Action Photography?

[DannyInMontana]

Ah yes, I'm venturing into a world of movement and I have no idea how to keep up. My buiddies and I are avid snowboarders trying to capture some pretty sweet rides. However, transitioning from scenic photography into action photography feels like going from snowboarding to ice skating. Just cause I can do one, doesn't mean I'm comfortable with the other. Any advice on these two? Better angles? The lighting was pretty bad where we were at.

 

[Big Mike]

A faster shutter speed will help to freeze the action and make sure you are focused on the subject (or where the subject will be when the photo is snapped) and not on the background.

 

[KmH]

You will need to use the continuous focus mode.

There are other considerations depending on the camera model and lens you are using. Having a camera that has a back button focus function can be very helpful, as can a camera that has a good frames-per-second burst mode rate.

It also helps to understand that the plane movement is in relative to the image sensor plane has a bearing on how much shutter speed you need to stop the motion.

Motion perpendicular to the image sensor plane requires less shutter speed than motion parallel to the image sensor plane.

Of course panning effectively alters the speed of subject movement. Good panning is a combination of good camera holding technique, a proper stance, and good, smooth kinesthetic ability.