Friday Photo Tip #15 Lost In Motion

Since this week has been all about racing doxies, today's tip will help you take better action shots!

#15 Lost In Motion!

When you're trying to take a photo of something that's moving, always remember to not only focus on the subject, but move with it, as it's moving.  In other words, as you're focusing, you want to physically move your body in the parallel direction that the subject is moving. This technique actually has a name, and it's called "panning".  You can "pan" with any kind of camera, you don't need to have something fancy and fast to take an action shot, although it does make it easier! For example, here's a running doxie.  The doxie is running from right to left (as pictured below), so as the dog is running, I am focused on the dog... but as I'm pressing the shutter, I'm also moving the camera along with the dog to help keep her in focus. If you're able to move your camera in the direction of the action, it will allow the image to be the most crisp, as the subject will not be moving into a different plane or depth of field.  Pretend your camera is on an axis/pole and you can turn it like a telescope.  That is the kind of motion you are looking for... Find something to pan this weekend and email it to me! ...I'll blog it next week!