Your son is dribbling a soccer ball down the field. He shoots! He scores! And all you get is a blurry smear on a green background. Fast action photography, such as taking pictures of sporting events, can be frustrating.

The Basics

Taking pictures works by exposing a light-sensitive material to the brightness of the image that you are photographing. This is the same for both digital and film cameras, although obviously the light-sensitive material differs. The film shutter controls the amount of time that the sensitive material is exposed to light.

When taking pictures of fast action, you want the light-sensitive material exposed for as short of a time as possible to reduce blurriness. To make your images appear crisp, your shutter speed must exceed the speed of the object that you are photographing. Sometimes, a flash can also help illuminate your subject for the brief amount of time that you have your shutter open, which also can help with quick pics.

Tools for Fast Action Photos

Not all cameras are made for fast action or sports photography. However, if you are looking to purchase a camera that will work for taking pictures in fast action, here are a few things to consider buying:

• A camera that is at least 35mm so that you can get a tight focus
• A converter so that you can still have a fast shutter speed despite the length of your lens
• A monopod to help hold up your big camera

Creating Your Masterpiece

Once you get your perfect shot, you might want to turn your photographs into beautiful canvas photos that you can display as art. To learn more about this technique, contact YourCanvasPhotos today.