Tips For Shooting Action Scenes

Digital camera owners who are not that experienced in taking photos often find it hard to capture those action scenes they so desire. With their subjects being mobile, they are not too aware of what to do with their camera to take the best action shots.
Indeed, it can be quite a challenge to engage in sports and action photography. Movements are fast and unpredictable that you also need to be quick in clicking your camera. But whatever type of digital camera you have, one really needs to take the extra effort to take clear pictures of people and animals in motion. It would also best to learn the right techniques that will work so you won't get frustrated with your photos.
With action and sports photography, the most important factors to keep in mind are pre-focusing and timing. Remember that your subjects are moving and you don't have any idea what they're next move will be so it pays to be alert and ready with your digital camera so that anytime you see some actions worth capturing, you can do it instantly.
Pre-focusing means locking the focus of your camera to the scene where you want to take your shots. This technique will lower the lag time between the pressing of your shutter release button and the actual taking of the image. Doing this step will also help you plan your shots well.
In terms of timing, you will need to learn the shutter-lag delay of your own camera. Shutter-lag delay remains a fact despite the advancement in digital camera technology. In fact, even the DSLRs still have an issue with this.
To determine your camera's shutter-lag delay, first take a test and observe the lag. Take note of how long it is so that you can pre-shoot to compensate for that lag. Normally, it's only a matter of seconds but then in action photography, keep in mind that time is gold if you want to take the best shots possible.
Panning is another way of capturing great action scenes. It means following your subject such as a football player, a bike rider or a car on the race track. Some of you may be surprised to know that panning actually helps in taking clearer photos of a subject in motion than when photographing it while you're holding still. This technique helps in capturing subjects that might be blurry because you are matching the speed of their movement. Having an optical viewfinder will be very helpful for this purpose.
Using your camera's flash is also a great tactic to capture unique action shots. It's best to use the flash when you're closer to the subject and when the scene is dark. This technique helps to freeze the action and highlight your subject more. As the light is focused on the subject, the background will usually become blurry resulting in a beautiful effect. Just remember to always plan your shot, pre-focus and pan to capture wonderful photos with your subject standing out from the scene.