In Action Sports Digital Photography, how do I freeze the action?

As a action sports digital photographer you will want to freeze the action of your subject most of the time. What sells photographs and what the viewers want to see in action sports photography are people suspended in mid-air. They want to see the ball, what ever kind of ball, just lying off of the receiver’s finger tips. To do that you must freeze the action.

To freeze the action the action sports digital photographer uses the shutter speed which is perhaps the most creative adjustment available. The shutter speed allows the photographer to freeze the action by creating a variety of photo effects. The shutter speed is expressed in fractions of seconds depending on the length of exposure. A shutter speed of 1/640 of a second or faster should freeze the action and keep your image sharp. A high shutter speed of 1/1000 of a second or faster can freeze the action of even very fast moving objects. You will however have to keep two things in mind:

1. You will need a brightly lit subject. You see shutter speeds this high doesn’t allow your camera much time to gather in the light for the proper exposure. You can usually get around this by using a higher ISO setting. Just don’t go to high, especially if you have a less expensive camera, or noise will be a factor in your shot.

2. If it is possible then you should set up your shot by having your camera focused on the spot where your subject is going to be when you take the shot. This will allow you to concentrate more on the timing of your subject’s approach. This will in turn give you a better chance to trip the camera’s shutter at just the right moment.

Some photographers help to freeze the action by photographing subjects that are coming toward them. Adding high shutter speeds, fast film (ISO), monopods, panning, shooting objects coming toward you, and capturing action at its peak will let you freeze the action and create fantastic shots.

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Jerry J. Jansen

Tags: Action Sports, Digital Photography, Freeze Action