Photographing Action

When it comes to photography pets in action, getting that perfect shot can be pretty tricky.  Making sure you have the animal in focus while they are moving quickly is no easy feat.  I hear from fellow pet photographers all the time that they want to improve their action photography, so I’m going to share some of my tips and tricks with you today.

Start with a fast shutter speed

I typically start with a shutter speed of at least 1/1000 to make sure I capture that action and freeze it.  I also like to shoot wide open when photographing action to make sure that animal is in focus and the background/foreground is nice and blurred.  Keep in mind that when you shoot wide open your plane of focus will be less and less as the animal gets closer to you, which leads me to my next tip.

Use Single Point Focus

Single point focus is the way to go if you want to make sure you are getting the pet in focus.  The key here is to track the pet as they move with your single point so that your focus is always on the pet as they move.  This way, you can make sure you’re not focusing all over the place.  With single point focus, your focus will be locked on the animal.

Use your Back Button Focus

This was a game changer for me.  Being able to hold down the back button focus while tracking the pet’s movement allowed me to make sure I got not one, but multiple in focus images of the pet’s movement.  You do have to adjust a few settings to make sure your back button focus is on and only working on focusing.  You can adjust this in your settings to make sure that the AF button is on AF-ON only.  It may be different for cameras other than Nikon, which is what I use.  You can go to your camera’s manual and look it up, or just Google it!

Shooting in Continuous mode with Continuous Focus

Shooting in continuous mode will allow you to take images quickly without having to continue to press the shutter.  Just hold it down and go!  The key though is to make sure you are in the continuous focus mode as well.  When I first started out I wasn’t in this mode and I had to continue to press my back button focus, which made me lose the movement and I wasn’t able to track the pet.  You will have to go into your camera settings and make sure your AF-C is on focus and not the release.  If it’s on the release, you will have to continue to press and release your focus, which will make it impossible to capture the action.

Practice!

Capturing crisp action shots doesn’t happen immediately. It takes time and practice. If you make these adjustments and try the tricks and tips I shared it will make it easier to get the shot.  But, you still need to work on your timing, getting the pet to run towards you, and lighting as well.

This can be a great tool to add to your photographer’s toolkit, so go out and give it a shot!  If you have an questions about any of these tips please just leave me a comment.  Happy shooting!!

Kim xo

P.S. – I would love to see your action shots, and if you have any questions just let me know. Please leave me a comment or email me at kim@kimhartz.com