DIY Network

Stop-Action Photography: Panning From "The Whole Picture" episode DTWP-106

	Taking stop-action photos comes with a number of challenges, including getting a moving completely within the frame
	There are some simple tricks that will help you get dramatic action photos.
	Media Watch the Video

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In one sense, photography can be thought of as capturing a moment in time. If that's true, then capturing an athlete in mid-stride means capturing a very small moment in time. How can you take compelling stop-action photos that convey the action and movement of the subject but that aren't blurred? How do professional photographers get those amazing action shots you see in sports magazines?

In this episode of DIY's The Whole Picture, host Erin Manning offers tips for taking exciting action photos that look like ones shot by pros. Here are the topics she covers:

• Lesson 1: Erin demonstrates how a little practice panning the camera and pre-focusing can yield great results.
  
• Lesson 2: Erin discusses shutter speed and aperture functions on the digital camera and the various effects that can be achieved by manipulating them.
  
• Lesson 3: Erin explains how to intentionally blur the subject, background or both for a more artistic effect. She also shows how to add blur to a digital photograph, after it's been shot, by using photo-editing software.

Erin begins here with instructions on how to pan with your moving subject.

Materials used in this episode:

Digital camera
Camera user's-manual
Computer with photo-editing software

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Follow the Action and Pre-Focus

To take professional looking stop-action photos, you need to master the technique of keeping your moving subject in frame. To do this, you pan or follow the action so that your subject stays toward the back edge of the your frame (figure A).

Your objective is to get a sense of the speed at which your subject passes through the fame, and for the timing as to when to hit the shutter button.

Take a few practice shots and check your results on your camera's LCD screen (figure B).

Figure A

Figure B

One of the problems with digital cameras is that once you push the shutter button, it takes time for the camera to focus and then capture the picture. If you don't follow the action your subject could be well outside the frame by the time the image is stored (figure C).

Practice following the action until you have a good feel for how fast your subject is moving (figure D).

Figure C

Figure D

	Shutter speed: 1/370 Aperture: f2.9 ISO: 64
	Shutter speed: 1/400 Aperture: f2.9 ISO: 64
	Shutter speed: 1/370 Aperture: f2.9 ISO: 64
	Panning, or following the subject, will help ensure that you capture your subject in the frame.

It's important to remember that you have to continue to follow the action, even after you've hit the shutter button. Snap off a few pictures so that you'll learn how long it takes your camera to actually capture the image once you've pressed the shutter button.

One way to help speed up your camera's capture time, is to try pre-focusing. Doing this will make sure that your camera's focus and exposure settings are close to being correct before your subject comes along.

To pre-focus, simply point the camera in the area where your subject will pass through, then press the shutter button down half-way so that your lens will focus on an object in the vicinity of where your subject will be.

Practice by taking a few more pictures with pre-focus and without. When you feel you can estimate the timing of your subject's movement, the camera's focus time and the capture time you'll be ready to start taking great stop-action.

RESOURCES :

PC Photo magazine
Website: www.pcphotomag.com
Online version of the magazine devoted to digital photography and related technologies.

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Order this book from Amazon.com.
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