5 Action Photography Tips From The Pros

Action photography is a very exciting genre to shoot. There’s a lot of pressure, your subject is running, jumping or flying around, and you may only have a split second to “get the shot.” All of this also makes action photography a very challenging genre.

Here are some quick tips to help you be technically and visually prepared the next time you photograph an extreme sport or an athlete in action.

1.Freeze action

First, a technical one. When shooting landscapes or portraits, where your subject isn’t moving, you can use a number of different camera settings to get the proper exposure. But with action photography and moving subjects, we need to prioritize shutter speed. This will ensure that the photos you take are not blurry and help you freeze the action.

The faster your subject moves, the faster your shutter speed needs to be. When shooting in natural light, use the shutter priority mode on your camera and dial in a constant shutter speed that’s appropriate for your subject.

That way, the camera will find the ISO and aperture for each shot, allowing you to focus on other things. Here’s a quick setting reference: Walking: 1/125, Running: 1/250-1/500, Extreme Sports: 1/1000+.

Freeze action with shutter speed

2.Show action

We don’t always want our subjects frozen in mid-air so that they appear to be floating. Introducing a sense of movement is also key to really capturing action. For example, in one photo, the subject’s hair is flying back, suggesting that they are swinging forward, not just floating. Another way to show movement is to use negative space to communicate where your subject is going.

3.Try interesting angles

We see the world from eye level every day, so to really create unique images you need to shoot from different angles. When you get low and shoot your subject up high, they will appear to tower over the viewer and be larger than they actually are. Or stand high up and shoot from above to capture an athlete in action from a bird’s eye view.

Use interesting angles to shoot the action

4.Choose your background carefully

Now that you’ve set up your camera and chosen an angle to capture the action, let’s check what’s in the background. You don’t want a busy background that distracts from the image. Find a clean area to frame your shot, or better yet, a background that adds to the action story you’re capturing. This will help elevate the story.

5.Capture the action at its peak

With all of the above steps completed, you can now focus on the exact moment you want to capture. What is the defining moment that sums up the entire action in one frame? This is where researching and understanding your subject really pays off.

For beach volleyball, the moment before the spike is the pinnacle of the action. With the hitter, blocker, and ball all suspended in the air, you can see how the play will play out in one frame. If in doubt, you can always ask the athletes, too. They know their sport and can tell you what to look for.

Capture the highlights of beach volleyball

In summary, with action photography you often need to think on the spot, and now with these five tips you should be able to better plan the process of each shot before the shoot, so that you can take amazing photos on your next outing.