Digital Photography 101 - How To Take Great Action Photos

When it comes to capturing good action shots - whether a teen's latest skateboard maneuver or Fido's latest antic - one of the most important digital photography basics to consider is shutter lag.

More accurately called "processor lag," this is the time that passes between the moment you press the shutter release button to the moment the camera actually gets the shot and you see that green light. Press too soon, and you end up with something completely different than you'd expected.

In spite of their numerous advantages, compact digital cameras are slower than film cameras. This article gives you some tips for how to deal with this lag as well as some important tips for taking even better action photos.

Be Ready to Shoot

While you can't know if your child is going to make that soccer goal, try to anticipate when then things are most apt to happen. Even sports photography pros with super fast cameras try to guess the next movement just so they can be in the right spot at the right time.

To better anticipate the likelihood of that great shot, gain a basic understanding of what/whom you are photographing. In other words, if you plan to take pictures of your child's soccer game, be prepared and learn the rules of the game. If your child's performing in the Nutcracker, watch a rehearsal or two.

Look Around Before You Get a New Compact Digital Camera.

Unfortunately, there isn't just one camera spec that will tell you how fast the camera will capture the picture from the time you press that button. Other factors can slow down the processing too, like the quality of the sensor and in dim lighting, the ISO setting. So find out what other people are saying at photography forums or reputable review sites and read all of the available specs.

Spring for a DSLR (Digital Single-Lens-Reflex)

They're more expensive than compacts, but they're FAST. These cameras do not have shutter-lag issues, and if you're shooting action indoors, you can ramp up the ISO without your photos being marred by the digital noise that you'll get when doing the same with a compact.

Digital Photography Basics to Use with any Type of Camera

Whether you have a compact, DSLR, point-and-shoot film camera or camera phone, try these professional tricks.

1) Zoom in on Faces

Don't always focus on the action. Capture those expressions of determination, triumph and even defeat (especially if it's an opponent!).

2) Tell a Story

Look for shots that tell a story of the event. For example, begin with a shot of the team's huddle or your fellow paddlers launching their rafts.

3) Freeze

To freeze the action, set your camera to sports mode or set your Shutter Speed Priority to a high setting. For an example of the difference in settings: freezing action in a soccer match requires a shutter speed between 1/250 to 1/500 while freezing small movements of a pet that looks to be sitting still requires 1/125.

4) Blur the Background

Take a cue from the sports photographers, and blur the background by decreasing the camera's depth of field. If using a camera that has Aperture Priority, you can do this by simply decreasing the f-stop number. The lower the F stop number the more blurry the background. Want to capture the crowd cheering?

5) Pan

This is a good alternative for digital compact users where dim light underexposes photos shot with sports mode/fast shutter speed. Panning works with automatic focus, but it only works when the action is moving in a fairly straight line. Here's how to pan:

6) Set the Camera to Auto Focus

With feet planted firmly on the ground, move the upper half of your body while following the subject with your camera. Just before the anticipated action that you want to capture occurs, start pressing the shutter release button and continue following the subject until you've pressed the button all the way down and the camera gets the shot. Auto focus too slow on your camera? Focus on an area of contrast, like a number on a uniform. Auto focus works faster with contrast.

Experiment with panning to get various effects. You might want to show some blur in the action to emphasize the speed of movement, such as with a race car.

Whether of a sporting event or your dog, action shots are really fun to take once you get the hang of it. And once you master the digital photography basics (like compensating for shutter lag) it makes it all the more fun.