very useful.
Capturing what is going on sometimes means getting in close. Zoom in fully (the telephoto end of the zoom) to shoot close- up details or action that is happening far away from where your are positined.
However, although a long and powerful zoom on your camera can ensure you can get up close wherever you are shooting from, capturing the wide- angle shots by not zooming in can pften be a great way of putting the action into contect with the entire event.
Capturing dunamic sports photos, freezing the action, and portraying the event does not have to rely on expensive equiment and professional techniques. Mastering the settings on your camera, and using them effectively will ensure you get the best shots every time.
Many cameras come with a ‘burst mode’ which will take several shots in quick succession, which is ideal for freezing action in sports photos.
Most cameras now come with a whole host of dedicated settings that are ideal for getting great action shots. A common scene mode within any camera is the sports setting, which speeds everything up to keep up with your subjects. Team this up with continuous autofocus and a high- speed burst mode and you will be able to freeze your subjects with ease.
There are two different ways deal with motion in sports: one is to freeze it, portraying an exact moment in time, while the other is to keep a bit of the movement in your shot through motion blur.
Simply freezing the action in the shot is not always enough to display the effort and sense of speed in your shots is an excellent tecnique for sports photography. Making use of the methods for freezing and lurring we show you over these pages can be all that is needed to turn basic images into sports shots to be proud of.
Caturing indoor events can be difficult. Experiment with scene modes and try boosting your ISO to capture the action.