Photography Tips and Tricks

Action shots are a lot of fun, and if you like sports or action of any kind you’re going to need to know how to take them. Here are some tips to getting professional looking actions shots with a digital camera.

Getting Rid of Blur

Action shots will usually end up in a lot of blurriness if you are not prepared.

First, make sure to have your digital camera set to Action mode. This mode is marked with an icon of a man running. Next, try to anticipate what the subject will do. When the subject is just about to create a great shot, depress the shutter button. The camera will take the photo just as the action happens.

Adding Blur

Some time blur adds excitement to a photo. If you would like to capture blur when photographing something like a bike rally or a marathon then you will need to set your camera to Landscape mode (the mountain icon). Focus your camera on a midway point between the camera and the background and press the shutter button when the subject come whizzing past. Make sure to keep your camera still!

You may have seen nighttime shots where the traffic is a line of neon light on a highway. If you would like to create a similar shot, start by going to a tall building that overlooks a busy highway. Go to one of the upper stories and position your tripod in front of a window. Turn your digital camera to the Night mode, which is usually marked with a moon icon, and turn off the flash. Focus on your subject until it becomes clear in the view finder. Set the Timer Delay and press the shutter button. Stand back and let the camera take the picture, then review the results. You may need to take several shots to get the perfect line of traffic.

Multiple Shots

Taking multiple shots in seconds is a great way to capture all the action. To do this, go to Program mode on your camera and select Burst mode. Secure your camera to a tripod to reduce shake and blur, then depress the shutter button when the action starts. Your camera will take a burst of pictures while you watch. For indoor shots you may want to use Burst mode with ISO mode or the flash. Practice combining different modes to find effects that you like.

Here are some common digital photo problems that may pop up while you are taking photographs with your digital camera and with tips on how to fix them.

Keep Your Whites White

When photographing bright white objects like snow, flowers, or fabric you may find that they look gray in digital image. This is a common problem and can be corrected quite easily.

For snow, check to see if your digital camera has a Snow mode. This new feature on some cameras is mode marked with a snowman icon. Switching your camera to this mode will fix snow related problems such as grayness (see an example of gray snow, below).

If you don’t have Snow mode or you want to shoot another type of white object, frame your shot and then open you program settings. Brighten your image by going to the exposure compensation setting and pressing the arrow key in the positive direction. Don’t go crazy, though. You want the image just bright enough to get rid of the gray, but not so bright that you lose color saturation in other parts of the picture. This should give you whites you can be proud of.

Getting Rid of Yellow Lighting

Most indoor lighting is called incandescent or tungsten lighting. This kind of lighting may give your subjects a yellow look or cast that can be less than flattering. You can correct this by using your digital camera’s white balance settings and specifying a light source. Check with your digital camera’s manual to see if you camera has a white balance setting and how to use it effectively.

Blurry Action Shots

Action shots can be blurry if you use normal settings to take them. To avoid blurriness, make sure to have your digital camera set to Action mode, which is marked with an icon of a man running. Next, try to keep your camera as still as possible. This is hard to do since action shots require the camera to follow the action. To compensate, try to anticipate what the subject will do. When the subject is just about to create a great shot, depress the shutter button and hold as still as possible. A tripod with a swivel is ideal for these types of shots.

Red Eye

This problem is common when using a flash. Fortunately, most digital cameras come with a feature that helps eliminate red eye. Simply pose your subject and halfway depress the shutter button. This will set off a flash of light before the actual flash. Right after this flash goes off press the shutter button all the way down. No red eyes!