Shooting Action Photographs

In these posts, I often write about being properly prepared before you start shooting pictures.  This is a good example of why that is the case.


If you are looking to capture a candid moment, it only comes once.  That means that you have to create the situation where your camera can capture what happens as events unfold.  You need to look at how fast of a shutter speed you need to freeze movement (or show it).  Shutter speeds of 500th of second or more will probably freeze all but the fastest action.  Slower shutter speeds like 1/30 would show blur.  


You want to think about the depth of field, and how much you want to keep in focus.  Shallow depth of field, maybe f4, means the area covered by the focusing point in the camera will be sharp, but objects closer or further away will go fuzzy.  Setting the camera to maintain a large amount of depth of field, like f16, will keep more things in focus front to back.  This can be an advantage when people are moving around a lot because there is more fudge factor for the camera focusing system.


And you want to think about angle of view and how that affects how you feel the action itself.  A wide angle lens will bring you into the action more, whereas a telephoto lens will flatten things out and make you feel more like an observer than a participant.


In this case, I shot with a 35mm lens, at 1/400 at f14.  I intentionally chose to shoot from close in, and below the boy so I could see the emotion in his face and feel more a part of the scene.  I chose to shoot at 1/400 because I knew that when the snowball was smashed, some movement would still show in a blur.  And I shot at f14 so that I could keep both people in focus, even if they moved around a little bit.


But remember, I decided all these things BEFORE we started shooting.  With the camera set up properly, I could simply focus on the activity, and make the composition work as best I could.  I highly recommend this approach to the creative process, and in shooting action, the benefits are clear.

Composition Tip

When I am looking for a way to compose an image, I consider a number of elements, and I'll use this image to go through my process.


I saw this lovely early winter morning scene, and realized there was a great opportunity to use the warmth of the lights inside the building to balance the coolness of the dawn light.


My first consideration was how to create a sense of depth to the image.  Traditional landscape photography uses the time honored approach of foreground, middle ground and background to create that depth.  So I positioned myself so there were some plants up close to the camera.  The middle ground includes the large tree on the right and the building.  And the background trees, because of the falling snow, recede in the image.  Look at the difference between the picture below, with no real foreground interest, and the image on top.

Next, I thought about the weighting of the image.  Where I placed the large tree on the right was important, as it anchors the photograph because of its mass.  I used the rule of thirds to place the bottom of the tree pretty close to the lowest intersection of the grid (See more information about the concept in the archives here).   That gives the viewer's eye space to move into the picture from the bottom between the plants and up into the midground.

Next, I wanted to add an element to show scale.  People walking to the bus, or walking their dogs were perfect for this.  They not only added the scale, but also helped tell the story of it being a cold snowy morning.


Finally, and for me, quite important is deciding on where I want the person to be.  If I placed the person in front of the building, they were bound to disappear in the confusion of details.  

Looking at the scene carefully, there was a large gap on the right side where, because of the chiaroscuro effect,   a person would certainly stand out.


And looking at the scene again with the rule of thirds in mind, putting the person in that gap balanced the weight of the tree on the right.

There's always a lot to think about when composing an image.  Take your time, and enjoy the process.  And wear good gloves.

Looking at the world with open eyes

There are great opportunities for images all around us. So the key is to have a camera with you at all times. Jay Maisel, one of the titans of photography, is legendary for just that. And with ultra small point and shoot cameras, there’s no reason not to be prepared.

Over the holidays, we were fortunate to spend several days in a wonderful cabin high in the Colorado Rockies. One morning, just as a storm was breaking, I walked up to the kitchen window and saw this wonderful vignette.

Once captured, you could play with the image to create a mood. Here's the result of the photo filter adjustment found under Image-Image adjustment-Photo Filter in Photoshop. I used the 82 cooling filter.