Abi Coop
Melissa Richard
Kristen Ryan
Capturing Action by Freezing Motion | by Rachel Lee
Capturing Action by Freezing Motion
I am drawn to capturing my family in motion, probably because they never seem to sit still. We spend a lot of time outdoors. My children and husband are constantly on the move. They move as a whirlwind, and I love this about them. I want to capture the action by freezing the motion so I can remember these adventures in years to come.
When capturing action and freezing motion, I use the exposure triangle to keep my shutter speed high to prevent motion blur. Unless of course, motion blur is my aim. I generally aim for at least 1/250 seconds but often choose to shoot faster especially when shooting multiple subjects. Raising your ISO too high can have a negative effect on the sharpness of the images so experiment with your camera to see where the limit is.
Getting the Shot
I shoot with a range of lenses using both auto and manual focus and try to vary my depth of field, perspective, and proximity to capture these moments differently each time.
Nikon Z 34mm (24 – 70mm) | F8, ISO 1000, 1/640 sec
Some of my favourite go-to shots include the following scenarios: bikes, scooters, skateboards, play parks, swimming, jumping, climbing, throwing and water play. Involving the whole family, me included when I put down the camera, keeps the play going for longer and enables me the opportunity to get the shots I want as well as joining in the fun (unless the fun is skateboarding as this is well beyond my physical ability!).
Nikon Z 35mm | F4.5, ISO 2000, 1/500 sec
When shooting for action, pick a good place to sit/stand/crouch. Sort out your focus, camera settings and composition and then wait for the action to happen. Be prepared to miss some cracking moments. And let them go and move on! Keep shooting through the frame so that you capture each step in the sequence and then choose the best moment when culling. And finally, be patient. If everyone is having fun, don’t rush the shot. Watch, wait and adjust your angle for that perfect moment.
Nikon Z 35mm | f/7.1, ISO 1000, 1/5000 sec
Depth of Field
When capturing movement consider your depth of field; does the background of the image add to the action or detract from it? Do you want the sharp details visible to set the scene and add to the storytelling or does a blurred background keep the action and movement the focus of the image? Light may also play a factor here; in low light situations a shallower depth of field (a wider aperture) will enable you to keep your shutter speed up and might determine how much of the scene can be in focus. The number of subjects will also impact this decision; if you want multiple subjects in focus then you will need a wider depth of field (a narrower aperture) to keep them all sharp.
Nikon Z 35mm | f/7.1, ISO 5000, 1/8000 sec
Nikon 105mm | f/3.2, ISO 2500, 1/2000 sec
Perspective
Consider the perspective or angle you shoot from and how this can impact and heighten the action. Taking the shot from below and at a low angle can emphasize the action. In the example below the perspective makes the jump seem higher than it was.
Nikon Z 35mm | f/1.8, ISO 3200, 1/3200 sec
Whereas in this second example shooting from above has given a sense of scale of the vast, empty, beach and has given context for the weather conditions and the temperature of the water.
Lensbaby Sweet 80 | ISO 200, 1/5000 sec
Lensbaby
I often use my Lensbaby lenses as the blur of these lenses often adds to the movement within the final image. When first starting out with a Lensbaby, whilst learning to master the manual focus, manipulate the creative effects and capturing the movement consider the following top tips:
- Shoot for a center composition and then crop to your desired composition in post.
- Use focus peaking if this is an option in your camera settings.
- Start with tracking movement sideways prior to having the subject move towards or away from you.
- Keep your distance to begin with; the greater the distance between myself and my subject the easier I find it to keep them in focus as they are moving.
Once you have mastered these top tips, then it is time to play around with your Lensbaby. Get your composition right in camera, track movement forwards and backwards, shoot from different angles and from a greater range of distances and play more with the creative elements.
For a deeper dive on creating with Lensbaby, check out Mastering Lensbaby.
Do I always capture the moment? No, I often miss! Sometimes I don’t anticipate quite where the children are going to move to or in which direction they are going to go. Other times my husband steps right in the way – he has a habit of doing this! And sometimes, when we are exploring somewhere new, I’m well behind the children as they have run off and I can’t keep up with their pace. Ultimately though, I capture those moments I can and embrace being in the moment with those I don’t.
For more inspiration, follow Rachel on Instagram!
Fabulous tips, Rach and beautifully written! Love your examples.
Thank you so much Kate, this feedback is greatly appreciated and I am glad you found it useful.