Action Photography Guide: 6 Tips for Shooting Moving Subjects

Action photography is about capturing subjects in motion. It can encompass wildlife and sports photography, though you can apply the techniques involved to any number of subjects. Whatever you plan to shoot, the key to action photography is careful planning and a thorough understanding of your subject.

Action photography is one of the most technically demanding forms of photography, which means it’s important to have the right equipment.

• Telephoto lenses: Action photographers often use large telephoto lenses. If you plan to shoot team sports like soccer or football, you’ll want to invest in a lens with a long focal length—such as a 70–300mm telephoto lens. Learn more about choosing the right telephoto lens here.
• A tripod: If you do go out shooting with a telephoto lens, you’ll want to make sure you have a sturdy tripod or monopod, which will help you get suitably sharp images.
• A fast memory card: The faster your memory card’s write speed, the quicker you can get on to your next shot.

In photography, you have three key variables, sometimes called the exposure triangle: aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. Understanding the interplay between these three variables is critical to getting great action shots.

1. 1. Shutter speed: Because action photography is all about capturing motion, in most cases you’ll want to select your shutter speed first and adjust the other settings accordingly. Fast shutter speeds as high as 1/500 or even 1/1,000 are common when taking action photos, especially in sports photography, though there may be situations when you opt for a slow shutter speed in order to accentuate the subject’s movement with motion blur.
2. 2. Aperture: When shutter speeds are higher, you need a wide aperture to let in enough light for a properly exposed photo. Depending on your type of lens, you may be able to open your aperture to a wide f/4 or f/2.8. If you aren’t using a special lens, try starting at f/5.6 or f/8 and experimenting.
3. 3. ISO: The higher your film speed, the less light you’ll be letting into your camera, so to get a well-exposed shot, you’ll want to use a lens with a wider aperture setting. You can also increase your ISO, though this may come at the expense of graininess.

Keep in mind there’s more than one way to approach action photography. The approach that is right for you will depend on your subject and certain technical factors.

1. 1. Flash: When shooting close to your subject in a dark setting and, a good flash can help create a dramatic image that seems to freeze action.
2. 2. Blur: Sometimes motion blur can be just what you want in an action shot. In these cases, you’ll want to keep your camera steady with the help of a tripod and use a lower shutter speed to emphasize your subject’s movement.
3. 3. Panning: Sometimes you want to suggest motion while keeping your subject (relatively) sharp. By panning your camera along with your subject as they move, you can keep them relatively sharp as the background blurs.

1. 1. Pre-focus your shots. When you’re working with a moving subject, it’s important to anticipate where the action is likely to take place. Pre-focusing your camera on a point in space near where you expect your subject to be can save you precious milliseconds when it comes to getting the shot.
2. 2. Learn to manipulate depth of field. One way to make your subjects pop is to keep them in focus while allowing the background to blur. One way to achieve this shallow depth-of-field is by using a wider aperture.
3. 3. Experiment with low angles. Getting low and close to your subject can make them appear larger-than-life.
4. 4. Shoot the entire event. Though you should come prepared for certain shots, it’s also important to be on the lookout for unexpected moments of interest. Walk around, explore, and experiment with different angles to get a full picture of the sports game or event you are photographing.
5. 5. Shoot in bursts. Most modern DSLRs come equipped with a burst mode (also called continuous shooting), which allows you to hold down the shutter button to take several frames in quick succession. That said, it’s usually better to limit continuous shooting to three or four frame bursts.
6. 6. Shoot in RAW. Shooting in an uncompressed file format will take up a lot of space on your memory cards, but the results will be worth it. The RAW format gives you more flexibility while editing photographs in post-production, especially if you want to adjust the white balance.

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