by Johanna Draper

Created on: February 25, 2009

Action photography is a lot of fun! One sport I have greatly enjoyed photographing is horse racing, particularly barrel racing. There are many different types of action, but I will focus on the basics.

If you are taking action photos in broad daylight, you can get great pictures with a bigger zoom. For many of my action photography, I use the 70X300 mm Nikkor zoom lens. This is great for sports like hockey, baseball, volleyball, and other sports like that.

For barrel racing I use a shorter 28X80 mm Nikkor lense. With barrel racing, there is usually not much light, and larger zooms require more light. Also with barrel racing, you can get pretty close to your subject without getting run over (unless it's a really naughty horse!)

Aperture, shutter speed, and sensitivity.

I find that the best way to get good results with action is to use the manual setting on your camera. Hopefully you are already familiar with how your cameras controls work. Shutter speed, aperture, and sensitivity are very important factors when taking low light action pictures. All of these factors determine how much light will pass through your lens.
Shutter speed is how long your shutter remains open, allowing light and detail to be recorded. With action, you will need a faster shutter speed than many other types of photography. The longer your shutter is open, the more movement of your subject will be recorded, the more blur you are going to get. In broad daylight, this won't be a problem.
Your sensitivity determines how sensitive your camera is to light. All though a higher sensitivity creates a more grainy picture, it is sometimes necessary to compromise lesser quality for light. I typically use a sensitivity as high as 1000 ISO (or 1000 film speed if you don't use digital) for barrel racing.
That leaves the aperture to be explained. Aperture determines your depth of field. Depth of field is this...you know how in portraits there will be a nice blurry background? This was achieved by opening the aperture wide so that more light could pass though the lens, and achieving a shallower depth of field. On the other hand, landscape pictures use a smaller aperture, bringing the whole picture into focus, but also blocking more light.
With low light action, open your aperture as much as you can! This will allow more light, and a shallow depth of field is certainly welcome!

Panning.

When photographing a subject that is moving past you, use the panning technique. This is when you track the subject by holding the camera against your face, and rotating your body from the hips as you follow your subject until you are ready to take the picture.

Unpredictable movements.

with some sports and action, it is impossible to predict where your subject will jump to next.
Follow your subject with your camera, keeping the camera pressed to your face, and your finger covering the shutter release button. A lens that tracks your subject for you and keeps refocusing on the subject is very handy for this sort of thing.

Using a tripod.

for some sports, such as barrel racing, you can use a tripod and remote control. This is to help eliminate camera shake, creating a more clear picture. You will not be able to Pan your subject, since the horse will be coming toward you when you want to take the picture.

I hope these tips help you get started on your action photography. Keep practicing, and soon you will get much better!

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